Coupling of Ocean-Climate and Paleoecologic Change
How do marine zooplankton (i.e., planktic foraminifera) respond to abrupt environmental change, such as rapidly rising temperatures and ocean acidification? What can the fossil record of extreme climate events reveal about the future of our oceans? Under this theme, we investigate ancient global carbon cycle perturbations to better understand how our oceans, atmosphere, and marine biota will respond to our currently changing climate.
Paleoproxy Development Through Modern & Historic Oceanographic Sampling
To draw interpretations from paleorecords, it is necessary to establish connections between geochemistry and/or ecological signals and specific environmental conditions. Several projects in our lab are focused on developing foraminiferal-based geochemical and ecological paleoproxies in marine and estuarine environments.
Secondary Influences on Paleoclimatic, Ecologic, and Sedimentological Interpretations
In the paleo-sciences it is critical that we are able to parse out true primary environmental signals from secondary influences in paleorecords. We work to investigate how secondary mechanisms such as diagenesis and sediment mixing can interfere with paleoclimate and paleoecologic interpretations, and create methods for working around these potential biases. We also examine how methodological approaches can create biases in interpretations drawn from paleorecords.
Signals of Provenance, Paleoclimate, and Redox in Mudrocks
Mudrocks are the most abundant yet understudied sedimentary rocks on the planet. Though they can appear to be "boring", the geochemistry and sedimentology of mudrocks can provide insight into past records of climate and hydrology, redox conditions, and changes in sediment sources. Some of our research seeks to characterize signals of provenance, paleoclimate, and redox housed in ancient mudrocks to better understand their depositional history and identify potential controls on organic matter preservation in black shales.
Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences
Geoscience is one of the least diverse STEM fields. Our lab seeks to improve scientific and higher education environments to support the experience of community members from all identities and backgrounds. Here we outline a few initiatives and community projects that in which we have worked to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences.