Geology students, faculty showcase their work on paleontology and environmental issues

Six graduate students and four faculty members from the bet8九州登录入口 地质科学系 分享了他们最近的研究 美国地质学会 年度会议. 10-13.

Five of the graduate students traveled to Portland, 亚利桑那州, 亲自展示他们的研究成果, while another student joined remotely from 雅典. 他们的演讲范围从回顾地球环境变化的历史到展望解决当前气候问题的方法.

“In today’s society, the negative effects of invasive species are felt around the world. Considering the prevalence of biotic invasions today, it is vital that we understand the effects of these events (in the past),研究生伊恩·福赛斯说. “俄亥俄州地质学研究人员正在进行的工作将有助于填补我们对生物入侵对生态群落的长期影响的认识空白.”

“即使是作为一个硕士生, 我知道我的论文工作很重要，可以为应对气候变化提供额外的缓解战略,研究生托马斯·约翰斯补充道. “One of the reasons I study geology is to address real-world issues, and hopefully make meaningful change through research.”

Going public with what they've discovered

Geology graduate students spend a lot of time working with faculty mentors, 进行实地考察, 写论文, so presenting at the GSA meeting allows them to take their work to a larger audience.

"Conference participation is a fundamental cornerstone of our graduate training 程序. 我们鼓励和指导每个研究生在至少一个国家或国际会议上展示他们的研究生研究, often the 美国地质学会 meeting, 美国地球物理联合会, or specialty meetings in their discipline,” Dr. 艾丽西亚Stigall内特女士教授兼主席.

“展示他们的研究为学生提供了一个与更广泛的社区进行科学讨论的核心机会, 发展他们的简历, network with potential mentors and employers, and really expand their personal knowledge beyond on-campus opportunities,她补充道。. “很多时候，学生们从会议中回来，对他们的工作有很好的反馈，以及如何将自己的研究和职业推向令人兴奋的方向的新想法."

研究 experience is a key part of the success strategy for students in the thesis-based米.S. 地质科学 程序, as graduates generally have 100% placement in either entry-level geoscience jobs or Ph.D. 项目.

"Many of our students go on to careers in environmental geology, 地质调查工作, 或者进入能源领域. 攻读博士学位的学生.D. training are admitted to top 项目 around the country,斯蒂格尔说.

学生们所做的大部分研究都是通过大量的实地考察和在实验室与教师导师相处的结果.

"The master’s thesis is the core experience of the 雅典 M.S. 地质科学专业. 通过他们的论文工作, 学生在两年的课程中进行深入的研究，学习如何提出研究问题, 收集和分析数据, 检验他们的假设, 解释他们的结果, and develop a formal scientific presentation and document,斯蒂格尔说. “By working intensely through the entire life cycle of a research project, students grow into independent scientists, which provides them the foundation for either their careers or beginning a Ph.D. 程序."

 

Looking back: Paleontology and Earth history

“地质科学系的核心优势之一是我们的古生物学和地球历史研究项目. 地质科学的故乡 古生物学小 and teaches all of the paleontology courses at bet8九州登录入口,斯蒂格尔说. “我们的教员 国际合作的领导者,都是 主要期刊编辑，并有 多次获奖 为了他们的工作."

Geology faculty and students research how life on earth has changed through time, and in particular how these changes relate to shifts in environmental conditions, such as the introduction of invasive species, 海平面的变化, 气候变化.

“了解生命如何应对这些类型的变化，对于更好地理解和预测与当前地球系统中正在发生的变化相关的变化非常重要,斯蒂格尔说.

这项工作的影响的一个例子是Ceara Purcell在GSA上关于“生态位进化中的反馈循环”的演讲, 传播, 物种形成:探索上奥陶统东劳伦地区腕足类动物的生态位演化," which was given in an award session called “Future Leaders in Paleontology.珀塞尔获得了M.S. 地质科学 in spring 2021, presented on her thesis work, which was 出版于夏季，斯蒂格尔是合著者. 她的摘要是通过筛选过程被特别选中纳入颁奖环节的, 她获得了100美元的奖金.

"Collecting original data is a central component for every master’s thesis," Stigall added. 对一些学生来说, this data is collected in a laboratory setting, but for many Geological Sciences students, their project involves significant fieldwork. 我们的学生进行实地考察，从俄亥俄州南部当地的古生代岩石到遥远的韩国."

刚刚过去的这个夏天, 福赛斯和詹妮弗·克罗威尔花了几个星期的时间在野外研究暴露的沉积岩, 俄亥俄州西南部的福赛斯, Indiana and Kentucky and Crowell in southeastern Ohio and West Virginia.

克罗威尔展示了她的作品 Dr. 丹Hembree on "阿巴拉契亚盆地宾夕法尼亚-二叠纪河流生物化石组合的气候变化在GSA会议上.

 

Forsythe presented his work with Stigall on "生物对里士满入侵的克拉克斯维尔阶段的反应:一个协同的观点."

“完成我的论文研究, I have had to apply knowledge from a wide variety of courses and learn new methods as well. 这使我成为一个更加自信和独立的研究者，我为进入博士学位做好了充分的准备.D. ”福赛斯说. “参加像GSA这样的会议是一个与你所在学科的其他人分享你的科学的好机会, and a published abstract and presentation are great additions to your CV.”

Graduate student Wolf Clifton also presented at GSA. 他的工作还在继续。”Belemnites of the Nookscak Formation (Washington, USA) and paleogeographic implications."

Dr. 格里高利Nadon詹姆斯·福克斯(James Fox.S. 富兰克林·富吉特是俄亥俄州地质调查局的合作者，他在“凯霍加组黑手砂岩段:密西西比早期大型河流沉积."

And Jonathon Waian showcased his work on "玄武岩熔岩流过一阶近似磁雷诺数和哈特曼数管道的磁流体力学数值研究与讨论."

 

展望未来:环境地质学

"Environmental geology is another core area of strength in our department. 我们的教师和学生专门针对现代社会的关键问题，包括水污染, 沼气排放, and how to improve both the quality and cost-effectiveness of environmental monitoring. Luke Linville and Thomas Johns' presentations at GSA are excellent examples of this work,斯蒂格尔说.

“他们的研究 Dr. 李应锡 (得到韩国政府的支持)包括在韩国湿地收集大量水样，以了解湿地环境如何产生温室气体排放，以及如何准确地开发数值模型来监测其他湿地的情况. 保护水资源和减少导致气候变化的温室气体对我们的现代世界有着巨大的意义,她补充道.

 

约翰斯和李在《表征和建模N₂0 gas dynamics in a groundwater-dependent wetland在GSA会议上.

“论文可以让学生进行对社会有很大影响的现实研究. It is a great experience to build key writing and communication skills," Johns said. “会议提供了交流和发现顶级专业人士惊人研究项目的机会."

Fieldwork for his thesis consisted of a six-week study in a wetland in South Korea. 这项工作的目的是研究影响温室气体产生的环境因素(N₂O), and how biogeochemical cycles may change under the current climate crisis.

 

Linville also conducted research in South Korea.

“我的野外工作包括在暴雨中把你的手臂伸进两英尺深的湿地土壤，以及穿着睡衣在韩国开车时输入Python代码,林维尔说, 他在“通过新的野外和实验室方法量化地下水依赖生态系统的沼气排放."

“我的论文项目让我有机会更多地了解我感兴趣的专业工作环境,林维尔说. “去校外参加学术会议给了我很好的社交机会，也给了我项目的建议，这些建议将在项目最终确定之前被纳入其中. And it allowed me to reflect on how I plan to apply this knowledge in my future career.

“Current and future water systems will need to be evaluated, 监控, and remediated using interdisciplinary approaches,林维尔补充道. “Geological sciences encompass a large breadth of subjects, and its graduate studies has fostered this approach style.”

Stigall notes that the department has a third research focus: planetary geology and tectonics. “我们的第三个分支机构在不同的会议上发表报告(12月的美国地球物理联合会会议或3月的月球和行星科学会议)。, so they aren’t represented in our GSA abstract set, 但我们在这些领域工作的学生和教师也在做令人兴奋和重要的研究."

See all the bet8九州登录入口 presentations at the GSA meeting.