https://themablab.net/home daily 1.0 2021-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1613157291264-YQHBUL9MZU2VLP7OSDO6/BiomarkersAreCool.jpg Home (original figure by Dr. Sammy Katta) https://themablab.net/research daily 0.75 2021-06-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1613519519715-3WVFB2MJIR64S0Z3Z44W/Plant+leaf+flush.jpg Research - Biomarker Proxy Development and Calibration With no direct measurements of past precipitation, we use the δD of leaf waxes to study past water cycle variability. The utility of this proxy is rooted in our mechanistic understanding of the modern water cycle and what “translation” the proxy provides, helping to parameterize uncertainty in sedimentary leaf wax δD reconstructions of past precipitation. Our work is aimed at unraveling the biological and environmental factors that influence the leaf wax δD from the isotopic signature of precipitation. We are examining high latitude settings (see recent publications: Berke et al., 2019; O’Connor et al., 2020) and are beginning new work on eastern African tropical vegetation and precipitation. We are also working to refine microbial membrane lipid proxies, using soils, precipitation, and collected environmental variables. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1613340521423-N8GESB3BR3N5Z787FJTM/Expedition+361+Scientists+and+Cores.jpg Research - Southern Ocean Fronts The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 361 (Southern African Climates) focused on the Agulhas Current, a critical component of ocean circulation, moving warm, saline waters in the Mozambique Channel, around the southern African “gateway.” We sailed on Exp. 361 and are working on a series of projects (Pliocene – present) to generate biomarker records of sea surface temperature, marine primary productivity, and salinity south of Africa (Site U1475). We are exploring global circulation variability and frontal migrations, with implications for Southern Ocean expansions, iceberg distributions, and ocean CO2 uptake. See recent publications: Starr et al., 2021; Tangunan et al., 2021; Cartagena Sierra et al., 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1613514060773-UVA5RIVOF5ZX60HJM15M/Lake+Malawi+vista.jpg Research - Eastern African Paleoclimate Often referred to as the ‘engines of the global water cycle,’ the tropics are particularly important places to reconstruct past climate, as they are the origin of global heat redistribution. We work on a variety of marine and lacustrine sites around eastern Africa to examine the spatial heterogeneity of climate variability, landscape change, and climate drivers. We are generating multiproxy biomarker records to reconstruct hydroclimate, temperature, terrestrial vegetation and burning, and aquatic community changes from sediment archives spanning the Late Miocene – present. We are also interested in exploring the climate/environment relationship to hominin evolution and migrations as well as the influence of more recent climate patterns on society. See recent publications: Koutsodendris et al., 2020; Taylor et al., 2021 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1613694045483-Z6CWVA56M4NS1U0QFPJ2/Italian+outcrop+rhythmic+bedding.jpg Research - Mediterranean Paleoclimate The eastern Mediterranean region has a well-established record of hominin inhabitance and dispersal, with a climate sensitive to both high and low latitude dynamics. We are investigating the role environment and climate variability in the region may have played in hominin dispersal to Eurasia and in shaping early Mediterranean civilizations. Further, we are using biomarkers to explore how sensitive aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems may have been to hominin occupation and societal upheaval in the region. Using sediment cores from the Aegean and Adriatic seas, and from Greece, we are examining eastern Mediterranean climate and environmental variability from the Pleistocene – present. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1613603996048-DCB1G6HWO0WXVTM6CC8X/Peten+Itza+Vista.JPG Research - Neotropical Paleoclimate Lake Petén Itzá (Guatemala) represents a key spatial node for understanding climate variability between the equatorial tropics and subtropical North America. We are creating biomarker reconstructions from drill core sediments, and examining the mechanisms driving regional climate using proxy-model comparison work. These records will improve our understanding of tropical to high latitude linkages in the evolution of Neotropical climate during the Pleistocene. We have also begun new work on sediments from Lake Izabal (Guatemala) that will serve as a nearby site to explore regional climate variability. (Photo: J. Obrist-Farner) https://themablab.net/contact daily 0.75 2021-02-20 https://themablab.net/people daily 0.75 2024-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1604114048129-WJZU6T7WHDJ9MO0GYQYY/Melissa+Berke.jpg People - Dr. Melissa Berke (she/her) I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to my time at Notre Dame, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the Global Change and Sustainability Center at the University of Utah. I earned my PhD from the University of Minnesota at the Large Lakes Observatory, my master’s degree from the University of California Riverside, and my bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College. I am broadly interested in understanding paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental change, using isotopic and organic geochemical proxies from lacustrine and marine sediments over a wide range of timescales and locations, but am particularly captivated by the tropical water cycle and associated landscape variability. In my free time, I love to travel, hike/backpack, and enjoy live music. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/266b7a80-265e-4b9a-8831-fa3e548b4cdc/image%282%29.png People - Dr. Ross Williams Dr. Ross Williams is a Laboratory Manager Scientist in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. He joined Notre Dame in the Spring of 2022 after spending five years at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a postdoc in the Solar System Exploration Division. There, he worked primarily on the Mars Curiosity Rover's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument (SAM) preparing experiments and analyzing mass spectrometry results in the search for evidence of Martian organic processes. Prior to that, he received his Ph.D in Geochemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology reconstructing past terrestrial environmental conditions in extreme climates using a biomarker approach, When not in a lab, he is an avid photographer and enjoys exploring the outdoors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1631015955462-N7IVG1I3WZJBCX81JFI1/Mirko+Uy+MAB+LAB+website.jpg People - Mirko Uy Mirko is a PhD student from the Philippines. Being surrounded by the sea, he was always very interested in the marine realm ever since childhood. He finished his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of the Philippines studying geology. He studied the biostratigraphy and past productivity of an International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) site in the South China Sea using microscopic calcareous nannofossils for his masters. His interests outside research are cooking, pottery, and beekeeping. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1631016476496-Z47432XYVQYIKL9V16HH/Kayla%2BHollister People - Kayla Hollister Kayla is a PhD student born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Geological Sciences from the University at Buffalo. As an undergrad, Kayla became fascinated by Arctic climate change, and used this as motivation to pursue a senior thesis, where she reconstructed Holocene precipitation seasonality on western Greenland using leaf wax hydrogen isotopes. During her Masters, Kayla’s focus shifted towards understanding the preservation of modern aquatic and terrestrial leaf waxes in lake sediments on southern Baffin Island. When she’s not working on cool science stuff, Kayla enjoys hiking through the woods, reading, listening to music, and talking about anything Buffalo-related. https://themablab.net/lab daily 0.75 2021-02-15 https://themablab.net/publications daily 0.75 2021-06-26 https://themablab.net/get-started daily 0.75 2020-09-29 https://themablab.net/get-started/p/relationship-with-you-cntnl monthly 0.5 2020-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ced8e1d5fd4c700018dd761/1560189874730-3B0TSLDUHTQ93497V3L8/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Large_844934A.jpg Get Started - Relationship with You https://themablab.net/get-started/p/relationship-with-youothers-3bmzm monthly 0.5 2020-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ced8e1d5fd4c700018dd761/1560190004400-XTA0DF0S9WOZJUG994C8/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Original_845035.jpg Get Started - Relationship with You+Others https://themablab.net/get-started/p/relationship-with-others-b4282 monthly 0.5 2020-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ced8e1d5fd4c700018dd761/1560189982811-KFAJF1TCUH1SXZ827UMC/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Large_844923.jpg Get Started - Relationship with Others https://themablab.net/photos daily 0.75 2020-10-30 https://themablab.net/photos/project-five-l8djb monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726532260-UEE6B74NFJSO6LFQ6PR5/image1.JPG Photos - Other fun Graduation with one of the first lab undergraduate researchers, Christa Costello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726553655-31QWCDMZ7NIM87KYV09G/IMG_1663.JPG Photos - Other fun Group antics https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726528833-IUWM0DH8BVZU0244H9RU/Berke+gives+boat+tour+to+ND+students.jpg Photos - Other fun Ship to shore video classroom tour https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726561908-LOCG5FVR3GXNH2R40JFX/IMG_3503.JPG Photos - Other fun Celebrations! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726571561-GE91KLWXACCSQEVAEISS/IMG_3760.jpg Photos - Other fun Holiday spirit, lab style https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726590628-GXI7JX6QT48TU308CTOX/IMG_4050.JPG Photos - Other fun Birthday cupcakes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726589235-TRKAMVWIRSBDLJMS455P/IMG_5834.JPG Photos - Other fun Alejandra Cartagena-Sierra at IsoCamp with IsoPopes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726594100-VN85AIP2T2748OYJ42T9/IMG_5889.JPG Photos - Other fun Collaborators Andreas Koutsodendris and Caramela work with Audrey Taylor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726687783-7PL5AOV6E5FAKCQGCQGU/IMG_6780.JPG Photos - Other fun Lab hang out with REU student Floyd Nichols https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726725870-FTZSVSHO477JPAMSGJ4L/IMG_4589.JPG Photos - Other fun Lab shenanigans https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726747392-FUXEFDUO3YKLQWH76EAP/IMG_5398.JPG Photos - Other fun Darren Cheah going away gathering https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726620234-HOEI0J448SY7U3LPD030/Keith+Poster.jpg Photos - Other fun Keith O'Connor presenting at AGU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726619768-UTOKDGIEEY9T38BD875V/Lab+Candle.jpg Photos - Other fun Recycled lab jar candle https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726649517-FIPYADM8C615619WNYNJ/Cameroon2014+233.JPG Photos - Other fun Water sampling and training, Cameroon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603939107726-C5XVX0Q2S8VMJMEG5U1M/niceelephant3.JPG Photos - Other fun Eastern Africa field work perk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603939127396-Y9Z8ZUTSOF0B0GL45KT5/bowling.JPG Photos - Other fun Fierce bowling competition https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/98dde7ee-7f56-4fea-b2b7-1bec8a871597/21731374_1973307146292071_277373411535430505_n.jpg Photos - Other fun Lab outing to indoor mini golf https://themablab.net/photos/project-four-et6y5 monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603979405789-QWSCSSHXIBYMOFCQ1I5E/IMG_2909.JPG Photos - In the field Piston coring in the Adriatic Sea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602902401702-HOYIU5CXLXXL4CA8H9BM/ND+grad+student+Alejandra+in+safety+immersion+suit+training.JPG Photos - In the field Alejandra Cartagena-Sierra in her gumby suit (Photo: Tim Fulton) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602902421671-WMDKCB03GXYV7KK7CI4M/Summer2014+184.JPG Photos - In the field Coring a Maine bog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602902576522-XCSLO3D70QZOZ2MLZ3X2/IMG_2962.JPG Photos - In the field Melissa Berke sampling core on the R/V Meteor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602902510808-9DJJMA7ZVBQRE9FP03DW/Malawi.jpg Photos - In the field Crew and scientists of the R/V Ndunduma (Lake Malawi) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602902493426-H538HBG02OCNA8WTPF3R/IMG_0971.JPG Photos - In the field Melissa Berke and Keith O'Connor on the Dalton Highway, Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726036100-2T40LSVCF0PUE48KVNR4/coring.jpg Photos - In the field Lake Superior sediments https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602902466991-9UFNSORAAU86CTKBUC7K/meteor.jpg Photos - In the field R/V Meteor out in the Mediterranean Sea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603979460997-H69NC32A1F1TL0G8XWKW/IMG_1500.JPG Photos - In the field Keith O'Connor sampling in Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726185266-GOL89KSVA2CLHTR1WF12/AFQUA.JPG Photos - In the field Kenyan landscapes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726072249-MTUE9KAD44QM38WIA4AL/IMG_1334.JPG Photos - In the field Collaborator Lori Ziolkowski (U. of South Carolina) and Melissa Berke in Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1604026926343-D01QKMJ1YD6JTAGW36A6/Meteorcoring.jpg Photos - In the field Multi-corer (Photo: Hernan Campos) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726142030-2QDRHJ6S3GDSJOON7S0W/Maman+Benita+06+016.jpg Photos - In the field Core recovery in Lake Tanganyika https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726175713-MI4DLQ7A72LLW2DDOU0X/_C8U1700.jpg Photos - In the field Women aboard the Joides Resolution for IODP Expedition 361 (Photo: Tim Fulton) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726052148-ZR643B5X0XVXFQJ0NHTY/First+view+of+Joides+Resolution+in+Mauritius.JPG Photos - In the field IODP R/V Joides Resolution, in port in Mauritius https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603726221599-4F71LPBB7A5VSJZLP2Z0/Alaskapanoramic.JPG Photos - In the field Alaskan vistas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603984834165-3T4KD9Z2MA3GML4NXYQD/IMG_1244.JPG Photos - In the field Core recovery in Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603984888814-63XJ7YK66XF57400PRZ8/Picture5.jpg Photos - In the field Field trip to the UP, Michigan https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/e3efc23b-6c16-4e1e-a808-627abe026d9e/Cape+Town+first+land+seen+in+2+months.JPG Photos - In the field Cape Town, South Africa (first land seen on Expedition 361 in 2 months!) https://themablab.net/photos/project-one-p5gma monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682305155-TYGVGU6OUBOV2X2AQ61F/Audrey+and+the+GC.jpg Photos - In the lab Audrey Taylor gets excited for GC results https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682518422-XBN8JRMUOXWW40ZD3LIK/IMG_3651.JPG Photos - In the lab Teal columns https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682325655-0GO15L4D8TY3SOFBOHKA/IMG_2945.JPG Photos - In the lab Sampling aboard the R/V Meteor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682369276-J5A9RRR3SDW21MH7H4OV/IMG_7294.JPG Photos - In the lab Kyle Walker prepares samples https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682385005-ZW8Z7C9AKURUABKJJ5WV/Samples.jpg Photos - In the lab Core sampling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682452655-F5MF8B5UEM6F44HLC0OL/2014+CEEES+11.jpg Photos - In the lab Closer look https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682470614-28DZ715ZJ3HDFXUB57VM/IMG_1722.JPG Photos - In the lab New signage outside the labs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682490841-W0RRYAMTKYOIPHXRY69A/IMG_3619.JPG Photos - In the lab Check out those column colors https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682497901-D17CQ7K98U368VE2C44F/IMG_1729.JPG Photos - In the lab New samples arrive! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1602615366264-IREFBPIYRKGC0IXCN6A0/2014+CEEES+13.jpg Photos - In the lab Michael Tillema in the lab https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682556661-JNC56R204BXGJ2AYXQPF/IMG_6117.JPG Photos - In the lab Audrey Taylor prepares cores for sampling https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603682631192-R2DJ329HI54S4MW8PO5J/IMG_6102.JPG Photos - In the lab Core laminations https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603725702352-PCU8MKJPSYQI3V5YYYXV/361_0097.jpg Photos - In the lab Alejandra Cartagena-Sierra assists collaborator Rebecca Robinson (U. Rhode Island) in pore water sampling https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f73bdcfb43a982332eea92c/1603755271905-26EST18I8BE1ROH208VS/ND+grad+student+Alejandra+points+out+important+feature.JPG Photos - In the lab Alejandra Cartagena-Sierra in sedimentology lab aboard the Joides Resolution