Previous and ongoing projects:

University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand):

During my postdoc at the University of Waikato, I worked with Dr. Adam Hartland and others in the Waikato Environmental Geochemistry group (see “Links”). I spent time running and developing projects utilizing the University of Waikato’s GeoMIC (Geological Microclimate) cave analogue environment as well as speleothem samples and data from multiple New Zealand caves. Using GeoMIC experimental data, I am investigating carbonate bedrock dissolution and controls on trace elemental ratios in cave drip waters. I also worked with previously collected samples to reconstruct past climate dynamics over the Holocene Epoch from across the latitudinal range of New Zealand. I submitted an unsuccessful Marsden FastStart proposal to fund new lines of inquiry on a New Zealand speleothem that could help reconstruct Southern Hemisphere westerly winds further back in time over the last ice age (MIS 2-4).

University of California, Irvine:

Upon joining the Johnson Lab (see “Links”) when I started my PhD efforts, I was lucky to become involved in ongoing research involving field work and caves in Northern Laos. Dr. Kathleen Johnson has been working in cave in Laos and Vietnam for years, and the primary goal of the project is paleomonsoon and hydrologic reconstruction over multiple timescales using speleothem (stalagmite) samples.

My research focused on an ancient stalagmite and mulit-year monitoring data from Tham Doun Mai, a cave in the Luang Prabang Province of Northern Laos. The sample has been dated to ~38,000 yrs BP (before present), and it is the subject of multiproxy analyses involving several lab members and international collaborations. In addition to reconstructing the hydroclimatic history of the Southeast Asian Monsoon, I used time series data, monitoring information, and modern sampling to investigate the potential interpretations of several geochemical proxies often used in paleoclimate studies. I have worked on:

1. Trace elements in speleothems as hydrologic indicators
2. Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) as a paleoclimate proxy
3. Developing a high resolution, multiproxy record of the 8.2 ka event from Mainland Southeast Asia using stable isotopes (O and C) and trace elements

Work on some of these projects and publications is in progress, and this site will be updated with developments.