Yellowstone's environmental history

Climatic and ecohydrologic variability of the Northern Range during the Holocene based on multiple proxy evidence

A high-resolution record of drought variability for the Northern Range will cover the last 2000 years in detail and extend back to the Holocene and beyond. Drought history will be based on a reconstruction of the fire activity, lake-level and lake chemistry, erosion inputs, and vegetation at decadal intervals, as well as an understanding of how these proxies relate to changes in moisture regime at present. The collective goal is to better understand the Holocene environmental history of northern Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone Ecological Research Center (YERC) NASA Grant

The Yellowstone Ecological Research Center (YERC) has been funded by NASA to conduct a non-traditional internship program titled Beyond Hayden: Exploration, Inspiration, and Education in Yellowstone. The program is designed to (a) inspire and educate future scientists and science educators, to (b) increase the use of NASA ESE resources in STEM education, and to (c) set the foundation for a long-term national program for servicing Native American and rural American communities. The Scope of Work for MSU is conducted by student interns under the direction of Dr. Whitlock.

Student interns working under this program employ NASA data in field work for Earth, biological, and ecological science research projects. This work is carried out in conjunction with teams from YERC, the Earth Sciences Department at MSU, the interpretive arm of Yellowstone National Park, and the Biodiversity Conservation Divisions of Turner Enterprises, Inc., Student researchers have the opportunity to work with private, federal, or academic remote sensing scientists, ecologists, geologists, hydrologists, biostatisticians, engineers, and biologists.