Previous Research

My Master's research was under the direction of Dr. Tracy Frank and Dr. Christopher Fielding and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My project comprises an integrated sedimentological and geochemical study of the Permian-Triassic boundary as preserved in alluvial deposits of the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia. I am looking to better understand causes of this transitionary period, specifically focusing on the continental setting.

Cores for this study were selected to created a north-south transect across the basin and logged for lithology, color, thickness, physical structures, and trace fossils, . Geochemical analyses included X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) which provide elemental concentrations. From that data set I used proxies to infer climate and provenance changes across the P-T boundary.

Major Findings: In this southern high paleolatitude locality, depositional environments, nor fluvial style did not change. Increased continentality (cooler winters, hotter summers) is seen across the PTB. Immediately above the extinction horizons, there is a ponding events that is translatable across major parts of eastern Australia. The globally recognized negative carbon isotope excursion is evident in the Bowen Basin