Current and Recent Research and Student Projects

Research Students are currently conducting research on several projects, using the equipment of the rock-and paleomagnetism laboratory and the facilities of the Environmental Sciences Program.  My active and  most projects are listed below. Research students involved in these projects are listed in italics.

Ongoing projects:

• Paleoclimatic studies of lake sediments in Manitoba (Pooja Shakya '11)
   
• Determining the rates of magnetic enhancement from rapidly eroding loessic soils. (Chamae Munroe '10)
   
• Quantification of antiferromagnetic minerals in soils using a combination of magnetic and non-magnetic techniques (W. Colby Tucker '09)
   
• Paleoclimatic reconstructions for the Brady Soil (Emily Quinton '11, Pooja Shakja '11)
   
• The influence of climate on loessic soils in the midwestern United Sates (Jim Bisbee '05, Daniel Scollan '05, Jenny Gragg '07, Alex Masi '08, Saroj Aryal '09, Chamae Munroe '10)

Past projects:

• Time dependence of IRM acquisition as a proxy for superparamagnetic particles (Tamara Machac '06)
  download Tamara's paper here (pdf - 165 kb)
   
• Loss of open space in Wethersfield. (Gary Moffat Jr. '08).
  For our first maps click here (warning 12 Mb ppt).
   
• Paleo- and rock-magnetic analyses of lake sediments from the Wind River range, WY (Craig Schneider '05, Jacques Swanepoel '07)
  for our AGU poster click here (jpeg - 850 kb)
   
• Reconstruction of arctic paleo-environments based on rock-magnetic analyses of lake sediments from Hanging Lake, Yukon Territories.
   
• Magnetic enhancement in loessic soils - effects on magnetic grainsize and mineralogy (Alex Masi '08)
   
• The effects of anthropogenic and natural  change on western Connecticut lakes (Jeff Abrams '04, Megan Connolly '04, jesse Co '06, Ryan Sultan '06 and Elizabeth Rodriguez '06)
   
• Characterization of dust samples from Owens valley, California
   
• Study of Lake Sediments from the Kuskowim Delta, Alaska
   
• Analysis of varved lake sediments from the Wood mountains, Alaska (Dan Scollan '05, Kate Mortensen '05)
   
• Design of a controlled-field electric furnace for rock-magnetic investigations (Jude Kressler '04)
   
• Upgrade of existing electro-magnet for rock-magnetism laboratory (Steven Bonsu '02)

Andy Hatch ('03) measuring water depth at McLaughlin Pond, CT.