Item talk:Q47052

USGS Staff Profile:

 '@context': https://schema.org
 '@type': Person
 affiliation: []
 description:
 - '@type': TextObject
   abstract: Research Geologist with the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science
     Center
   additionalType: short description
 - '@type': TextObject
   abstract: "I am a Research Geologist interesested in understanding how processes\
     \ of erosion and faulting interact to shape Earth\u2019s surface. I study these\
     \ phenomena through geologic maps, laboratory techniques that measure the history\
     \ of rocks being exhumed toward the surface, and with measurements and models\
     \ of Earth's surface topography."
   additionalType: staff profile page introductory statement
 - '@type': TextObject
   abstract: I came to the USGS as a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow in 2016 to study
     landscape evolution in the Southern Rocky Mountains and to help complete a facility
     for measuring the cooling histories of minerals as part of the Mineral Resources
     Program. In 2018 I transitioned to a job as a Research Geologist funded by the
     National Cooperative Geologic Mapping program, where I work now. In this capacity
     I conduct regional-scale geologic mapping and synthesis of Quaternary sedimentary
     deposits with the goal of ultimately establishing a seamlesss national-scale
     geologic map database that can aid in the characterization of geologic hazards
     and natural resources.  This work is currently focused in two regions, in Arkansas
     and in a large transect spanning the Intermountain West, for which I also serve
     as the lead of the surficial geologic working group.In addition to these roles
     I conduct research into the mechanisms of landscape evolution in an effort to
     better interpret the geologic record of natural hazards and past environmental
     change, focusing on two broad classifications of problems.  First, I seek to
     develop numerical and statistical models to refine geologic inferences made
     from geochronologic data and to quantify uncertainty in those interpretations.  Second,
     I try to understand the connection between earth surface processes, landscape
     form, and recent geologic deposits by developing numerical models that enable
     simulation of these phenomena.  In these efforts I am interested in developing
     approaches for characterizing landscape evolution through paired analysis of
     topographic and geologic map data.Prior to starting at the USGS I obtained my
     PhD from Stanford University in 2016, where I studied how sediment transport
     and erosion processes shaped hillslopes and river networks, and how some micro-climatic
     gradients enduced by aspect differences influenced these processes. In 2011
     I obtained my MSc from UC Santa Cruz, where I had also obtained my BS a few
     years earlier. It was at UC Santa Cruz that I first got excited about geologic
     mapping and where I developed an interest in using low-temperature thermochronology
     to study histories of faulting.
   additionalType: personal statement
 email: sjohnstone@usgs.gov
 hasCredential:
 - '@type': EducationalOccupationalCredential
   name: Stanford University, PhD in Geology
 - '@type': EducationalOccupationalCredential
   name: UC Santa Cruz, MS in Geology
 - '@type': EducationalOccupationalCredential
   name: UC Santa Cruz, BS Earth Science
 hasOccupation:
 - '@type': OrganizationalRole
   affiliatedOrganization:
     '@type': Organization
     name: Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
     url: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/geosciences-and-environmental-change-science-center
   roleName: Research Geologist
   startDate: '2024-05-10T21:03:26.485619'
 identifier:
 - '@type': PropertyValue
   propertyID: ORCID
   value: 0000-0002-3945-2499
 - '@type': PropertyValue
   propertyID: GeoKB
   value: https://geokb.wikibase.cloud/entity/Q47052
 jobTitle: Research Geologist
 knowsAbout:
 - '@type': Thing
   additionalType: self-claimed expertise
   name: Geomorphology
 - '@type': Thing
   additionalType: self-claimed expertise
   name: Thermochronology
 - '@type': Thing
   additionalType: self-claimed expertise
   name: Topographic analysis
 - '@type': Thing
   additionalType: self-claimed expertise
   name: Numerical modelling
 memberOf:
   '@type': OrganizationalRole
   member:
     '@type': Organization
     name: U.S. Geological Survey
   name: staff member
   startDate: '2024-05-10T21:03:26.481938'
 name: Sam A Johnstone
 url: https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/sam-johnstone