Glacier National Park, Montana

We will be working on reconstructing past environmental and geomorphic conditions in Glacier National Park through collection and analysis of lake sediment cores. There is broad interest in the future of our National Park system, particularly Glacier National Park, which is sensitive to climate change through glacial retreat and ecosystem adjustments. This research project is aimed at understanding environmental and climate change in a near-pristine alpine basin in North America, and we will collect data that is very relevant to the debate about climate change in the northern Rockies since the Last Glacial Maximum.

Mongolia

Mongolia occupies a key position for unraveling the complex geologic history of central Asia, which formed through the accretion of “exotic” crustal fragments in the late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic. Students involved in this project will contribute new geologic data about the Gobi-Altai terrane in southern Mongolia – its sedimentary history, evolution of its invertebrate communities, and paleogeographic setting.