ANDREA R BRUNELLE portrait
  • Research Curator, Utah Museum of Natural History
  • Department Head, Geography Department
  • Professor, Geography Department
  • Co-Director of Research, Rio Mesa Research Station, Vp For Research
801-585-5729

Publications

  • Andrea Brunelle (2022). Interactions Among the Fire, Vegetation, the North American Monsoon and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation in the North American Desert Southwest. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Vol. 10. Published, 04/2022.
  • Isaac Hart, Kaylee B Jones, Andrea Brunelle, Jennifer DeGraffenried, Charles G Jack Oviatt, Barbara Nash, Daron Duke & D Craig Young (2022). Building a master chronology for the Western Lake Bonneville Basin with stratigraphic and elemental data from multiple sites, USA. Radiocarbon. Vol. 64, 69-85. Published, 02/2022.
  • Vachel Carter (2021). Legacies of Indigenous land use shaped past wildfire regimes in the Basin-Plateau Region, U.S.A. Nature Communication. Published, 04/14/2021.
  • Brunelle, A. & Lundeen, Z. J. (2016). A 14,000-year record of fire, climate, and vegetation from the Bear River Range, southeast Idaho, USA. SAGE Publications. Published, 2016.
  • *Morris, J.L., DeRose, R.J., and Brunelle, A.R. (2015). Long-term landscape changes in a subalpine spruce-fir forest in central Utah, USA. Forest Ecosystems. 2:35, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s40663-015-0057-0. Published, 12/24/2015.
  • Le Roux, Peter C., Brunelle, Andrea & Morris, Jesse L. (2015). How can pollen and geochemical evidence from lake sediments provide context for the climate-mediated bark beetle outbreak occurring in Western North America?. Elsevier BV. Vol. 387, 140. Published, 2015.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Minckley, Tom A., Dennison, Phil & Carter, Vachel A. (2015). Holocene variability of a climatic boundary in the intermountain west. Elsevier BV. Vol. 387, 134. Published, 2015.
  • Brunelle, Andrea & Lundeen, Zachary (2015). Complementary seasonal bias in records of Holocene paleoclimate, Bear River Range, Southeast Idaho. Elsevier BV. Vol. 387, 138. Published, 2015.
  • Brunelle, Andrea & Chavez, Vanessa (2015). A ∼14,500 year fire and sediment history of a desert wetland in New Mexico. Elsevier BV. Vol. 387, 134. Published, 2015.
  • Anderson, L., Brunelle, A. & Thompson, R. S. (2015). A multi-proxy record of hydroclimate, vegetation, fire, and post-settlement impacts for a subalpine plateau, central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. SAGE Publications. Vol. 25(6), 932-943. Published, 2015.
  • Minckley, Thomas A., Delgadillo, Jose & Brunelle, Andrea (2015). Using sedimentary records to inform the causes of woody plant encroachment in Southwestern US Desert Grasslands. Elsevier BV. Vol. 387, 134. Published, 2015.
  • DeRose, R. Justin, Brunelle, Andrea R. & Morris, Jesse L. (2015). Long-term landscape changes in a subalpine spruce-fir forest in central Utah, USA. Springer Nature. Vol. 2(1). Published, 2015.
  • Anderson, L., Brunelle, A. & Thompson, R. S. (2015). A multi-proxy record of hydroclimate, vegetation, fire, and post-settlement impacts for a subalpine plateau, central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. SAGE Publications. Vol. 25(6), 932-943. Published, 2015.
  • Morris, Jesse L., Courtney Mustaphi, Colin J., Carter, Vachel A., Watt, Jennifer, Derr, Kelly, Pisaric, Michael F.J., Anderson, R. Scott & Brunelle, Andrea R. (2014). Do bark beetle remains in lake sediments correspond to severe outbreaks? A review of published and ongoing research. Elsevier BV. Published, 2014.
  • Blissett, S., Brunelle, A., Delgadillo, J. & Minckley, T.A. (2014). A long-term perspective on woody plant encroachment in the desert southwest, New Mexico, USA. Wiley-Blackwell. Vol. 25(3), 829-838. Published, 2014.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Nishizawa, Shizuo & Sack, Dorothy (2014). Reply to the comment on “Bonneville basin shoreline records of large lake intervals during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and the Last Glacial Maximum” by S. Nishizawa, D. R. Currey, A. Brunelle, D. Sack [Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 386 (2013) 374–391]. Elsevier BV. Vol. 401, 177-180. Published, 2014.
  • *Morris, J.L., *Watt, J., Courtney Mustaphi C.J., *Carter, V., Derr, K., Anderson, R.S., Brunelle, A. (2014). Do bark beetle remains in lake sediments correspond to severe outbreaks? A review of published and ongoing work. Quaternary International, 1-15. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.022. Published, 04/08/2014.
  • Morris, Jesse L., Brunelle, Andrea, Spencer, Jessica, Power, Mitchell J. & Munson, A. Steven (2013). Holocene vegetation and fire reconstructions from the Aquarius Plateau, Utah, USA. Elsevier BV. Vol. 310, 111-123. Published, 2013.
  • Brunelle, Andrea R., Morris, Jesse L. & Power, Mitchell J. (2013). Holocene vegetation and disturbance reconstructions from the transition region of the Great Basin and Colorado plateau in Utah, USA. Elsevier BV. Vol. 310, 238. Published, 2013.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Currey, Donald R., Nishizawa, Shizuo & Sack, Dorothy (2013). Bonneville basin shoreline records of large lake intervals during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and the Last Glacial Maximum. Elsevier BV. Published, 2013.
  • Asmerom, Yemane, Brunelle, Andrea, Burns, Stephen J., Lundeen, Zachary & Polyak, Victor (2013). A speleothem record of Holocene paleoclimate from the northern Wasatch Mountains, southeast Idaho, USA. Elsevier BV. Vol. 310, 83-95. Published, 2013.
  • Lips, Elliott, Minckley, Thomas A., Brunelle, Andrea & Burnett, Paul (2013). A record of Lateglacial/Holocene environmental change from a high-elevation site in the Intermountain West, USA. Wiley-Blackwell. Vol. 28(1), 103-112. Published, 2013.
  • Asmerom, Yemane, Brunelle, Andrea, Burns, Stephen J., Lundeen, Zachary & Polyak, Victor (2013). A season specific paleoclimate record from a northern Wasatch Mountains speleothem and linkages to the pacific. Elsevier BV. Vol. 310, 236. Published, 2013.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Kipfmueller, Kurt & Watt, Jennifer H. (2013). A late Holocene record of disturbance from the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. Elsevier BV. Vol. 310, 245. Published, 2013.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Seppä, Heikki, Bares, Ryan, Carter, Vachel, Morris, Jesse L., Power, Mitchell J. & DeRose, R. Justin (2013). Using fire regimes to delineate zones in a high-resolution lake sediment record from the western United States. Elsevier BV. Vol. 79(1), 24-36. Published, 2013.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Carter, Vachel A., Dennison, Philip E., Minckley, Thomas A. & Power, Mitchell J. (2013). Regionalization of fire regimes in the Central Rocky Mountains, USA. Elsevier BV. Vol. 80(3), 406-416. Published, 2013.
  • Morris, Jesse L., Macharia, Anthony N., Brunelle, Andrea, Hebertson, Elizabeth G., le Roux, Peter C. & Lundeen, Zachary J. (2013). Organic, elemental, and geochemical contributions to lake sediment deposits during severe spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) disturbances. Elsevier BV. Vol. 289, 78-89. Published, 2013.
  • *Carter, V. Brunelle, A., Minckley, T., Dennison, P. (2013). Regionalization of fire regimes in the Intermountain West, USA. Quaternary Research 80:406-416. Published, 11/2013.
  • Brunelle, A., Minckley, T., Delgadillo, J. and *Blissett, S. (2014). A long-term perspective on woody plant encroachment in the desert southwest, New Mexico, USA. Journal of Vegetation Science 25, 829-838. DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12125. Published, 10/18/2013.
  • A long-term perspective on woody plant encroachment in the desert southwest, New Mexico, USA. Journal of Vegetation Science 25, 829-838. DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12125. Published, 10/18/2013.
  • *Lundeen, Z., Brunelle, A., Burns, S.J., Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V., (2013). Holocene Paleoclimate from a Northern Wasatch Mountains Speleothem: Season Specific Insight into the Hydroclimatic History of the Great Salt Lake Basin. Quaternary International 310:83-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.03.018. Published, 10/2013.
  • *Morris, J.L., Brunelle, A., Munson, A.S., Spencer, J., and Power, M.J. (2012). Holocene vegetation and fire reconstructions from the Aquarius Plateau, Utah, USA. Quaternary International. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.10.055. Published, 10/2013.
  • *Nishizawa, S. Currey, D.R., Brunelle, A. and Sack, D. (2013). Bonneville basin shoreline records of large lake events in Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 386: 374-391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.05.034. Published, 09/15/2013.
  • *Morris, J., le Roux, P., *Macharia, A., Brunelle, A., Hebertson, E., and *Lundeen, Z. (2013). Organic, elemental, and geochemical contributions to lake sediment deposits during severe spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) disturbances. Forest Ecology and Management 289:78-89. Published, 02/01/2013.
  • *Morris J., Brunelle, A., DeRose, R.J., Seppä, H., Power, M.J., *Carter,V., and *Bares, R. (2013). Using quantitative fire regime zones on a high-resolution lake sediment record from southwestern Utah, USA. Quaternary Research 79:24-36. Published, 01/2013.
  • Nishizawa, Shizuo, Sack, Dorothy, Brunelle, Andrea & Currey, Donald R. (2012). Bonneville basin shoreline records of a large lake during Marine Isotope Stage 16. Elsevier BV. Vol. 58, 1-6. Published, 2012.
  • Morris, J. L. & Brunelle, A. (2012). Pollen accumulation in lake sediments during historic spruce beetle disturbances in subalpine forests of southern Utah, USA. SAGE Publications. Vol. 22(9), 961-974. Published, 2012.
  • *Nishizawa, S., Currey, D., Brunelle, A, and Sack, D. (2012). Bonneville basin shoreline records of a large lake during Marine Isotope Stage 16. Quaternary Science Reviews 58:1-6.. Published, 10/11/2012.
  • *Morris, J. and Brunelle, A. (2012). Pollen accumulation in lake sediments during historic spruce beetle disturbances in subalpine forests of southern Utah, USA. The Holocene, doi: 10.1177/0959683612437870.. Published, 03/19/2012.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Blissett, Shawn & Minckley, Thomas A. (2011). Holocene sedimentary and environmental history of an in-channel wetland along the ecotone of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Desert grasslands. Elsevier BV. Vol. 235(1-2), 40-47. Published, 2011.
  • Moser, Katrina A., Brunelle, Andrea R., Sack, Dorothy & Patrickson, Shela J. (2010). Late Pleistocene to early Holocene lake level and paleoclimate insights from Stansbury Island, Bonneville basin, Utah. Elsevier BV. Vol. 73(2), 237-246. Published, 2010.
  • Guzman, B.L., Brunelle, A., Cobabe, S.K., Minckley, T.A. & Blissett, S. (2010). A ∼8000 year fire history from an Arizona/Sonora borderland ciénega. Elsevier BV. Vol. 74(4), 475-481. Published, 2010.
  • Dennison, Philip E., Carter, Vachel A. & Brunelle, Andrea R. (2010). Assessing canopy mortality during a mountain pine beetle outbreak using GeoEye-1 high spatial resolution satellite data. Elsevier BV. Vol. 114(11), 2431-2435. Published, 2010.
  • Morris, Jesse L., Munson, A. Steven & Brunelle, Andrea R. (2010). Pollen Evidence of Historical Forest Disturbance on the Wasatch Plateau, Utah. Western North American Naturalist. Vol. 70(2), 175-188. Published, 2010.
  • Brunelle, A., Minckley, T., Blissett, S., Cobabe, S. and Guzman, B., (2010). An 8000 year fire history of a southwestern U.S. desert wetland. Journal of Arid Environments 74: 475-481. Published, 03/2010.
  • Klopfenstein, G. A., Clementz, M. T., Brunelle, A. & Minckley, T. A. (2009). Isotopic analysis of wetland development in the American Southwest. SAGE Publications. Vol. 19(5), 737-745. Published, 2009.
  • Carcaillet, C., Shafer, D. S., Brown, K. J., Daniels, M., Walsh, M. K., Richard, P. J. H., Anderson, R. S., Long, C., Lavoie, M., Scott, A. C., Power, M. J., Harrison, S. P., Umbanhowar, C. E., Brunelle, A., Higuera, P. E., Tinner, W., Briles, C., Hu, F. S., Bartlein, P. J., Minckley, T., Whitlock, C., Marlon, J. R. & Edwards, M. E. (2009). Wildfire responses to abrupt climate change in North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 106(8), 2519-2524. Published, 2009.
  • Minckley, T.A., M.Clementz, A.R. Brunelle, and G.A. Minckley. (2009). Isotopic analysis of wetland development in the American Southwest. The Holocene 19: 737-745. Published, 2009.
  • Marlon, J., Bartlein, P., Walsh, M., Harrison, S., Brown, K., Edwards, M., Higuera, P., Power, M., Whitlock, C., Anderson, R. S., Briles, C., Brunelle, A., Carcaillet, C., Daniels, M, Hu, F., Lavoie, M., Long, C., Minckley, T., Richard, P., Shafer, D., Tinner, W., Umbanhower, C. Jr. (2009). Wildfire responses to abrupt climate change in North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 106, 2519-2524. Published, 2009.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Bentz, Barbara, Munson, A. Steven & Rehfeldt, Gerald E. (2008). Holocene records of Dendroctonus bark beetles in high elevation pine forests of Idaho and Montana, USA. Elsevier BV. Vol. 255(3-4), 836-846. Published, 2008.
  • Ali, A. A., Anderson, R. S., Ballouche, A., Bartlein, P. J., Beer, R., Behling, H., Bradshaw, R. H. W., Briles, C., Brown, K. J., Brunelle, A., Bush, M., Camill, P., Carcaillet, C., Chu, G. Q., Clark, J., Colombaroli, D., Connor, S., Cordova, C., Daniau, A.-L., Daniels, M., Dodson, J., Doughty, E., Edwards, M. E., Finsinger, W., Foster, D., Frechette, J., Gaillard, M.-J., Gavin, D. G., Gobet, E., Haberle, S., Hallett, D. J., Harrison, S. P., Higuera, P., Hope, G., Horn, S., Inoue, J., Kaltenrieder, P., Kennedy, L., Kong, Z. C., Larsen, C., Long, C. J., Lynch, E. A., Lynch, J., Marlon, J., Mayle, F. E., McGlone, M., Meeks, S., Mensing, S., Meyer, G., Minckley, T., Mohr, J., Mooney, S., Moreno, P. I., Nelson, D. M., New, J., Newnham, R., Noti, R., Ortiz, N., Oswald, W., Pierce, J., Power, M. J., Prentice, I. C., Richard, P. J. H., Rowe, C., Sanchez Goñi, M. F., Shuman, B. N., Takahara, H., Thonicke, K., Tinner, W., Toney, J., Turney, C., Umbanhowar, C., Urrego-Sanchez, D. H., Vandergoes, M., Vanniere, B., Vescovi, E., Walsh, M., Wang, X., Whitlock, C., Williams, N., Wilmshurst, J., Zhang, J. H., Zhang, Y. & Zhao, Y. (2008). Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data. Springer Science + Business Media. Vol. 30(7-8), 887-907. Published, 2008.
  • Whitlock, Cathy, Briles, Christy, Marlon, Jennifer, Bartlein, Patrick, Long, Colin & Brunelle, Andrea (2008). Long-term relations among fire, fuel, and climate in the north-western US based on lake-sediment studies. CSIRO Publishing. Vol. 17(1), 72. Published, 2008.
  • Brunelle, A. & Minckley, T.A. (2007). Paleohydrology and growth of a desert ciénega. Elsevier BV. Vol. 69(3), 420-431. Published, 2007.
  • Brunelle, Andrea, Kim, Tae H. & Cova, Thomas J. (2006). Exploratory Map Animation for Post-Event Analysis of Wildfire Protective Action Recommendations. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Vol. 7(1), 1-11. Published, 2006.
  • Kipfmueller, Kurt, Brunelle, Andrea, Bartlein, Patrick & Whitlock, Cathy (2005). Holocene fire and vegetation along environmental gradients in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Elsevier BV. Vol. 24(20-21), 2281-2300. Published, 2005.
  • Brunelle, A. (2004). Book Review: Fire: a brief history. SAGE Publications. Vol. 14(2), 311-311. Published, 2004.

Research Statement

I am interested in past environments (paleoecology) of the Western United States with an emphasis on:  Fire History, Climate Change, Vegetation Reconstructions (Palynology and Macrofossils), and Long-Term Records of Insect Infestation (Bark Beetles)

RED Lab website: http://www.geog.utah.edu/red_lab

Presentations

  • Brunelle, A., Degraffenried, J., Hart, I., Jones, K. (2022). Paleoenvironmental Data from the West Desert, Utah. AMQUA poster. Presentation, Presented, 06/2022.
  • Brunelle, A., Power, M., Eckerle, W. (2015). A Holocene Record of Vegetation, Fire and the Seasonality of Precipitation for the Bonneville Basin, USA. PACLIM, Asilomar, California. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/10/2015.
  • A Holocene Record of Vegetation, Fire and the Seasonality of Precipitation for the Bonneville Basin, USA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/17/2014.
  • Using paleoecology to better understand archaeological records: past environmental history at Red Fish Bog and Redden Springs, Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/12/2014.
  • Climate driven dynamics in southwestern US desert ecosystems. Invited Talk, Nakama Research Talk, University of Utah Vice President for Research, Salt Lake City, Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/05/2014.
  • Fires and Floods in the American Southwest: Climate Controls on Desert Ecology. Invited Talk, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/09/2014.
  • Using sediments to evaluate woody plant encroachment in the desert southwest, USA. Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL. Presentation, Presented, 04/18/2014.
  • Bark Beetles in the West: Using Paleoecology to Understand Modern Outbreak Dynamics. Invited Plenary Talk, Hot Springs Mammoth Site Annual Meeting, Hot Springs, South Dakota. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/14/2014.
  • Climate driven dynamics in southwestern US desert ecosystems. Invited Talk, Global Change and Sustainability Center Seminar Series, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2013.
  • A long-term perspective on woody plant encroachment in desert grasslands, New Mexico. Abstract and Oral Presentation, SCERP Technical Conference, Tempe, AZ. Presentation, Presented, 04/2013.
  • A long-term perspective on woody plant encroachment in desert grasslands, New Mexico. Abstract and Oral Presentation, PACLIM, Pacific Grove, CA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2013.
  • Using Paleoecological Records to Understand Past Climate. Invited Talk, Atmospheric Sciences Seminar Series, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2013.
  • Brunelle, A. (2012). Invited Panelist, Teaching Climate Change. Great Plains- Rocky Mountain Regional AAG. Panel, Presented, 10/2012.
  • Brunelle, A. (2012). Using Sediment Records to Understand Past Environments. Invited Talk, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Ensenada. In Spanish. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2012.
  • Brunelle, A. (2012). Desert Wetlands in the Southwestern U.S.: Holocene Climate Controls on Form and Function. Abstract and Oral Presentation, AAG Annual Meeting, February, New York City, NY. Conference Paper, Presented, 02/2012.
  • Brunelle, A., Morris, J., and Munson, S. (2011). Using paleoecology to understand spruce bark beetle outbreaks in high-elevation Utah forests. Invited Talk to the Natural Resources Law Forum, SJ Quinney Law School, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/15/2011.
  • Brunelle, A. (2011). Fire in the Desert: Using Wetland Sediments to Tell the Story. Invited Talk to University of Texas-El Paso Geological Sciences and Environmental Science Seminar Series. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/24/2011.
  • Brunelle, A. (2011). What the Past Can Tell Managers About the Future: Using Paleoecological Data to Inform Ecosystem Restoration and Management. Invited Talk, Policy at the Podium, Institute of Public and International Affairs, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/18/2011.

Lab Website

Updates on research, copies of publications and information about students can be found at http://www.geog.utah.edu/red_lab.

Languages

  • Spanish, functional.
    Continuing to study Spanish.

Geographical Regions of Interest

  • Guatemala
  • Mexico
  • Peru
  • Uganda
  • United States of America
    Western United States.