My research interests involve the application of organic
geochemical (biomarker and molecular marker) proxies to lake sediments to
examine past changes in environmental and climatic conditions. I am most interested in developing new
methods and proxies that can improve our ability to reliably reconstruct
the timing and magnitude of anthropogenic impacts on past environments,
ultimately helping improve our ability to effectively disentangling natural
and anthropogenic signals in Holocene paleo-records.
However, my interests are much broader than that, and include: crypto-tephrochronology, paleolimnology,
limnology, paleoclimatology, paleoceanography,
organic biogeochemistry, stable isotope geochemistry, geobiology,
sedimentology, and Quaternary paleoenvironments.
I have worked on a wide range of research projects in
the past, including:
·
Developing 'human' biomarkers that can be
reliably applied to lacustrine sediments as direct proxies for pre-historic
human population dynamics.
·
Development of new and improved methods for
crypto-tephra isolation and quantification in sedimentary records of arctic
lakes.
·
Developing new and improved proxies of
various anthropogenic impacts on past environments using unique molecular
markers.
·
Applications of crypto-tephrochronology
in distal lake sediment records throughout the high-latitude North Atlantic
·
Lacustrine records of Holocene paleoenvironment and paleoclimate
in the Lofoten Islands, NW Norway
·
Multi-proxy reconstructions of paleoenvironmental conditions spanning MIS stages 8-11
using the 3.6 mya sedimentary record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Siberian arctic.
·
Tracing oil pollution related to the Deep-water
Horizon/Macondo well head blowout of 2010 using
hydrocarbon geochemistry to define trends in dispersion, environmental
degradation, and preservation of oil from incident.
·
Characterizing habitat diversity and benthic
ecosystem transitions in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico using ROV
collected video footage.
·
Using in situ methods to study diurnal
community level coral reef metabolism, productivity, calcification and dissolution
rates in Florida Bay and Puerto Rico to better understand future implications
of ocean acidification on reef systems.
