Ten Scientific Papers
Listed below are full citations to a sample of ten of my scientific papers selected less for their scholarly impact than for their topical and chronological range within peer-reviewed journals. They are listed from most recent to oldest. Each date is followed by a SUBJECT IN CAPS, a general title and italicized comment in dark red ink, the full citation in black, and an internal link to a PDF in blue. I provide these under my interpretation of “fair use” copyright law. For all other articles, link to Curriculum Vitae.
2014 – NEW WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY – Alluvial Contexts: This paper offers a counterintuitive stratigraphic model for the postglacial archaeology in the Connecticut River Valley that can be applied to any hydraulically transiently dammed reach. Thorson, Robert M., Daniel Forrest, and Brian Jones, 2014, Hydraulic back-flood model for the archaeological stratigraphy of the Connecticut River Alluvial Lowland, central Connecticut, USA. Quaternary International, v. 342, August 2014, Pages 173-185 (DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.026). For an internal PDF, link to: 2014 QI Adraiens Geoarch
2012 – OLD WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY – Flint Taphonomy: My recent journal articles involve collaboration with graduate students. This one concerns the chemical alteration of flint artifacts. Glauberman, Philip J., and Thorson, R. M., 2012, Flint Patina as an Aspect of “Flaked Stone Taphonomy”: A Case Study from the Loess Terrain of the Netherlands and Belgium. Journal of Taphonomy, v. 10, issue 1, p. 21-43. For an internal PDF, link to: 2012 PP FlintTaphonomy
2010 – RIPARIAN ECOLOGY – River Discontinuum: River channel morphology is not as simple as we assume. Beavers play a critical role. And New England streams were never that continuous anyway. Burchsted, Denise, Daniels, Melinda, Thorson, Robert, and Vokoun, Jason, 2010, The River Discontinuum: Applying Beaver Modifications to Baseline Conditions for Restoration of Forested Headwaters. Bioscience, December 2010, v. 60, No. 11, p. 908-922. For an internal PDF, link to: 2010 AIBS Discontinuum
2008 – ARCTIC ARCHAEOLOGY – Nogohabara Site: The geological processes associated with the formation of archaeological sites has long interested me. This work involves my helping Alaskan colleagues. Holmes, Charles E., Ben A. Potter, Joshua D. Reuther, Owen K. Mason, Robert M. Thorson, and Peter M. Bowers., 2008. “Geological and Cultural Context of the Nogahabara I Site,” American Antiquity 73 (4), 781-790. For an internal PDF, link to: 2008 SAA Nogahabara
2000 – EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE – Glacial Tectonics: This invited review sums up a decade worth of ideas involving the link between glaciers and tectonism. Thorson, R.M., 2000, “Glacial Tectonics. A Deeper Perspective,” Quaternary Science Reviews, V. 13-14, p. 1391-1398. For an internal PDF, link to: 2000 PG GlacialTectonics .
1999 – BIOGEOGRAPHY – Biografia de Darwin: My only paper published in Spanish resulted from my visit to La Isla de Chiloe, where the young Darwin was seriously perplexed by the contrast in vegetation on either side of the glacial limit. Thorson, R.M., 1999, “El limite glacial in Sudamerica y su papel en Biografia; Observaciones de Darwin,” Ciencia al Dia Internacional (an internet journal), No. 4, Vol II, Dec. 1999. For an internal PDF, link to: 1999 CD Biogeografia
1998 – ANTHROPOCENE – Colonial Wetlands: New England’s wetlands are hardly pristine, as this exhaustive case study shows. Thorson, Robert M., Andrew. G. Harris, Sandra. L. Harris, Robert Gradie III, and Michael W. Lefor, “Colonial Impacts to Wetlands in Lebanon, Connecticut,” in Welby, C.W., and Gowan, M. E., Eds. A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences: Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America Reviews in Engineering Geology vs. XII, 1998), p. 23-42. For an internal PDF, link to: 1998 GSA Colonial Wetlands Lebanon
1995 – PALEOCLIMATOLOGY – Deglacial Eolian Regimes: Dune sedimentology, lacustrine spit orientation, and ventifact distribution verify the presence of a strong anticyclonic circulation during deglaciation. Thorson, R.M. and C.A. Schile, 1994, “Deglacial Eolain Regimes in New England,” Geological Society of America Bulletin, 107: 751-761. For an internal PDF, link to: 1995 GSA Schile DeglacialEolian
1991 – ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY – Edwin Way Teale’s “Wilderness”: Connecticut’s most illustrious 20th century naturalist, Edwin Way Teale, chose not to see the Anthropocene impacts of his own backyard landscape. Thorson, R.M. and S.L. Harris, 1991, “How “Natural are Inland Wetlands? An Example from the Trail Wood Audubon Sanctuary in Connecticut, USA.” Environmental Management, 15: 675-687. For an internal PDF, link to: 1991 SV Teale Wetland
1977 – GEO-ARCHAEOLOGY – Dry Creek Site: The geology of one of Alaska’s most important archaeological sites is described. Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., 1977, “Geology of the Dry Creek Site; a Stratified Early Man Site in Interior Alaska,” Quaternary Research, 7, 149-176. For an internal PDF, link to: Z 1977 QR DryCreekSite