After a year of working in isolation, the Summer of 2021 was filled with excitement and collaborative spirit at the Marine and Geology Repository at Oregon State University. This summer, MGR hosted three REU students and two undergraduate students guided by three graduate students and various faculty members. Below is a description of their summer work and links to the GSA abstracts.
REU students
Erin Gregory:
Moving into her final year at Western Washington University, Erin is working with sediment cores from off the coast of Oregon to analyze changes in paleoceanographic conditions in the Northeast Pacific during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. She is looking at oxygen isotopes in planktonic foraminifera from cores OC2006A-23JC/TC, which provides a record of sea surface salinity influenced by the changing Columbia River plume. Erin’s GSA abstract for the Fall 2021 meeting is titled “Paleoceanographic perspectives on Columbia River flow during the Holocene” can be found here. Outside of research and school, Erin loves to read and swim in any body of water she can find.
Celeste Hofstetter:
Celeste is a senior at the University of California, Riverside working with sediment cores off the coast of Washington to explore whether Cascadia margin sediments preserve a paleorecord of the geomagnetic field and if the data can be correlated to other nearby cores and established regional PSV stacks. Celeste’s GSA abstract for the Fall 2021 meeting discusses preliminary paleomagnetic data from two sites (16TC/JC and 18TC/JC) and its correlation to other regional paleomagnetic records. When not researching, Celeste can be found spending time with her children and hiking.
Katie Stelling:
Katie is a senior at Western Washington University who worked with sediment cores from off the coast of Washington to better understand the process and timing of the Cordilleran ice sheet’s final retreat from the Puget Sound region during the Late Pleistocene. Katie’s GSA abstract for the Fall 2021 meeting discusses the timing of two freshwater shut-off events from Grays Harbor, the drainage path for Glacial Lake Russell, which would signify the final ice sheet retreat from Puget Sound. This Conference abstract can be found here. When not in the lab, Katie can be found hiking or taking care of her many houseplants.
OSU Undergraduate Students
Holly Hytrek:
Holly is a 5th year undergraduate student studying the chemical composition of marine sediment cores to better understand the final retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet after the Last Glacial Maximum. The work she will be sharing at this fall’s GSA conference in Portland uses XRF data to identify variations in the chemical composition of sediment cores from different drainage channels of the Cordilleran ice sheet. Compared with physical properties and interpreted on a preliminary chronology informed by paleomagnetic secular variation and radiocarbon dates of planktonic foraminifera, this data will hopefully improve the understanding of the timing and drivers of the final retreat of the Southern Cordilleran Ice Sheet. This abstract can be found on the GSA Connects website or here. Holly enjoys backpacking, soccer, road-tripping, and playing with her two very cute corgi puppies.
Carson Williams:
A senior studying Climate Science and Oceanography at Oregon State University worked to create a paleo proxy for the Pacific Northwest. The goal is to correlate grain size with the prevailing wave climate using NDBC observations. On the Pacific Northwest margin, our current systems are closely tied to the prevailing wave climate. In theory, the size of transported grains will scale to the energy of the bottom currents, thus offering a potential paleo proxy for prevailing wave climate. Carson’s 2021 GSA Abstract can be found here. Outside of the lab, Carson spends most of his free time surfing the Oregon Coast from Astoria to Brookings.
OSU Graduate Students
Jonas Donnenfield:
Jonas is a 1st year Ph.D. student using coastal sediment cores from the Northeast Pacific to understand regional and global paleoceanography and reconstruct past climates since the Last Glacial Maximum, focusing on analogs for future warming. Jonas’s GSA Fall 2021 abstract explores the origin, expression, and duration of hypoxic events that cause oxygen minimum zones on the Pacific Northwest continental margin. These events have recently intensified globally, especially in Oregon’s coastal waters with a warming climate and increased nutrient loading. This research conducts multiproxy analyses, including XRF and bulk solution geochemistry, foraminiferal faunal assemblages, and radiocarbon geochronology, on a suite of cores from cruises OC2006A and OC1706B. When not diving into the past, Jonas loves to stay present by rock climbing, painting abstract landscapes, playing cello, and advocating for science education and climate policy.
Deepa Dwyer:
A 3rd year Ph.D. student works with sediment cores from the Gulf of Alaska to generate a regional chronology based on paleomagnetic data and examine environmental magnetic parameters of the records. Deepa’s GSA abstract will highlight the similarities and differences observed in Siku event 1 at three sites (U1417, U1418, and U1419) from IODP Expedition 341. The Geological Society of America’s 2021 conference abstract can be found here. When not researching, Deepa enjoys cooking and playing video games.
Lindsey Monito:
Lindsey is a 2nd year geology master’s student working to refine the chronology of marine sediment cores from the eastern South Pacific using paleomagnetic data to evaluate the timing of physical property variability, likely related to advance and retreat of the Patagonian Ice Sheet. Lindsey’s GSA abstract for the Fall 2021 meeting discusses the relative paleointensity record of sediments from IODP Site U1543, its relationship to other regional, global paleomagnetic records, and the characteristics of hypothesized glacial and interglacial intervals. When not in the lab, Lindsey can be found working on her embroidery or hiking.