Home

Calendar

Filter

Search

EES Geoscience Seminar Series: Dr. Jessica Oster (Vanderbilt University) "Reconstructing the climate & fire history of the western US using geochemical records from stalagmites"

Oct 18, 2024

03:30 PM - 05:00 PM

Trowbridge Hall, 125 TH

123 South Capitol Street, Iowa City, IA 52240

Save to My Events

"Reconstructing the climate & fire history of the western US using geochemical records from stalagmites"

Much of the western United States is experiencing warmer temperatures, earlier snowmelt, and increased fire activity with anthropogenic climate change. Paleoclimate records from terrestrial climate archives such as stalagmites can provide context for these changes, illuminating global and regional teleconnections as well as feedbacks between climate, vegetation, and fire during pre-anthropogenic intervals. In this talk, I will discuss ongoing work at two western US caves where my group has been using stalagmite geochemical records and cave monitoring to better understand past hydroclimate variability, the relationship between climate and fire, and how these changes and interactions are recorded in stalagmite carbonate. At White Moon Cave in California, we have applied novel calcium isotope and fire biomarker proxies to a stalagmite that grew during the 8.2 kyr climate event to document a link between climate whiplash and fire activity in the California Coast Range. At Titan Cave in Wyoming, Holocene stalagmite records document consistent ties with other Rocky Mountain climate records as well as teleconnections with the tropical Pacific Ocean and El Niño events. An upcoming prescribed burn at the Titan Cave site has provided an opportunity to expand our cave monitoring to incorporate transformations in soil carbon and the soil microbe community which we will track through the burn and subsequent ecosystem recovery.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact in advance at