CLUMPMAP: Insights into regional patterns of climate change from carbonate clumped isotope thermometry

Abstract:

Carbonate “clumped-isotope” geochemistry is a powerful tool that has emerged for probing the temperature history of surface and subsurface environments. The carbonate clumped isotope geothermometer is based on the abundance of 13C-18O bonds in carbonates. I will discuss new calibration data and applications relevant to the study of terrestrial hydroclimates that are part of a unique program termed CLUMPMAP that is used to educate, recruit, and retain a diverse population to the geosciences. As part of CLUMPMAP, my group and collaborators are studying temperature and water 18O/16O ratios in terrestrial and marine settings, and we have supported several dozen people from high school to postdoctoral level to work on relevant team-based projects. Our work on terrestrial archives has been used within an innovative framework to derive climate parameters of interest including precipitation, evaporation, and humidity, and lapse rates, as well as to assess climate model skill and probe hydroclimate dynamics. This presentation will discuss some of the research highlights from CLUMPMAP made by an emerging group of leaders in the geosciences since 2013 years, and describe a vision for where we can take this work in the future. The work was supported by a NSF CAREER award from EAR and recognized by a PECASE award from President Obama and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.