Jon L. Riedel
Overview and Professional Qualifications
Dr. Jon L. Riedel is a National Park Service geologist at North Cascades National Park.
Dr. Riedel’s areas of expertise include geomorphology, glacial history, and glacial mass balance. He has been engaged in research on climate science in the Skagit region since the1980s. Dr. Riedel’s primary focus of research is the glacial history of climate change, including the response of glaciers to modern climate change and the implications of that response for water resources.
Dr. Riedel’s research conducted outside of the Skagit basin includes hydrologic and geomorphic response of the Stehekin River to climate change, glacial history of Mount Rainer and Olympic national parks, geologic history of Lake Chelan, and glacial rearrangement of drainage in the Pacific Northwest.
The areas of management potentially affected by Dr. Riedel’s findings include water resources, floodplains, and geologic hazards.
Research Interests
Listing of Dr. Riedel’s Skagit-specific research interests
- Current status and importance of glaciers as a water resource in the Skagit watershed
- Glacial history of the Skagit Basin and the relationship this history to climate change, geologic hazards, and land use
- Geologic evolution of the Skagit River watershed
- Identification of the Skagit River Channel Migration Zone
- Reconstruction of the Skagit watershed environment during the last ice age, 30,000–12,000 years before present
- Detailed reconstruction of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet
Listing of Dr. Riedel’s other research interests
- Current status of glacial resources at Olympic National Park
- Geomorphology of the North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic national parks
- Geologic evolution of Lake Chelan, including Holocene lake level history
- Hydrologic and geomorphic response of the Stehekin River to climate change
Dr. Riedel has descriptions available of his current research and finished reports.
Education and Credentials
- Ph.D., earth science, Simon Fraser University, 2007
- M.S., geography, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1987
- B.S., geography and biology, University of Wisconsin–LaCrosse, 1982
- Licensed geologist since 2000, state of Washington
Affiliations and Professional Service
- Founding member of the Skagit Climate Science Consortium
- Geologic Society of America
- American Geophysical Union
- American Quaternary Association
- Friends of the Pleistocene
- Ecosystem Technical Committee for the Skagit Envision Project
- Currently serves as an advisor to students on three graduate research committees at Simon Fraser University, Western Washington University, and Prescott College.
Contact information
Dr. Jon L. Riedel
Tel: (360) 391‑8188
Email: riedeljon7@gmail.com
Additional Information
For additional information on Dr. Jon Riedel and to access reports not connected directly to climate change in the Skagit Basin, please visit: www.nps.gov/noca/naturescience/glaciers