Research

Cave monitoring

Cave monitoring lays the foundation for interpreting the geochemical signatures preserved in speleothems. Data from cave monitoring helps "calibrate" geochemical measurements to climate and environmental parameters.

Click here to read about my work monitoring Titan Cave in northern Wyoming.

Past climate reconstruction

Speleothems are mineral deposits in caves which serve as amazing archives of past terrestrial climate. The age and growth history of speleothems can be determined at high resolution, and their geochemical makeup can reveal clues as to what precipitation and climate was like while they formed. In my own research, I focus on speleothem reconstructions of past climate in Wyoming, California, and Utah. I also collaborate on projects in the Caribbean (Curaçao) and southeast Asia (Philippines).

Check out this piece in High Country News featuring field work in Wyoming:

How a hidden cave can help scientists understand the climate - High Country NewsSometimes learning about the past to figure out the future requires crawling beneath tons of rock.

Experimental novel proxy development

In my research I am always striving to uncover new and more effective ways to learn about past climate. Through a collaboration with researchers at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, I use "cave analog" experiments to precipitate calcite under known climate conditions. I then measure the ratios of three oxygen isotopes in the calcite. My goal is to understand how these isotope ratios change in response to shifts in temperature and atmospheric CO2.

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