Paleoenvironmental Change
Geology & Geophysics
Geologic records of past environmental variability are necessary to reliably project climatic conditions in the future. Climate changes in the tropics, where most people live, remains poorly understood. Our objective is to develop more detailed records of past climatic changes in this region, including extreme events and ecological responses. Speleothems, or cave formations, are rapidly emerging as critical terrestrial paleo-environmental data archives. We are developing new tools for reconstructing past environmental hazards such as hurricane activity (paleotempestology) and explosive tropical volcanism (tephrochronology). Another area of exploration involves tracing the links between climate, tropical forest carbon cycling, and the sedimentary record in cave systems. In order to address outstanding questions regarding the current dynamics and past behavior of complex cave depositional environments, an integrated approach is necessary. We apply a wide range of tools from the geological, ecological, and atmospheric sciences, in addition to statistical and computer modeling tools. Speleothem-based research is currently focused in the tropical regions of Central America and the Caribbean . Other interests include the New England region and other paleo-environmental archives such as peat bogs, tree-rings, and paleolimnology. Anticipated future projects include Maya geoarchaeology in the Yucatan , stable isotope tropical ecology in Belize