Laboratory and field experience
Throughout my postgraduate studies and postdoctoral research, I've gained substantial experience in the entire procedure required to measure cosmogenic nuclides - from collection of samples in the field, to the isolation of quartz and cosmogenic in situ C-14, Be-10, and Al-26. Teaching others in the methods described below is one of my favourite aspects of working within academia and research. My field experience spans from pole-to-pole, having spent a semester studying at the University Centre in Svalbard, Norway, and the 2022/23 Antarctic field season camped next to Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica.
Laboratory experience
Imperial College London (2021-present)
At Imperial, I'm the Deputy Lab Manager of the CosmIC Laboratory. I have gained experienced in the following:
Isolation of quartz from >100 samples, including crushing, milling, sieving, magnetic separation, froth flotation, and acid (HCl, HF, NHO3) etching.
Testing quartz purity and Be carrier concentration with inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).
Extraction of cosmogenic Be-10 and Al-26 through isotope dilution chemistry.
Preparation of cathodes for final AMS measurement.
Manual neutralisation of waste acid (mostly HCl, HF, and HNO3).
Data reduction (Be-10 and Al-26) (from measured isotope ratios to concentrations and exposure ages).
Formal training and supervision of graduate students in the above methods.
Generation of laboratory purchase orders.
Risk assessment and standard operating procedure development.
Tulane University (2015-20)
At Tulane, I was first introduced to many of the above laboratory methods as part of my PhD. Rather than long-lived nuclides, my PhD research focussed on another nuclide, in situ C-14. To facilitate my PhD research, I helped my advisor build, maintain, and develop the world's first fully automated in situ 14C extraction (from quartz) line. As a result, I have experience in the following:
Extracted carbon from >200 samples of quartz, for my own PhD research as well as for many external collaborators.
Isolation of quartz from whole rock from probably >150 samples (including the same methods above).
Preparation of graphite cathodes for final AMS measurement.
Preparation of laboratory standards (sent with samples to AMS).
In situ C-14 data reduction.
Manual transfer of liquid nitrogen between tanks.
Trained students (graduate and undergraduate) and postdocs in all of the above methods.
Keele and MacEwan universities (2014-15)
For my MSc in Geoscience Research (2014, Keele University), I spent many hundreds of hours picking forams from marine sediment core samples from Arctic Canada for identification and radiocarbon dating. I gained experience in:
Processing of sediment core samples
Use of light microscopy to pick and identify Arctic species of foraminifera.
Preparation of foram samples for radiocarbon dating, TOC, and oxygen isotope analyses.
Field experience
Antarctica, 2023. Over one month spent camping next to Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, collecting subglacial and subaerial bedrock for cosmogenic nuclide analysis. Undertook a fortnight of pre-deployment fieldwork training, including polar first aid.
Alaska, 2017 (pictured). Three weeks near Denali National Park working as a field assistant for a fellow Tulane PhD student. Extensive experience collecting samples for cosmogenic nuclide analysis (surface and burial dating), geologic mapping, battling Alaskan shrubbery, and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Norway, 2016. A week spent collecting geologic samples for cosmogenic nuclide analysis on the island of Utsira.
California, 2015. A week of training in the collection of samples for cosmogenic nuclide measurements from alluvial fans in the Mojave Desert.
Svalbard, Norway, 2011 (pictured). Four months spent living in the Norwegian High Arctic. Multiple excursions (camping with travel by boat) including the study of glacier mass balance, sediment outcrops, snow pits, and glacial landforms. Used a Schmidt hammer to relatively date a series of moraines for a term project.
