Bio

I am fundamentally interested in Earth history. I am particularly interested in how climate change, tectonics, and other geological forces have influenced mammalian evolution and shaped the terrestrial sedimentary record. Recently, I have been trying to understand the causes and consequences of Paleogene "hyperthermal" events. These are short-term, large-magnitude global warming events characterized by significant perturbations to the global carbon cycle that had wide ranging effects on continental and marine ecosystems. I use a multidisciplinary approach to address problems and have experience with a variety of paleontological and geological techniques, including magnetostratigraphy, phylogenetic analysis, morphometrics, and stable isotope geochemistry. I maintain a paleomagnetics lab at UNH and have worked throughout the Rocky Mountain region, as well as in Asia (Pakistan, Kazakhstan, China), Africa (Egypt, Tanzania), and South America (Argentina, Venezuela). I am also involved in continental scientific drilling and was the lead PI on the Bighorn Basin Coring Project (BBCP).
Polecat Bench
Brightly colored paleosols at Polecat Bench spanning the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the Willwood Formation, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming (photo by Scott Wing).