Broadly speaking, my research involves the interaction of ice sheets, oceans and the climate system on orbital to centennial time-scales. I am interested in the effects of deglaciation on climate, constructing paleoclimate records, and the role of the ocean in modulating the climate response between hemispheres. I also conduct research in paleo-glaciology looking at the influence of till and the substrate on ice sheet motion, and the development of basal drainage systems. I currently have projects working on the Laurentide and Greenland Ice Sheets addressing the behavior of these ice sheets and their effects on climate over multiple glacial cycles. My approach to research uses a combination of dating methods (cosmogenic dating, radiocarbon), analytical techniques (isotope and trace element analysis, geochemistry), field geology, and conceptual and analytical models. I believe a holistic approach is required to place data into the global picture and vice versa for the applicability of models.

Current Students

Lisa Colville - Geochemical proxies to constrain the extent of the southern Greenland Ice Sheet during the last 5 interglacials

Dave Ullman - Cosmogenic dating of Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat and modeling the radiative forcing of retreat

Kelsey Winsor - Linking ocean temperature changes with southwest Greenland Ice Sheet recession during the last deglaciation using cosmogenic dating and Mg/Ca temperatures

Former Students

Libby Obbink - MS 2009, North American freshwater routing during the last deglaciation and abrupt climate change - Now with Booz, Allen, Hamilton (environmental consultant)