Kendra Clark
Contact Info:
Micropaleontology Lab
Room 252
Margulis Lab
Room 322
Morrill Science Center
Department of Geosciences
University of Massachusetts
611 N. Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
T: 413/ 545-2593 - Micropaleo Lab
T: 413/ 545-3244 - Margulis Lab
F: 413/ 545-1200
Areas of Interest
Current Research
Micropaleontology, Biostratigraphy, Paleoecology, Paleoceanography
LATE CAMPANIAN-MAASTRICHTIAN PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY, TAXONOMY, AND ISOTOPE PALEOECOLOGY OF ODP SITES 1209 AND 1210, LEG 198
Currently, knowledge of the Cretaceous climate history is based on a limited number of oxygen isotope data points from few sites and this is especially the case for the tropical Pacific Ocean. Data obtained from well preserved and diverse assemblages of late Campanian and Maastrichtian age planktic foraminifera from ODP Sites 1209 and 1210 along a 1500-m depth transect of Shatsky Rise in the North Pacific provides a high-resolution study of planktonic foraminifera needed to better understand Cretaceous climate history. Results are compared with other detailed studies from the South Atlantic (Abramovich and Keller, 2003) and the North Atlantic-Blake Nose (Tur and Huber, 2007) in order to compare assemblage composition and biostratigraphic ranges between ocean basins, and constrain paleobiogeographic provinces of latest Cretaceous time. The first detailed documentation of planktic foraminiferal species’ life histories based on stable isotope analyses will be presented. These data are invaluable for estimating ancient sea surface temperatures and reconstructing nature of the upper water column, including thermal stratification and productivity. New information and SEM images created for the taxonomic dictionary will be uploaded to the Mesozoic Planktonic Foraminifera Online Taxonomic Dictionary, a NEPTUNE database, hosted by CHRONOS.
“Geologic time is the intellectual theme that connects a wide variety of research endeavors in geoscience – missing is the corresponding cyberinfrastructure that allows the resources of all these endeavors to be pooled. CHRONOS’s (Greek: time) purpose is to transform Earth history research by seamlessly integrating geoscience databases and tools (www.chronos.org).”
NEPTUNE and the Mesozoic Planktonic Foraminifera Online Taxonomic Dictionary
NEPTUNE is a relational database hosted by CHRONOS. NEPTUNE contains the occurrences of over 9,000 plankton species names (nannofossils, foraminiferas, diatoms, and radiolarians) in Cenozoic and Mesozoic samples of more then 300 DSDP and ODP drillholes from all ocean basins. It contains quality controlled micropaleontology and stratigraphy data from DSDP-ODP for taxonomic and evolution studies.
The Mesozoic Planktonic Foraminifera Online Taxonomic Dictionary (http://portal.chronos.org/gridsphere/gridsphere?cid=res_taxondb), a NEPTUNE database is a relational database of microfossil occurrences reported in DSDP and ODP samples. The Mesozoic Planktonic Foraminifera Online Taxonomic Dictionary allows users to access a variety of taxonomic data for any individual species including morphological characteristics, description, first and last occurrences (stage, zone, and Ma), geographic distribution and similar species. The database also includes images of species and publishing authors.
For addtional information on CHRONOS and its resources to to: www.chronos.org.
Masters Candidate and Student Editorial Assistant
MARGULIS LAB
MASTERS WORK
Kendra is a graduate student in the Geosciences Department working with Dr. Mark Leckie on Late Cretaceous foraminifera. Her Masters work focuses on the biostratigraphy, paleoecology and paleooceanography of Late Cretaceous foraminifera from tropical Pacific ODP Sites 1209 and 1210 at Shatsky Rise. New isotopic and micropaleontological data presented from these sites will provide insight to the response of the tropical Pacific to the dramatic and transient climatic events which marked the end of the Creataceous particularly the Mid-Maastrictian Event (MME) the well-known impetus of the Inoceramid bivalve extinction.
CHRONOS
Part of my Masters project has involved working with the CHRONOS project. Specifically, I have identified “high-quality” species occurrences of nannofossils, foraminiferas, diatoms and radiolarians from DSDP and post-leg 135 ODP volumes for upload to the NEPTUNE database. I have most recently uploaded information to another CHRONOS hosted database, the Mesozoic Planktonic Foraminifera Online Taxonomic Dictionary. Complete information (General, Time/Space, Morphology/Paleobiology, and Size) and 23 high-quality images were entered for 11 species belonging to 3 genera (Gansserina, Hastigerinoides and Ticinella). In addition, a total of 90 high-quality images for an additional 41 species belonging to 11 genera were uploaded to the database.
In addtion to my graduate studies, I work as a student editorial assistant for Lynn Margulis where I assist in manuscript preparation while working in close collaboration with co-authors, contributing scientists and publishers. Previous work includes, Kingdoms and Domains - Illustrated Phyla of Life (4th ed. of Five Kingdoms: An illustrated guide to the phyla of life of Earth) Academic Press, New York, 2008, L. Margulis and M. Chapman (submitted). I am currently working on the 2nd edition of, Handbook of Protoctista: The structure, cultivation, habitats and life histories of the eukaryotic microorganisms and their descendants exclusive of animals, plants and fungi. Jones and Bartlett, Boston, 2008, L. Margulis and M. Chapman (in prep.)
MORE ABOUT ME
Kendra, Gary and Brady, Flume Gorge, 2008
Mt. Washington, 2008
Kilauea lava flow, 2004
Mauna Loa “Death March, 2004
St. Paddy’s Day, Spring Training, Ft. Myers, 2007
When I’m not working in either of my labs, I enjoy spending time at home in the Berkshires where my husband Gary owns a B&B. Our son Brady was born last December and we are fully enjoying being new parents. In addtion to spending time with my family, I love hiking, gardening, reading and of course, the Red Sox.
White Horse Inn, Pittsfield, MA
Kendra also received her Bachelors of Science in Geology from UMass. Her senior research focused on the brittle fracture history of the Piedmont rocks of the Central Appalachians exposed in a spectacular outcrop just below the Holtwood Dam on the floor of the Susquehanna River (http://ddm.geo.umass.edu/ddm-holtwoodpa/index.html).
In addition to her graduate work, Kendra works as a student editorial assistant in the Margulis Lab currently assisting in the second edition of the Handbook of Protoctista.
Updated 6/10/2009