Discipline: Geosciences

My research interests lie in developing a better understanding of the climate system using theory and data to explore past changes and possible futures.

My group carries out research in computational geodynamics to provide a basis for interpreting geological and geophysical observations made on local, regional, and global scales. Our goal is to understand how plate tectonics works, how plate tectonics and deep mantle flow are related, how and why mantle convection evolves over long time periods, and how … Continued

I do research on seismic and electromagnetic fields and waves in complex Earth media. My research spans forward and inverse modeling, data analysis and processing for subsurface imaging with an emphasis on characterization and monitoring of reservoirs, especially for applications to continuous monitoring of carbon sequestration in geological reservoirs. My research group, the Wave Physics … Continued

As the Earth’s atmosphere warms, its climate is moving towards a state unlike any recorded by instrumental data. The change is affecting all major elements of the climate system, from the deep ocean to the stratosphere, and from the tropics to high latitudes, which presents a host of challenges and unresolved questions to the scientific … Continued

Metabolic activity imparts diagnostic stable isotopic signatures into biomass and geochemical phases in the environment. In my research, I use the stable isotopic signatures of carbon and sulfur species to reconstruct the presence and activity of specific metabolic pathways and processes in natural environments. Specifically, these measurements are used to probe (micro)-biological activity and its … Continued

The rock record reveals that life has been a conspicuous part of our planet for at least the last 3.5 billion years, and thus, the history of the Earth is inseparable from the history of life on Earth. We study the coevolution of life and Earth surface environments through diverse and fundamental transitions in Earth … Continued

My focus is on reconstructing the supercontinents that preceded Pangea: Rodinia (900-700 million years ago) and Nuna (1600-1400 million years ago). I use paleomagnetism, the magnetic directions preserved in ancient rocks from the time that they formed, to map the locations of continental fragments through time. My work has elucidated long-term characteristics of Earth’s magnetic … Continued

My research centers on development and application of noble gas geochemistry techniques to a diverse range of terrestrial and solar system questions. Specific focus areas include geochronology and thermochronometry using the (U-Th)/He system, surface exposure dating with cosmogenic isotopes, evolution of Earth’s mantle and atmosphere from analysis of volatiles in rocks, and identification of major … Continued

My research program focuses on understanding the large-scale physical and chemical behavior of the Earth and other planets through experimental study of geological materials under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. Our group uses both static and dynamic compression experiments to explore crystal structures, phase relations, kinetics, and mechanical properties of materials at conditions that … Continued

My group’s research is most noteworthy for its exploration of the isotopic structures of molecules, which record the mechanisms, conditions, and substrates of molecular synthesis or history of reaction for virtually any compound, and can serve as highly specific forensic ‘fingerprints’. Our contributions include invention of enabling technologies, study of fundamental chemical principles governing molecular … Continued