Alex's motivation for Precambrian Geology is rooted in the mystery of the origin of life and how a biosphere interacts with a planet's surface environment. He uses a combination of traditional field geology, geochemical analysis, and biogeochemical modeling using the carbon-centric Grid Enabled Integrated Earth system model (cGEnIE) to understand the relationship between life and...
Growing up in Colorado, Jimmy became fascinated by the striking mountainous landscapes that he was lucky enough to explore. This instilled in him a drive to understand the geological and environmental drivers that sculpt these landscapes, otherwise known as geomorphology (“the science of scenery”). Currently, he is studying how sediment supplies that fuel post-wildfire debris...
William is a third year PhD student studying freshwater urban ecology in Kurt Anderson's lab within the UC Riverside Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. His research examines the role of urbanization on freshwater communities, their trophic structure, and the interactions of community members with each other and their environment. This work has direct...
Stable Isotope Sclerochronology of the Late Miocene Oyster Pycnodonte heermanni from the Salton through region, California In the Miocene, southern California experienced extension on a long and relatively straight rift basin parallel to the pre-existing continental margin. This extension and the subsequent detachment of Baja California from North America formed the Gulf of California. By...
Understanding Climate Driven Drought Mortality Across Biomes As the earth's climate continues to change, forests within a diverse set of biomes are experiencing increasingly frequent, severe, and longer periods of drought stress. The continued rise of global temperatures could radically alter the composition, structure, and biogeography of forests in many regions (Van Mantgem, 2007). Recent...
Remote sensing, mobile, and isotopic measurements of methane emissions and nitrous oxide from dairy manure management in the Central Valley of California Dairy farming accounts for a substantial amount of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in the state of California1. Specifically, the Central Valley is home to the nation’s leading dairy industry, with...
The Grape Expectations: Discovering Alternative Strategies for Pest Management Global climate change and rise in population pose a great threat to both our agricultural system and food security. As regions grow warmer, insect populations increase and begin to migrate and invade new production areas, affecting agricultural productivity, and viability. To keep up with humanity's food...
Paleoecology and the Anthropocene at the end of the world: Marine food web and population dynamics in Tierra del Fuego At the intersection between the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans, Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel are physical and biological nexus points that are poised to be highly influenced by climate change. Such changes...
Botanical history and taxonomic revision of the genus Washingtonia Washingtonia (Arecaceae) is an American genus of palms composed of two species, W. filifera and W. robusta. The first one occurs naturally in Arizona, southern California, and north Baja California, while W. robusta is present in the Peninsula of Baja California, from latitude 30" to the...
