Earth's "deep-time" sedimentary record houses climate states dramatically different from our modern or recent worlds. My research is primarily field-based, but I collaborate with colleagues at OU and elsewhere in using geochemistry, geochronology, magnetism, and climate modeling as applied to the sedimentary record to refine our understanding of climate and linked processes. The late Paleozoic world (~300 My ago) captures my interest because it archives Earth's last great "icehouse" and the collapse of that icehouse, glacial-interglacial climate swings like those of the recent, global mountain building that culminated in the Pangaean supercontinent, and perhaps the dustiest atmosphere in the planet's history. Working with students and colleagues, my current research includes (1) investigating hypotheses of equatorial alpine glaciation and orogenic (mountain) collapse in parts of the Central Pangaean Mountains, (2) gauging dustiness of the late Paleozoic atmosphere and possible effects on the biosphere and carbon cycling, (3) high-frequency, glacial-interglacial climate change, and (4) assessing physical and chemical weathering trends in various climate systems. For more details, please visit my personal webpage.
