Julie Brigham-Grette

  My research interests are focused on the stratigraphy, sedimentology, and chronology of geologic systems that record the climate evolution and sea level history of the Arctic since the mid-Pliocene. Most of my research program is aimed at documenting the global context of paleoenvironmental change across “Beringia”, i.e., the Bering Land Bridge, stretching across the western Arctic from Alaska and the Yukon into NE Russia including the adjacent marginal seas. Starting 3 decades ago with fieldwork on the sea level history and glacial stratigraphy of vast Arctic coastal plains and coastal environments in comparison with regional alpine glaciation, I am now focused on the integration of records from marine and lacustrine systems. I am the US Chief Scientist of the El’gygytgyn Lake Scientific Drilling project, a $10M multinational field program leading to the first unprecedented recovery in 2009 of a 3.6 Myr record of paleoclimate from the terrestrial Arctic.

Research Links: Research website             Lake El’gygytgyn Drilling Project

 

 

Stephen Burns

 I joined the Geosciences Department at UMass in January, 2001 after 11 years at the University of Bern in Switzerland. I was an undergrad at Rice University, and went on to do an M.S. at the University of North Carolina studying carbonate sedimentology and a Ph.D. at Duke University on dolomite geochemistry. My research interests are broad, but mostly fall into two areas: paleoclimatology and sediment diagenesis. My research is aimed at producing quantitative estimates of climate change from continental areas at high enough resolution to be able to determine the driving forces behind climate change at various time scales. My other main research area is investigating the chemical and mineralogical changes that occur in sediments along the way to becoming rocks.

Research Links: Stephen Burns

 

 

Isla Castañeda

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at UMass Amherst. My main research interests lie in on utilizing molecular (organic geochemical) and isotopic proxies to examine past environments. My research interests include: paleoclimate, paleoceanography, organic biogeochemistry, geobiology, paleolimnology and limnology, stable isotope geochemistry, biogeochemical cycles, anthropogenic impacts on the environment, climate variability and hominin evolution. I am also interested in developing and improving proxies for reconstructing past environmental conditions.

Research Links: Biogeochemistry & Molecular Paleoclimatology         Biogeochemistry Lab

 

 

Rob DeConto

Rob’s background spans geology, oceanography, and atmospheric science, and he has held research positions at both the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). His early research used numerical climate models to better understand the mechanisms responsible for past periods of extreme global warmth. In recent years, his research has shifted toward the polar regions- including fieldwork in Antarctica, the development of coupled climate-ice sheet models, and the application of those models to a wide range of past and future climate scenarios.

Research Links: My Web Page

 

 

Tim Martin

Tim Martin is in his sixteenth year as Greensboro Day School’s Earth Science teacher. Although he grew up in several locations around the United States, he always felt most at home in the natural world.      His persistent curiosity led to his undergraduate study of the natural sciences and art. After several years working in non-profit management at Habitat for Humanity, in 1999 he joined the faculty at Greensboro Day School and in 2007 completed his M.S. in teaching Geoscience. Beyond classroom study, in 2009 Tim was selected as a Polar TREC teacher and joined an international scientific research expedition to Lake El’gygytgyn in Siberia. In 2010, he and colleagues from Greensboro Day were selected to fly an experiment on NASA’s zero-gravity research plane. Whether using the latest National Weather Service data for weather forecasting, the most recent seismograms from the USGS for understanding active plate tectonics, or making real-time observations with an internet accessible radio telescope in the classroom, Tim has a passion for teaching real time science.

In his free time, Tim enjoys all sorts of outdoor activities with his family. Frequently on weekends you may find him “up close and personal” with Earth Science while hiking with his wife and rock climbing with his son Thomas and daughter Erin.

Research Links: Adventure Earth Science            PolarTrec