The University of California, Santa Barbara and the South Coast community lost one of its outstanding faculty and community members with the recent passing of Dr. Edward A. Keller on September 9.

Like many in the UCSB and South Coast community, we knew Ed Keller in multiple capacities — as a valued colleague, collaborator, co-author, and mentor, but most importantly as a treasured friend who readily shared his enthusiasm for life and learning. What impressed so many of those who first made his acquaintance was his generosity and genuine interest in their lives, pursuits, and well-being, along with his quick mind, easy laugh, and the range of his knowledge and interests.

Ed was born in Glendale, California, in 1942 and raised in Southern California, spending his free time as a teenager exploring the rivers, streams, and canyons of the San Bernardino Mountains. Following completion of his undergraduate studies, with a degree in mathematics, Ed took a job as a social worker in California’s Great Central Valley, but he soon developed an interest in its landscape and geology during crisscrossing trips between migrant worker camps. That experience led him to change his career path and return to school to pursue a second degree and advanced work in geology, completing an MS from the University of California, Davis, and a PhD from Purdue University. Before coming to UCSB, Dr. Keller served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina from 1973 to 1976. Ed joined the UCSB faculty in 1976, with a joint appointment in the Department of Earth Science and the newly created Environmental Studies Program, where he served several times as chair of both the Environmental Studies Program and Hydrological Science Program (which he helped establish). He was also an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Geography.

Professor Keller’s lifelong research in the earth sciences contributed to a better understanding of a wide variety of topics, including the role sedimentary and active tectonic and coastal processes play in shaping California’s landscape, particularly the mountains, rivers, and coastline of Southern California. Important areas of research included the function of wildfires in debris flows and the evaluation of landslides. His studies of active earthquakes included their frequency and magnitudes to better understand the potential hazards they posed, particularly within the Santa Barbara region. He also made fundamental contributions to the understanding of river and stream processes, including the formation of pools, and the importance of downed vegetation in forming complex habitats for fish and other aquatic species. As one of his colleagues noted, Ed had a unique ability to recognize research questions from a single site visit and formulate testable hypotheses.

The range of his scientific publications was remarkable — more than 150 scientific papers — covering a broad range of topics, many with practical applications for the management of natural resources. Professor Keller’s notable talent for scientific synthesis was reflected in the authorship or co-authorship of six textbooks covering varying aspects of earth and environmental sciences. He authored one of the most widely used textbooks in environment science, Environmental Geology, as well as a textbook on environmental hazards. He also co-authored, with one of his graduate students, the standard textbook on tectonic geomorphology, Active Tectonics. His knowledge of local and regional landforms and geological processes was shared with the general public through the publication, with the assistance of his wife, Valery, of an accessible and richly illustrated geologic tour of the south coast, Santa Barbara, Land of Dynamic Beauty: A Natural History.

Professor Keller took his teaching responsibilities as seriously as his research. Over the years, he taught courses in Engineering and Environmental Geology; Earth Surface Processes and Landforms; Geology of Yosemite Valley; Introduction to Environmental Science; Coastal Processes and Management; and Form, Process, and the Human Use of Rivers. During the course of Professor Keller’s career, he guided more than 60 PhD and master’s in science students. But he also mentored undergraduates with equal dedication. In an interview toward the end of his life, Ed explained the educational philosophy that had guided his 46 years of teaching and research at the University of California, Santa Barbara: “I strongly believe that the role of education is not to stamp a professor’s mind irresistibly on the student’s, but to stir up their own thoughts and questions; not to make them see with the professor’s eyes, but to look inquiringly and steady with their own; not to impart the student with inflexible dogma or a set amount of knowledge, but to inspire a love for truth; and not to form an outward regularity, but to tap inward springs that result in increased understanding, desire, and ability to pursue creative research and assist others through their own teaching.” The seeds of this philosophy were sown in those early years roaming the San Bernardino Mountains, and as a young social worker contemplating the landscape and geology of the Great Central Valley as he made his rounds between migrant worker camps.

For many years, Professor Keller contributed his expertise to public service, assisting various public agencies and non-governmental organizations, consulting on a variety of environmental issues, and providing expert witness testimony in legal proceedings. With his varied background and research in river processes, he served on one of the National Marine Fisheries Services’ Technical Recovery Teams, elucidating the role of groundwater and wildfire in the recovery of threatened and endangered steelhead along the central and south coast of California. Most recently, Professor Keller organized a research team at UCSB to investigate the nature and cause of the tragic Montecito debris flow of 2018, publishing with colleagues and graduate students seminal papers on processes associated with debris flows and their past and expected frequency along the south coast of Santa Barbara County. 

Aside from his academic work and community service, Ed was an avid fresh- and saltwater fisherman who regularly took friends and colleagues on fishing trips to Lake Cachuma and local coastal waters; he also enjoyed regular walks in Mission Canyon and outings with friends at the Santa Barbara Harbor to enjoy the coastal mountain views and seafood meals at local restaurants.

Professor Keller received many honors, awards, and acknowledgements for his contributions to the geologic profession and to the wider community. In 1982-83, Professor Keller served as the Hartley Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton, England. In 1994, Purdue awarded Professor Keller its Outstanding Alumnus award from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (where one of us, Chancellor Yang, had the pleasure of first meeting Ed). Professor Keller’s contributions to the field of earth sciences were also recognized by his Alma Mater, Fresno State, in 1998, which honored him with a Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2000, he was awarded the Quatercentenary Fellowship from Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. Professor Keller was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, which awarded him the 2004 Don J. Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award. He was also a member of the American Geophysical Union (Hydrology Section).

Professor Keller passed away peacefully after a short illness, with his wife and family by his side, his zest for life undimmed. The lasting influence of Ed’s life and research, teaching, mentorship, and service to UCSB and the wider community will gratefully continue through his published writings, as well as through the continuing work and lives of those he mentored and inspired at UCSB and throughout our global society.

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Henry T. Yang is chancellor at UC Santa Barbara, where James P. Kennett is an emeritus professor of Earth Science, and Mark H. Capelli a retired lecturer in Environmental Studies.

Fri Nov 18, 2022 | 12:00pm

The last time I worked on a story for the Indy about Ed Keller, the UCSB geologist who died in early September, it was the spring of 2019, and he was driving around Santa Barbara, calculating the age of prehistoric debris flows by looking at “neat boulders” — thousands of them. They were still in place, right where they had dropped out of rivers of mud and rock, ages ago.

Ed and his students were measuring the thickness of the oxidized crust or “weathering rind” that had built up on these boulders after they had been scraped clean by the prehistoric flows. Ed said he got so proficient, he could tell at a glance whether their crusts were geologically “young,” of  “intermediate age,” or “very old,” that is, one or two inches thick and cracked like the shell of a turtle, signifying a debris flow more than 100,000 years old.

“You’ll never look at boulders the same way!” he said.

Ed scrutinized boulders at the Botanic Garden; Stevens, Rocky Nook, Oak, and Orpet parks; the county courthouse; Westmont College; in stone walls along Garden and Laguna streets, and down in the canyon behind his home on Las Canoas Road. He found boulders on the Riviera from a flow 125,000 years old, before the Riviera ridge was uplifted by earthquakes. He was so excited, he said it was like hunting for giant Easter eggs.

In the midst of his research, Ed sent me an urgent email: he had had an epiphany!

“Hi Melinda go to south end of Oak Park and see 6 ft high boulder. Go across street into the apartments and see many boulders from Rocky Nook flow. ED Attached is a poem that sums up my philosophy [and] the old saying, I was blind and now I see.

“Until I looked I never appreciated the role of debris flows in our landscape. ED”

                                                  LISTEN TO THE EARTH

Listen to the Earth. It speaks to us and we connect with the wonder and magic of the land
Our listening can remove the mystery, but never the magic
Imagine the mountains as they change with each debris flow, landslide, flood or earthquake
Rocks humming from above and below.
Rumbling from flood, landslide, debris flow or earthquake
with the sound of thunder of an approaching freight train
Forced up to the surface
Fracturing and weathering
Moving ever toward the sea
Go to the wild on a mountain top or along a river, and shout, “Earth Speak to Me”
If Earth doesn’t answer, meditate deeper and ask again
Listen to the Earth it speaks to us All we must do is listen

                                            Ed Keller 6/12/19

That was the thing about Ed: He loved geology and enthusiastically sought to educate all of us about the ground under our feet — an education that has become imperative in the wake of the deadly debris flow of January 9, 2018, in Montecito.

In 2019, Ed showed me the path of a prehistoric debris flow about 1,000 years old that he discovered on Montecito Creek, from Hot Springs Creek to Haskell’s Beach, where the creek once flowed into the ocean. (He believed it was the second-to-last major debris flow in Montecito, though more recent research has challenged that view.) On the beach, we walked over to Bonnymede and looked at boulders from the same event on the lawn of the condominium complex.

As a local reporter, I always looked forward to hearing about Ed’s latest findings: the prehistoric channels intersecting Laguna Street, the 30-foot-deep debris flow deposit under Rocky Nook, the accelerating rate of sea cliff erosion in Isla Vista. One of the books he wrote is titled Santa Barbara, Land of Dynamic Beauty: A Natural History.

It was just a blast to go slogging around with Ed. He was always so upbeat and eager to spread the word. I did my best to keep up with him.

From my files, I’ve unearthed the story I wrote back in 2001 about a debris flow several thousand years old in Rattlesnake Canyon that Ed was studying. Judging from the boulders at Rocky Nook, Skofield, and Oak parks, he said, the flow was one of the largest in Southern California history and “would have sounded like a thousand thunders.” If it happened again, he added, “The loss of life would be catastrophic.”

“You need to be aware that these things happen and have some plans about what you would do,” Ed said — a prescient warning if ever there was one.

I extend my heartfelt sympathy to all of Ed’s family; I will miss my old friend and guide very much.

September 27, 2022

It is with deep sadness that I write to share with you the news that Professor Edward Keller passed away peacefully on September 9, with his family by his side. A foremost expert in geomorphology (surficial processes) and natural hazards, a respected colleague, and an inspiration to all who knew him, Ed served our campus with distinction for 46 years.

Professor Keller joined our faculty in 1976, with a joint appointment in our Environmental Studies Program and our Department of Earth Science. He was also an affiliated faculty member in our Department of Geography. He served several times as Chair of both the Environmental Studies and the Hydrologic Science programs. A beloved mentor and advisor, he guided more than two dozen Ph.D. and M.S. students, and influenced and impacted the lives of countless others.

Before joining UC Santa Barbara, Professor Keller was on faculty at the University of North Carolina from 1973 to 1976. He completed his undergraduate studies in geology and mathematics at Cal State Fresno, earned a master’s degree at UC Davis, and received a Ph.D. in geology from Purdue University.  

Professor Keller’s research resulted in a much improved understanding of changes in surface sedimentary processes, and their history in the local ranges of Southern California. This included the role of wildfires in stimulating debris flow deposits, and the evaluation of landslides resulting from flood hazards, like that which occurred at La Conchita. His studies of the role of active tectonics on sediment deposition included estimates of rates and magnitude to better understand the earthquake hazard for the Santa Barbara region.

For many decades, Professor Keller contributed his expertise to public service and consulting in a variety of environmental issues and cases, including flood hazard, erosion, coastal processes, landslides, and landscape history. He also served for several years on the National Marine Fisheries Service Southern California Steelhead Recovery Program. One of his more recent projects was studying the deadly 2018 Montecito debris flow that followed soon after the Thomas Fire. His extensive research and expert analysis have provided important contributions not just to science, but also to our own community, insights that will help guide future decision-making on natural disaster preparedness and potentially save lives.

Professor Keller had an uncanny ability for scientific synthesis that was reflected by his co-authorship of six textbooks, broadly in the area of environmental earth sciences. He authored the most successful, widely used textbooks on Environmental Geology and about Natural Hazards. He also wrote the definitive textbook on tectonic geomorphology, Active Tectonics. He contributed invited book chapters on a wide variety of topics, and authored more than 100 articles in international journals, governmental reports, and professional volumes, in a remarkable array of seminal works on fluvial processes, tectonic geomorphology, and more. His knowledge of local and regional surficial geology of Santa Barbara County was also shared with the general public through the publication, with his wife, Valery, of an instructive and beautiful book with photographs: Santa Barbara, Land of Dynamic Beauty: a Natural History.

Professor Keller received numerous honors, awards, and recognitions for his contributions to the profession. A fellow of the Geological Society of America, he was awarded the 2004 Don J. Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award from the Geological Society of America. He was also a member of the American Geophysical Union (Hydrogeology Section). He was the Hartley Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton, England, in 1982-83, and was awarded a Quatercentenary Fellowship in 2000 from Emmanuel College at Cambridge University. His stature was also amply recognized by his alma maters, receiving Distinguished Alumni awards from Cal State Fresno (1998) and Purdue University (1996). I was personally honored to first meet Professor Keller in 1994 when he visited Purdue to receive the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

The lasting impact of Professor Keller’s research, teaching, and mentorship, and his contributions to our campus, to the profession, to our local community, and to our global society, will never be forgotten, and will continue through his research and writings, as well as through those he mentored in our campus community and beyond. Our hearts go out to his wife, Valery, and their family, as well as to his many colleagues, former students, and friends. Our campus flag will be lowered in honor and memory of Professor Keller on Tuesday, October 4.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor

This book is an extension of my imagination, training, and wish to communicate the natural history of Santa Barbara where I have lived and worked for several decades. Our children were raised in Santa Barbara, and this book is dedicated to the people of Santa Barbara today and the next generation who will become re- sponsible for the land we love.

The purpose of this book is to present the complex natural history and environment of Santa Barbara within a framework of sustainability.

The book is arranged in six chapters, starting with the geologic history and natural hazards, and then arranged by locations including: Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria, La Conchita, Goleta, Ellwood, and the Santa Barbara Channel. The final chapter of the book discusses sustainability and links between Santa Barbara and the global environment. Of particular importance are the topics of global warming, ecosys- tems, water supply, waste management, energy, and ecotourism.

The book is written to provide a history and understanding of the Santa Barbara landscape and envi- ronment. I also discuss some of the interesting aspects of our landscape, including: the history of Mission Creek; the origin of Skofield and Rocky Nook Parks; the origin of our coastal lagoons and salt marshes; our natural hazards, especially earthquakes, landslides, and wildfire; and long-term management of land and water resources such as Goleta Beach.