Education
PhD, Geology: Utah State University
MA, Hydrologic Science: Boise State University
BA, Physical Geography/Environmental Science
Biography
Kerry Riley, PhD, moved to Grand Junction in August of 2018 and is currently an instructor of geology at CMU. Riley teaches different courses, including Weather and Climate, Oceanography, Environmental Geology, Geology of Canyon Country, Geographic Information Systems, Cartography and Principles of Physical Geology Lab. She feels at home in nature and is excited to share her love and passion for rivers and the Earth with students.
Riley's teaching philosophy is centered on using genuine experiences to increase student interest and engagement. Her research interest is focused on understanding how changes in hydrology influence erosion and sediment yields in rivers. Riley's research looks at interactions between climate and landscape response over short (event) to long (millennia) timescales, using alluvial stratigraphic records to archive past hydrologic dynamics and fluvial processes. Long-term perspectives provide important baseline information on the natural range of variability of landscapes and provide a much-needed reference to compare with historic and modern change. This information is relevant to private and public land managers for many different applications including restoration, natural hazard risk assessment and mitigation, and infrastructure planning (e.g., reservoir capacity).
When she is not teaching, you might find her guiding whitewater river trips, hiking with her daughter, Piper, or working in the garden.
Published Work
Riley, Kerry E., et al. "Erosion rates and patterns in a transient landscape, Grand Staircase, southern Utah, USA." Geology (2019).
Riley, K, Pierce, J. and Meyer, G. A., 2015, Vegetative and climatic controls on Holocene wildfire and erosion recorded in alluvial fans of the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho. The Holocene, 25(5), pp. 857-871.
Riley, K., 2011, Fire geomorphology: Interactions among climate, fire and vegetation. Vignette In. Bierman and Montgomery, Key Concepts in Geomorphology. http://serc.carleton.edu/60019.
Riley, K., 2011, Fire geomorphology: Fire-related erosion helps to shape our landscapes. Vignette In. Bierman and Montgomery, Key Concepts in Geomorphology. http://serc.carleton.edu/60020.
Augembaugh, K., Harvey, B., Hayes, J., Kernan, K., Marion, D. A., Peterson, J, Pipkin, A., Riley, K. and Kaye, M.. 2009, Fire on the Mountain. In. Speer, Jim (Ed.) The 19th annual North American Dendroecological Fieldweek: Final Report. pp 14-48.
Augembaugh, K., Harvey, B., Hayes, J., Kernan, K., Marion, D. A., Peterson, J, Pipkin, A., Riley, K. and Kaye, M.. 2009, Quercus Rubra Tree Ring Chronology. International Tree-Ring Data Bank. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/treering.html
Riley's Curriculum Vitae