Katherine A. Adelsberger

Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies

General Interests
"I'm interested in the geologic side of human-environment interactions. As a geoarchaeologist I look at site formation and the taphonomic processes acting on archaeological sites, but I also want to identify the larger-scale paleoenvironmental conditions present during human history and determine how (and whether) societies reacted or adapted to environmental change. My recent work has focused specifically on understanding desert pavement development, identifying spring deposits and tracking the paleochannels of ancient river systems. As a field geologist I spend a lot of time digging holes and walking around in the desert; it's not real science if you're not getting dirty!"

Years at Knox: 2008 to present.

Education
Ph.D., 2008, Washington University.
A.M., 2005, Washington University-St. Louis.
B.S., 2002, Beloit College.

Recent Recognition
Awards
Claude C. Albritton, Jr. Award, Geological Society of America Archaeological Geology Division, 2007.

Douglas C. Kellogg Award, Society for American Archaeology Geoarchaeology Interest Group, 2007.

Carl Tolman Prize for Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Wash U, 2006.

Poster Award, GIS Day, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, 2006.

Poster Award, GIS Day, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, 2005.

Honors Term recipient, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2002.

Walter S. Haven Geology Prize, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2002.

Mineralogy Prize, Department of Geology, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2002.

James R. Ferwerda Scholarship, Department of Geology, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2001-2002.

Allan and Betty Dorn Schneider Scholarship, Department of Geology, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2001-2002.

Monta E. and Martha R. Wing Scholarship, Department of Geology, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2001-2002.

William Simpson Godfrey, Jr. Award, Department of Anthropology, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2001.

Outstanding Teaching Award as a Laboratory Assistant, Department of Geology, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, 2001.

Grants
ACM Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) Grant.

Geological Society of America Student Research Grant, 2007.

Geological Society of America North-Central Section Student Travel Grant, GSA Annual Meeting, 2007.

INQUA Congress Student Travel Grant, XVII INQUA Congress, Cairns, Australia, 2007.

Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research, 2006.

Geological Society of America Student Research Grant, 2005.

Geological Society of America North-Central Section Student Travel Grant, GSA, 2005.

Geological Society of America North-Central Section Student Travel Grant, GSA, 2002.

Fellowships
Dean's Dissertation Fellowship, Washington University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, St. Louis, Missouri, 2007-2008.

U.S. National Committee for Quaternary Science Travel Fellowship, XVII INQUA Congress, Cairns, Australia, 2007.

Wheeler Fellowship (summer funding), Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, 2006.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2003-2008.

Recent Accomplishments
Publications (* indicates undergraduate co-author)
"Desert pavement development and landscape stability on the eastern Libyan Plateau, Egypt." Adelsberger, K.A., and Smith, J.R. Geomorphology 107 (2009): 178-194.

"The Kharga Oasis Prehistory Project (KOPP, 2008 Field Season: PART I." Kleindienst, M.R., Smith, J.R., and Adlesberger, K.A. Geoarchaeology and Pleistocene Prehistory: Nyame Akuma 71 (2009): 18-30.

"Iron-Rich Deposits from Extinct Springs: Formation, Modern Analogs and Archaeological Significance." Adelsberger, K.A. and Smith, J.R. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 41.7 (2009): 436.

"Paleolandscape and paleoenvironmental interpretation of spring-deposited sediments in Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt: Catena", submitted. Co-authored with J.R. Smith.

"Geochemical and mineralogic characterization of Middle Stone Age tools of Laetoli, Tanzania, and comparisons with possible source materials", submitted. Co-authored with K.R. Wirth, A.Z.P. Mabulla, and *D.C. Bowman. Paleontology and Geology of Laetoli, Tanzania: Human Evolution in Context 1: Geology, Geochronology, Paleoecology and Paleoenvironment.

"Basin-scale reconstruction of the geological context of human settlement: an example from the lower Mississippi Valley, USA." Co-authored with Kidder, T.R., Arco, L.J., and Schilling, T.M. Quaternary Science Reviews 27 (2008): 1255-1270.

"Climate Change, Landscape Evolution, and Human Settlement in the Lower Mississippi Valley, 5500-2400 Cal. B.P." Co-authored with T.R. Kidder. Edited by Wilson, L., P. Dickinson, & J. Jeandron. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Reconstructing Human-Landscape Interactions, Chapter 5 (2007): 84-108.

"Alluvial Geoarchaeology of a Middle Archaic Mound Complex in the Lower Mississippi Valley, U.S.A." Co-authored with Arco, L.J., L.-y. Hung and T.R. Kidder. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 21.6 (2006): 591-614.

"Report on the 2005 field activities of the Kharga Oasis Prehistoric Project (KOPP)" Co-authored with McDonald, M.M.A., J.R. Smith, A.R. Warfe, and J.M. Kieniewicz. Nyame Akuma 64 (2005): 2-9.

Presentations and Published Abstracts
"Accretionary desert pavements as taphonomic surfaces." Co-authored with J.R. Smith. Paper presented at the third Developing International Geoarchaeology conference at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, 2009.

"Artifact taphonomy on desert pavement surfaces, Libyan Plateau, Egypt." Co-authored with J.R. Smith, S. McPherron, H. Dibble and D. Olszewski. Paper presented at the 74th Annual Society for American Archaeology meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, 2009.

"Iron-Rich Deposits from Extinct Springs: Formation, Modern Analogs and Archaeological Significance."
Paper presented at the Annual Geological Society of America National Meeting, Portland, Oregon, 2009. Co-chaired Technical Session T155, Geochemical Geoarchaeology: Artifacts and Contexts (with C. Fadem).

"Accretionary pavement development and landscape stability on the eastern Libyan Plateau, Egypt." With Smith, J.R. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 40.6 (2008): 318.

"Differentiating lacustrine from paludal environments in Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt." With Kieniewicz, J., and Smith, J.R. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 40.6 (2008): 429.

"ESR analyses for herbivore teeth from Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt: constraining pluvial events in the Western Desert." With Blackwell, B.A.B., Long, B.A., Kleindienst, M.R., Churcher, C.S., Smith, J.R.,
Blickstein, J.I.B., Skinner, Anne R., and Kieniewicz, J. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 40.6 (2008): 386.

"Prehistoric Human-Landscape Interactions (ca. 6000-2500 Cal B.P.) in the Lower Mississippi Valley, U.S.A." With Arco, L.J., T.R. Kidder, A.L. Ortmann, and T.M. Schilling. 13th Belgium-France-Italy-Romania Geomorphological Meeting, Porto Heli, Greece, 2008.

"Spring mound formation and preservation: contributions to the Quaternary depositional history
of Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt." With J.R. Smith. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 39.6 (2007): 38.

"Reconstructing environments of hominin occupation, Western Desert, Egypt, through sedimentologic and geochemical analyses of Pleistocene lacustrine, paludal and spring deposits." With Smith, J.R., M.R. Kleindienst, J.M. Kieniewicz, C.R. Churcher, A. Hawkins, and R. Giegengack. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 39.6 (2007): 344.

"Sedimentology and geomorphology of a Pleistocene Wetland, Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt." With J.R. Smith. Quaternary International (2007): 167-168 Supplement: 5-6.

"Pleistocene pluvial phase landscape evolution and climatic forcing, Western Desert, Egypt."With Smith, J.R., J.M. Kieniewicz, Y.A. Asmerom, V. Polyak, and B. Blackwell. Quaternary International (2007): 167-168 Supplement: 392.

"The geoarchaeology of high-desert archaeological surface survey, eastern Libyan Plateau,
Egypt." With J.R. Smith. 72nd Annual Society for American Archaeology meeting, Austin, Texas, 2007.

"Formation and development of desert pavement surfaces of the eastern Libyan Plateau, Egypt:
Implications for archaeological surface survey." With J.R. Smith. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 38.7 (2006): 234.

"Landscape Change and Human Settlement in the Upper Tensas Basin, Northeastern Louisiana." With T.R. Kidder. 71st Annual Society for American Archaeology meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2006.

"Reconstructing Pleistocene pluvial phase environments, Western Desert, Egypt, from the geochemistry of authigenic water-lain deposits." With Smith, J.R., J.M. Kieniewicz, and V. Heil-Chapdelaine. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta Supplement 70.18 (2006): 599.

"Walking in the footsteps of Gertrude Caton-Thompson and Eleanor W. Gardner: Surveys by Kharga Oasis Prehistory Project (KOPP)." With Kleindienst, M.R., M.M.A. McDonald, M.F. Wiseman, A.L. Hawkins, J.R. Smith, and J.M. Kieniewicz. 18th biennial meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Calgary, Canada, 2006.

"Climate change, landscape evolution and human settlement in the Lower Mississippi Valley,
5500-2400 Cal BP." With T.R. Kidder. 1st Annual Developing International Geoarchaeology conference, St. John, New Brunswick, 2005.

"Geomorphology, stratigraphy and geochemistry of spring-deposited ironstones and associated
sediments, Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt." With J.R. Smith. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 37.7 (2005): 305.

"Provenance of Middle Stone Age tools of the Laetoli Archaeological Site, Tanzania." With Wirth, K.R. and Mabulla, A.Z.P. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 34.6 (2002): 110.

"Mantle source and magmatic evolution of the Late Pliocene Ogol Lava Beds of Laetoli, Tanzania." With Wirth, K.R. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 34.6 (2002): 363.

Field Work
Dhiban Excavation and Development Project, Jordan, 2009-present.

Dakhleh Oasis Project, Egypt, 2004-present.

Kharga Oasis Prehistory Project, Egypt, 2004-present.

Tensas Basing Coring Project, Louisiana, 2004-present.

Abydos Survey for Paleolithic Sites, Egypt, 2005-2008.

Monk's Mound Preservation Project, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois, 2007.

Dubai Desert Survey, United Arab Emirates, 2007.

Mound A Excavation, Poverty Point State Historic Site, Louisiana, 2005.

Olorgesailie Microstratigraphy and Taphonomy Field School, Kenya, 2004.

Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association Geology Field Camp, Montana, 2001.

Laetoli, Tanzania (as part of the ACM Tanzania Program), 2000.

Gottschall Rock Shelter, Wisconsin, 1999.

Campus & Community Involvement
Knox Campus Representative for the Geological Society of America.

Member, Mortar Board, Beloit College.
Member, American Geophysical Union.
Member, American Quaternary Association.
Member, Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Member, Geological Society of America.
Member, Society for American Archaeology.

Member, Phi Beta Kappa.
Member, Sigma Xi.

What Students Say
"Professor Adelsberger is the type of no-nonsense, straightforward teacher I wish my entire college career could be made up of. She always is there to answer questions, but I think the thing that most impressed me about her as an educator was her humbleness--whenever a student asks her a question she is unsure of the answer, she will simply say, ' don't know, but I will find out.' By the next class period, she will have the answer, embellished with visuals, other resources to learn more about the subject, and sometimes more. On top of that, she is amazingly resourceful in the lab and in field experiments, as well as very patient. Fantastic person and teacher."
-Ashley Blazina, Environmental Studies Major, English Lit Minor

Contact
309-341-7274
kadelsbe@knox.edu