Research in Paleoclimate

The major focus of the Paleoclimate group is to use ocean sediments to understand how and why climates have changed at timescales ranging from years to millions of years. Research interests within the department include reconstructing changes in surface and deep ocean circulation, changes in ocean productivity and chemistry, and changes in terrestrial environments. An important component of this research involves developing spatial and temporal records of climate change based on biological, chemical, mineralogic, and isotopic measurements on deep sea sediment samples, corals, and ground water from ancient aquifers. This group is complemented by a number of research scientists based at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and by several of the Department's aqueous and solid earth geochemistry faculty who also focus on paleoclimate studies.