PhD, 1979, University of Chicago
My current research has several related foci: one is centered on the modeling of past
climate (especially moisture balance) using sediment record in extant and ancient lakes; the
second focus is aimed to gain a better understanding of processes that 'connect' climate to
proxy records of climate preserved in lake sediments; and the third is relating sediment
characteristics (grain size variation, mineralogy, bulk chemistry) to reconstruct landscape
hydroclimate (floods) and tectonic events (earthquakes). The topic of the second focus might be
called “how lakes see climate”. For example, groundwater may have a significant effect on a
lake's hydrological and hydrochemical budget and thus influence the geochemical signature of
carbonates formed within the lake. The habitat and the timing of the moulting of ostracodes also
affect the geochemistry of the shells because most lakes do not have constant or uniform water
temperature or chemistry year round. I like to work collaboratively with other researchers who
are experts on hydrogeology, sediment transport processes, regional climate modeling,
diatoms, ostracodes, or pollen so that we, as a group, have several lines of evidence to
reconstruct past conditions and processes. The third (and most recent) interest is sediment
transport within lakes. Current NSF IES project in Southern Patagonia is presenting me with
many opportunities to learn new things.
Alison Smith (Kent State Univ) and I are shepherding an expected to be a long and
convoluted process of securing funding for a drilling project focused on Pliocene lakes of
Western North America (PLIOWEST). Pliocene was warmer than today and yet supported
several large permanent lakes in areas that are arid to semi-arid today. All target lakes are no
longer extant. The first planning workshop occurred in mid-February on Campus. A revised
workshop proposal incorporating specific suggestions from last submission to ICDP was funded
and a rescheduled workshop in a hybrid mode is planned for September 2021.