Staff

Curtis Larsen

Geoarcheologist

Recently retiring after a twenty six year career with the United States Geological Survey, Curtis Larsen now works as a geomorphologist for GRA on a project-by-project basis. While working for the USGS Curtis was involved in project management and research projects across the United States. Much of his research focused on understanding the relationship between climate change and sea level rise, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay. Other significant work while with the USGS included studies of climate, lake levels and geomorphology of the Great Lakes. Prior to working for the USGS Curtis worked as a project manager for a cultural resource firm and undertook projects in the Southeast and the Great Lakes. His dissertation research while attending the University of Chicago was conducted in the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Arabian Peninsula and focused on long term human/landscape interactions in the Bahrain Islands. His research is published in The Journal of Coastal Research, Shore and Beach, Geoarcheology, Quaternary Science Reviews, The Journal of Great Lakes Research, numerous special publications and open file reports with the USGS, as well as in edited volumes and his dissertation by the University of Chicago Press. With GRA he applies his expertise to projects in off- and near-shore settings.

Education

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Ph.D. 1980	University of Chicago Anthropology/Archaeology
M.A. 1971	Western Washington University Anthropology/Archaeology
B.S. 1964	University of Illinois Geology/Math & Physics

Employment History

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2006 – present	Geoarcheology Research Associates, Riverdale, New York. — Geoarcheologist on a project-by-project basis.
1980 – 2006 – Career:	United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
2003 – 2006	Research geologist (GS-14), International Programs Office. Served as area specialist for USGS programs and activities in Europe, Russia, and the states of the former Soviet Union. Duties carried out in tandem with research shown below.
1997 – 2006	Research geologist (GS-14), Eastern Earth Surface Processes and Climate History Teams. Research on global sea level rise focused on Chesapeake Bay and the Mid Atlantic Coast.
1995 – 1997	Deputy Eastern Regional Geologist (GS-15). Management of Eastern Region Geologic Division policy and research funding with Regional Geologist.
1982 – 1995	Research Geologist (GS-13, GS-14), Eastern Mineral Resources Branch. Research on heavy mineral placer deposits as well as climate related lake level history of the Great Lakes.
1980 to 1982	Environmental Scientist (GS-13), Environmental Affairs Office. Served as Bureau Historic Preservation Officer and as the principal authority in areas of cultural and archeological resources. 1977 to 1980: Archeologist, Environmental Planning Division, Gilbert Commonwealth Assoc., Inc., Jackson, MI. Responsible for planning, implementation, and completion of various archeological resource and geological projects for Federal and private sector clients. Projects included archeological surveys and excavations as well as environmental planning studies.
1976 to 1977	Doctoral Candidate, studied museum collections and other materials related to my dissertation topic in the Persian Gulf region at the University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark. Funded by George C. Marshall Scholarship provided by the Denmark-America Fund and the American Scandinavian Foundation.
1975 to 1976	Doctoral Candidate, dissertation field research, Persian Gulf Region. Conducted archeological and geological fieldwork in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia. This work included appraisals of geomorphology, hydrology, geologic structure, and Quaternary stratigraphy. Research was aimed at documenting long-term land use patterns on the Bahrain Islands, and determining paleoenvironmental changes in eastern Arabia and Bahrain.
1974 to 1975	Instructor at the University of North Carolina--Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. Taught introductory courses in general anthropology, New World archeology, world prehistory, and environmental archeology. Held committee memberships and advised undergraduate students. Left position to complete dissertation research.
1973 to 1974	Geologist and Research Assistant with the Illinois State Geological Survey, Urbana, Illinois. Conducted coastal geomorphological research and fieldwork along Lake Michigan shorelines. Investigated evidence for Holocene fluctuations in Lake Michigan levels as exposed in outcrop and subsurface.

Books

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Larsen, Curtis E., 1983, Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands, the Geoarcheology of an Ancient Society, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 339 p.

Articles and Published Reports

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Larsen, C.E. and Inga Clark, 2006, A search for scale in sea level studies, Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 22, pp. 788-800.

Clark, Inga, C.E. Larsen, and M. Herzog, 2004, Evolution of equilibrium slopes at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, a method of estimating the timescale of slope stabilization, Shore and Beach, Vol. 72, pp. 17-23.

Herzog, Martha, C.E. Larsen, and Michele McRae, 2002, Slope Evolution at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, Measuring the Change from Eroding Bluffs to Stable Slopes, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OF-02-332. On USGS website as: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-332/

Clark, Inga, C.E. Larsen, and Michele McRae, 2002, Historic bluff retreat and stabilization at Flag Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OF-02-331. On USGS website as: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-331/

Larsen, C.E., 1999, A century of Great Lakes research: finished or just beginning, in Halsey, J.R., ed., Retrieving Michigan's Buried Past, Cranbrook Inst. of Science Bulletin 64, p. 1-30

Larsen, C.E., 1999, Cultural resources and the U.S. Geological Survey, CRM (Special Issue, A Sesquicentennial Overview of CRM at the Interior Department), Vol. 22, no. 4, p. 38-40.

Larsen, C.E., 1998, The Geological Background to Sea Level Rise in Chesapeake Bay. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-102-98, 4 p. On USGS website as: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs102-98/

Colman, S.M., Clark, J.A., Clayton, L., Hansel, A.K., and Larsen, C.E., 1994, Deglaciation, lake levels, and meltwater discharge in the Lake Michigan basin, in Teller, J.T., and Kehew, A.E., eds, Late glacial history of large proglacial lakes and meltwater runoff along the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 13, p. 879-890.

Larsen, C.E., 1994, Beach ridges as monitors of isostatic uplift in the upper Great Lakes, Journal of Great Lakes Research, vol. 20, p. 108-134.

Larsen, C.E., 1993, Heavy minerals at the Fall Zone--a theoretical model of grain size, density, and gradient, in Berger, B.R., and Detra, P.S., eds., Advances for United States and international mineral resources, developing a framework and exploration technologies, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2039, p. 167-180.

Larsen, C.E., 1991, Relative lake level changes in the upper Great Lakes--reconstructing the pattern of postglacial warping with accuracy: in Folger, D.W., Colman, S.M., and Barnes, P.W., eds, Southern Lake Michigan Coastal Erosion Study Workshop, February 5-6, 1991, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 91-284, p. 33-40.

Larsen, C.E., and Schuldenrein, J., 1990, The depositional history of an archaeologically-dated floodplain, Haw River, North Carolina, in Lasca, N.P., and Donahue, J.D., eds, Archaeological Geology of North America: Geological Society of America, Centennial Special Volume 4, p. 161-181.

Larsen, C.E., Hill, R.H., Kulik, D.M., Brown, M.K., and Scott, D.C., 1988, Mineral resources of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Washakie and Hot Springs Counties, Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1756-B, 17 p.

Larsen, C.E., 1988, Book Review: Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, V. Sibrava, D.W. Bowen, and G.M. Richard, eds, 1986, Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 5, 510 p., in Geoarchaeology, v. 4, p. 376-380.

Larsen, C.E., 1987, Long term trends in Lake Michigan levels, a view from the geological record, in Proceedings of the First Indiana Dunes Research Conference: Symposium on Shore Processes, National Park Service, Atlanta, Ga., p. 5-22.

Larsen, Curtis E., 1987, Geologic History of Lake Algonquin and the Upper Great Lakes, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1801, 36 p.

Larsen, C.E., 1986, Book review: Masters, P.M. and Flemming, N.C., eds. 1983, Quaternary Coastlines and Marine Archaeology: Academic Press, Geoarchaeology, v. 1, p. 313-315.

Hansel, A.K., Mickelson, D.M., Schneider, A.F., and Larsen, C.E., 1985, Late Wisconsin and Holocene History of the Lake Michigan Basin, in Karrow, P.F., and Calkin, P., eds. Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes: Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 30. p. 39-53.

Larsen, C.E., 1986, Variation in Holocene land use patterns on the Bahrain Islands: Construction of a land-use model, in Al-Khalifa, S.H.A., and Rice, M., eds., Bahrain through the Ages, The Archaeology: Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, p. 25-46.

Larsen, C.E., 1985, Lake level, uplift and outlet incision, the Nipissing and Algoma Great Lakes, in Karrow, P.F., and Calkin, P., eds. Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes: Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 30, p. 63-77.

Larsen, C.E., 1985, Chapter 2, Water Resources of the Past, in Water Atlas of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, p. 9-16.

Larsen, C.E., 1985, A Stratigraphic Study of Beach Features on the Southern Shore of Lake Michigan: New Evidence of Holocene Lake Lake Level Fluctuations: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 112, 31 p.

Larsen, C.E., 1985, Geoarcheological interpretation of Great Lakes, Lakeshore Environments, in Stein, J.K., and Farrand, W.R., eds., Archaeological Sediments in Context: Peopling of the Americas Edited Series, no. 1, Institute for Quaternary Studies, University of Maine, Orono, p. 99-110.

Larsen, C.E., l983, The early environment and hydrology of ancient Bahrain, in D.F. Potts, ed., Dilmun: New studies in the Archaeology and History of Bahrain: Berliner Beiträge zum Vordern Orient, no. 2, D. Reimer Verlag, Berlin, p. 1-34.

Larsen, C.E., l983, Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands: The Geoarcheology of an Ancient Society: The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 339 p.

Larsen, C.E., Beckely, B.S., and Bierschenk, W.H., 1982, Reconnaissance investigations of selected galleries in the Western Province, Saudi Arabia: report prepared for the Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Riyadh, Saudia Arabia through the USGS, Office of International Hydrology, Reston.

Larsen, C.E., 1982, Geoarcheology of the Haw River, in Claggett, S.R. and Cable, J.S., assemblers, The Haw River sites: Archeological investigations at two stratified sites in the North Carolina Piedmont, v. 1, p. 145-222.

Larsen, Curtis E., 1980, Holocene Land Use Variations on the Bahrain Islands, unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Chicago, 408 p.

Claggett, S.R., and Cable, J.S. assemblers; Larsen, C.E., principal investigator, 1982, The Haw River sites: Archeological investigations at two stratified sites in the North Carolina Piedmont, 3 vols, Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan.

Larsen, C.E., Weston, D.E., Newkirk, J.A., Weir, D.J., and Schaeffer, J.E., 1980, The Bazuin Site. Excavation of Lowes Island Site 44LD3, Loudoun County, Virginia: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 190 p.

Larsen, C.E., Anderson, D.G., Kimball, J.C., Newkirk, J.A., and Weir, D.J., 1979, A cultural resource overview of the Wayne National Forest: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 148 p.

Larsen, C.E., Anderson, D.G., Claggett, S.R., Kimball, J.C., and Newkirk, J.A., 1979, A culturalresource overview of the Hoosier National Forest: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 156 p.

Larsen, C.E., and Demeter, C.S., 1979, Archeological investigations of the proposed West River Drive, Bay City, Michigan: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 109 p.

Fitting, J.E., Larsen, C.E., and Kern, J.R., 1979, Archeological and historical investigations of the floodplain area, Midland, Michigan: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 69 p. 15.

Larsen, C.E., and Evans, G., 1978, The Holocene geological history of the Tigris-Euphrates-Karun Delta, in W. Brice, ed., The Environmental History of the Near and Middle East Since the Last Ice Age: Academic Press, London, p. 227-244.

Larsen, C.E., Demeter, C.S., 1978, Archeological/historical reconnaissance survey of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Saginaw, Michigan: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 75 p.

Larsen, C.E., Claggett, S.R., and Kern, J.R., 1978, An archeological and historical survey of the Grass Rope Unit, Lower Brule, South Dakota: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 77 p.

Fitting, J.E., Larsen, C.E., and Demeter, C.S., 1977, A cultural resources survey of the Shiawassee Flats flood control project: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 61 p.

Fitting, J.E., Larsen, C.E., and Kimball, J.C., 1977, Archeological testing project, Tri-Creek Watershed, Monroe County, Wisconsin: Commonwealth Associates, Inc., Jackson, Michigan, 50 p.

Larsen, C.E., 1975, The Mesopotamian delta region: A reconsideration Lees and Falcon: Journal of the American Oriental Society, v. 95, no. 1, p. 43-57.

Fraser, G.S., Larsen, C.E., and Hester, N.C., 1975, Climatically controlled high lake levels in the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron basins: An Acad. brasil, Cienc., v. 47.

Grabert, G.F., and Larsen, C.E., 1975, Marine transgressions and cultural adaptation: Preliminary tests of an environmental model, in W. Fitzhugh, ed., Prehistoric Maritime Adaptations of the Circumpolar Zone: Mouton, The Hague, p. 229-251.

Larsen, C.E., 1974, Late Holocene lake levels in southern Lake Michigan, in C. Collinson, ed., Coastal Geology, Sedimentology, and Management: Chicago and the Northshore: Illinois State Geological Survey Guidebook Series No. 12, p. 39- 49.

Larsen, C.E., 1973, Prehistoric levels of Lake Michigan-Huron: Their potential in shoreland planning: Proceedings of the Lake Michigan Shoreland Planning Conference, Lake Michigan Federation, Chicago, p. 169-195.

Larsen, C.E., 1973, Variation in bluff recession to lake level fluctuations along the high bluff Illinois shore: Document No. 73-14, Illinois Institute for Environmental Quality, Chicago, 73 p.

Fackler, R.C., Hoerauf, E.A., Larsen, C.E., Lingbloom, K.L., and Short, M.S., 1972, Nearshore currents--southeastern Strait of Georgia: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Vancouver.

Schwartz, M.L., Fackler, R.C., Hoerauf, E.A., Larsen, C.E., Lingbloom, K.L., and Short, M.A.,1972, Nearshore currents--southeastern Strait of Georgia: Syesis, Jour. of the B.C. Provincial Museum, v. 5, p. 17-130.