Our lab just got funded from NSF to continue and expand upon our study of marine sediments in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Here’s part of what we’re trying to figure out!

To understand future climate change, we must know how climate varied in the past. One of the biggest unknowns about past climate is the origin of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) variability over global warm-cold cycles. My collaborator, Dr. Matthew Schmidt at Old Dominion University, and I have been funded by the National Science Foundation to address these unknowns.  We will focus on changes in the efficiency of fertilization of the surface ocean, and how, and if, that is related to changes in the deep-ocean. Furthermore, the research will investigate both the "how" of varying carbon dioxide with the "where", namely the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP), an important region of the world ocean where, today, significant CO2 is exhaled to the atmosphere and the greatest rates of phytoplankton growth are found. The project will contribute to an improved understanding of global climate change and important Earth systems connected to the tropical Pacific Ocean. On the broadest of levels, understanding the past dynamics of Earth's carbon cycle is of fundamental importance to inform and guide societal policy-making in an increasing CO2 world. The project will support the educational and professional development of graduate and undergraduate students and results will be incorporated into the curriculum of undergraduate and graduate classes. In addition, a series of YouTube videos will be developed that are aimed at communicating the importance of how past climate variability informs us about climate's future variability and its potential impact on our lives. [LINK]

Dr. Maya Reimi leaves Texas A&M and begins post-doc at University of California, Santa Cruz with Dr. Christina Ravelo!

Maya defended her thesis in March 2018 and starts her post-doc in June 2018.  We'll miss her greatly!