Students and professors at Colgate carry out geologic research exploring a wide range of topics at locations around the world.
In addition to research studies run by Colgate professors, the department is also a member of the , a multi-college collaboration that opens up a broad range of research opportunities for both undergraduates and faculty members. Students involved in Colgate or Keck-related research often travel with their research adviser to their study locations in order to gain firsthand field experience.
Africa
- Aubreya Adams studies the origin and evolution of the East African Rift System, and its relationship to the African Superplume and researches the origin of the enigmatic Cameroon Volcanic Line.
Mars
- Joe Levy is prospecting for glacier and permafrost ice deposits on Mars that might contain traces of past habitable environments or that could be used by future explorers using satellite and rover data.
Antarctica
- Amy Leventer does extensive climate change research on the East Antarctic Margin.
- Joe Levy studies the sediment, water, and ice in Antarctica鈥檚 Dry Valleys to understand the connections between climate change, hydrology, and life in extreme environments.
Gal谩pagos Islands
- Karen Harpp researches the volcanic processes and history of the Gal谩pagos.
Eastern North America
- Aubreya Adams investigates the seismicity and crustal structure of the Adirondack Mountains.
- William Peck studies metamorphic and igneous rocks in Quebec, New York, and New Jersey to determine the tectonic history of Eastern North America
- Paul Harnik studies the impacts of human activities, in particular eutrophication and climate change, on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico by comparing live populations with the remains of historical populations preserved in seafloor sediments.
Western North America
- Joe Levy is measuring the flow rate and internal structure of debris-covered glaciers in Alaska and the mountain West to determine how changing temperature and precipitation is encoded in glacial landscapes.
- Martin Wong's work in the southwestern United States aims at gaining an understanding of the mechanics of metamorphic core complexes.
- Aubreya Adams uses seismic data recorded along the southern Alaskan margin to determine how upper mantle structures and dynamics relate to spatial variability of earthquake and volcanic behaviors.
Student Theses
Student research is a significant feature of our undergraduate curriculum that often leads to presentations at professional meetings and publications in scientific journals. To qualify for honors in geology, 闪电资源网s must complete a year-long senior thesis, the culmination of a research project usually started the summer before their senior year. Following is a list of theses completed by Earth & Environmental Geoscience 闪电资源网s in recent years.
Aidan Kennefick
Advisor: William Peck
Constraining Deformation and Metamorphism in the Cheney Mountain Shear Zone, East Adirondack Highlands, New York
Jacob Norton-Scherer
Advisor: William Peck
Post Irene Mineralogical Inventory of Cascade Slide, Adirondack Mountains
Natalie Urban
Advisor: William Peck
Petrology of Gedrite-Cordierite-Garnet Gneiss from the Front Range, CO
Eric Widrick
Advisor: William Peck
Carbon Sequestration at the Valentine Wollastonite Mine in Lewis County, New York
Gisele Tjan
Advisor: Joe Levy
Spectroscopic Investigation of the Jarosite-Bearing Region of Mawrth Vallis to Constrain Ancient Aqueous Processes on Mars
Vivian Klemmer
Advisor: Karen Harpp
The Eruptive and Geochemical History of San Crist贸bal Island in the Gal谩pagos
Rylie Berwanger
Advisor: Alison Koleszar
Tracing Magma Mixing Through Plagioclase Papulations at Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Madison Cammarata
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Environmental Correlates of Life History Variation in Cupuladriid Bryozoans Across a Modern Productivity Gradient
Flannery Hogan
Advisor: Joe Levy
Slope Area Relationships for Martian Gullies
Emily Pfaff
Advisor: Joe Levy
Hypersaline Soil Solutions from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica as Analogs for Freeze Resistant Martian Near-Surface Pore Water
Riley Taylor
Advisor: Joe Levy
Thermal Properties of Alvord Desert Soils: Remote Detection of Soil Moisture in Mars Analog Sediments
Ryan D'Errico
Advisor: Alison Koleszar
Reconstructing Eruption Intensity at Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Alexa Russo
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Diatoms as a Proxy for Mid-to-Late Holocene Oceanographic Change
Vivian Adelman
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Temperature-dependent Variation in Egg Size in Marine Protobranch Bivalves
Will Aspinwall
Advisor: William Peck
Geochronology of Anorthosites and Ferroan Granitoids of Grenville Inliers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Chris O'Connell
Advisor: William Peck
Rare Earth Element Analysis of Adirondack Anorthosite
Katie Victor
Advisor: Joe Levy
Water at Work or Sediment on the Slide: Slope/Area Relationship at Channel Heads of Martian Gullies
Ian Andrews
Advisor: Joe Levy
Where Does It Come From, Where Does It Go: Antarctic Watershed from Above and Below
Morgan Cecil
Advisor: Joe Levy
Hamilton under a Salt: Salinization of Surface Waters and Municipal Water Supply
Amelia Rastley
From Rock to Reef: How Geological Substrates Shape Coral Reef Ecosystem Health - Insights from Fieldwork in Fiji
Jane Carskaddan
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Evaluating Molluscan Microstructure as a Proxy for Environmental Conditions in Coastal Oceans
Riley Farbstein
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Evaluating the Effects of Anthropogenic Eutrophication on R. amianta in the Gulf of Mexico
Jessica Wen
Advisor: Aubreya Adams
Surface Wave Tomography and Radial Anisotropy of the Alaskan Subduction Zone
Tom Richards
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Investigation of the Eastern Gal谩pagos: A Geochemical Comparison of Espanola and San Cristobal Islands
Keiona Williams
Advisor: Alison Koleszar
Augustine Volcano: Analysis of Past Eruptions and Magma Mixing through Trace Elements
Henry Lin
Advisor: William Peck
Origin of Iron Deposits in the Adirondack Mountains
Drew Hindall
Advisor: William Peck
Geotourism and Education at the Gore Mountain Garnet Mine, Adirondack Mountains
Juan Gomez
Assessing Geochemical Dynamics in the Kern River
Sophie Naylor
Impacts of Different Soil Management Practices on Carbon Stores in a Central NY Farm
Izzy King
Advisor: Joe Levy
Ca-Cl Brine Formation in McMurdo Dry Valleys Water Tracks: Evidence of cation-exchange-driven brine chemistry dependent on depth, micoclimate zone, and organic matter
Tommy Subak
Advisor: Joe Levy
Volumetric Analysis of Martian Chaos Terrain
Lingfeng (Gary) Kuang
Advisor: Joe Levy
Ister Chaos: Mapping, Geometric Analyses, and Evaluation of Potential Formation Models
MC Rapoza
Advisor: Joe Levy
Early Inner Solar System Conditions Recorded in Ordinary Chondrite NWA 14756
Charlie Filipovich
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Assessing Live-Dead Shifts in Molluscan Functional Diversity in Coastal Alabama
Victor Unnone
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Cupuladriid Bryozoan Life History Varies with Primary Productivity in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Jacob Steinberg
Advisor: William Peck
Carbon Isotope Perspective on the Origin of Graphite Deposits in the Adirondack Mountains
Matthew King
Advisor: William Peck
A Geochemical Analysis of Graphite-Bearing Pegmatites in the Adirondack Mountains
Jessica Zehner
Advisor: Alison Koleszar
The 1100 y.b.p. Eruption of Tephra C at Augustine Volcano, Alaska: Variations in Eruptive Style and Magma Source at an Intermediate Arc Volcano
Abigail Melican
Advisor: Alison Koleszar
Changing Explosivity Through Time: Textural and Geochemical Analysis of Large Eruptions at Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Alexa Trubiano
Advisor: Aubreya Adams
3D Shear Wave Imaging of the Alaskan Subduction Zone
Luke Calderaro
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Eutrophication on Marine Ecosystem Dynamics in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Sadie Kasten
Advisor: William Peck
Wollastonite Weathering and Carbon Sequestration at the Valentine Mine (NY) and in Experiments
Celia Meyer
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Assessing the Spatiotemporal Effects of Anthropogenic Eutrophication on Marine Bivalve Life Histories in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Olivia Quartz
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Examining Fragilariopsis kerguelensis Rectangularity in Eash Antarctica as a Proxy for Reconstructing Paleoclimate
Evie Unger-Harquail
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Evaluation of Fragilariopsis kerguelensis asa Paleotemperature Proxy on the Sabrina Coast
Jeri Stoller
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Geographic Variation in Shell Preservation Across the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Fairuz Ishraque
Advisor: Joe Levy
Martian Glacial History from Region-Based Convolutional Neural Network Analysis of HiRISE Image Data
Jessica Johnson
Advisor: Joe Levy
Hidden Habitability in Antarctica: Assessing Salts as Constraints for Organic Matter in Martian Analog Water Tracks
Bronson Cvijanovich
Advisor: Joe Levy
Surface Change in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys: Mapping Dynamic Rivers in Unvegetated Ice-rich Soils
Martin Welych-Flanagan
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Stable Isotope Signatures of Middle Devonian Brachiopods: A Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis
Sydney Walters
Advisor: Aubreya Adams
Seismic Imaging of the Alaskan Subduction Zone
- Isabel Dove
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Exploratory Holocene Climate Records from Edward VIII Gulf, Kemp Land Coast, East Antarctica - Patrick Matulka
Advisor: Joseph Levy
Rounding and Comminution Rates of Ice Clasts Using the Titan Tumbler: Fluctuating Circularity and Stepped Mass Loss - Samuel Timothy
Advisor: William Peck
Geochemical Analysis of Wollastonite Skarn Rock from the Lewis Deposit, Adirondack Mountains - Mark LaPan
Advisor: William Peck
Stable Isotope Geochemistry and Calcite-Graphite Thermometry of Marbles in Lewis and Oak Hill Wollastonite Skarn - Shae Labbe
Advisor: William Peck
Formation of Calcite Veins in Wollastonite Ore from the Lewis Deposit: Insights From Textures and Chemistry - Michelle Tebolt
Advisor: Joseph Levy
Slope, Elevation, and Thermal Inertia Trends of Recurring Slope Lineae - Faith McDonald
Advisor: William Peck
Passive Carbon Sequestration at a Wollastonite Mine: Mineralization: X-Ray Diffraction Analysis - Victoria Arnold
Advisor: William Peck
Passive Carbon Sequestration at a Wollastonite Mine: Stable Isotope Analysis - Adam Coles
Advisor: Joseph Levy
Sea Ice Recession in Relation to ANWR Oil Potential: Decreasing Summer Ice Coverage Adds Additional Drilling Concerns - Monica Dimas
Advisor: Joseph Levy
Madison County Watershed Chemistry - Natalie Kozlowski
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Radiolarians as Proxies for Oceanographic Change Along the East Antarctic Coast - Allison Callanan
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Identifying Microplastics in Antarctic Marine Sediment: The Amundsen Sea and the Northeastern Antarctic Peninsula - Hayley Pearson
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Magma Chamber Evolution in the Gal谩pagos - Adrian Heath
Advisor: Joseph Levy
How Does Water Deposition Occur in the Driest Soils on Earth?: Salt and Sediment Properties of Hygroscopic Soils in Antarctica/li> - Chelsea Jacques
Advisor: Joseph Levy
Characteristics of Boulder Halos on Mars: Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere - Sara Gillis
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Education Modules and Curriculum Guides on the Geology of Eleuthera,The Bahamas - Camila Loke
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Searching for Pleistocene Glacial-Interglacial Cycles in the Southeast Indian Ridge
- Erica Nathan
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Here Comes the Sun: Multi-Line Spectral Analysis of Solar Flares - Alexander Taylor
Advisor: William Peck
Isotope and Geochemical Analysis of Adirondack Anorthosite and Implications for Massif Emplacement History - Julia Barcello
Advisor: William Peck
Formation of Wollastonite Ore from the Lewis Deposit: Insights from Garnet Chemistry - Lily Daggett
Advisor: William Peck
Chemical Zoning in Garnets from the Lewis Deposit, Adirondacks - Regina Pimental
Advisor: Karen Harpp
San Cristobal, An Early "Plumer": An Analysis of the Evolution of Magma Plumbing Systems in the Galapagos Archipelago - Meghan Duffy
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Diatom proxy record of Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, Sabrina Coast, East Antarctic Margin - Lily Ganske
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Diatom proxy reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene, Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica - Austin Sun
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Phytoplankton Community Composition off the Eastern Coast of New Zealand - Seamus Crowley
Advisor: Constance Soja
Educational Exercise and Database Development on the State Fossil of New York: Eurypterus remipes - Carlie McCumber
Advisor: Constance Soja
A Day in the Life of a Devonian Trilobite: An interactive teaching tool
- Jake Mahr
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Rejuvenescent Volcanism on San Crist贸bal Island, Galapagos: A Late "Plumer" - Hannah Bercovici
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Isla Rabida, Galapagos: A little island with a big secret - Taylor Dawson
Advisor: Martin Wong
EBSD and Ti-in-quartz analysis of mylonites from the Harcuvar core complex region - Glenna Thomas
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Antarctic Radiolaria - Grace Howard
Advisor: William Peck
Thermometry and geochronology of Adirondack anorthosite - Oleg Kozel
Advisor: William Peck
Pseudosection analysis and geochronology of Adirondack anorthosite - Taylor Mooney
Advisor: Karen Harpp
A Diatom-Based, Paleolimnological Study of Shadow Lake, Waupaca County, Wisconsin - Alex Campbell
Advisor: Bruce Selleck
The Trace Element Geochemistry of the Trenton-Utica Boundary in Herkimer County, New York - Natalie Smith
Advisor: Bruce Selleck
Flat Creek, Jackson, Wyoming: Assessing Impacts of Development on Water Quality - Jonathan (Jonny) Miller
Advisor: Aubreya Adams
Sources of Rifting in the East African Rift System: A Rayleigh Wave Tomography Study - Veronica Vriesman
Advisor: Martin Wong
Cold Relamination in California: A Petrological Study of Salina de Sierras' Schist Emplacement - Matthew (Matt) Quinan
Advisor: William Peck
Provenance of detrital zircons in the Paleoproterozoic Morin terrane, Quebec - Brett Field
Advisor: Constance Soja
An interactive educational exercise on local Devonian trilobites for teachers and 闪电资源网s in Hamilton, N.Y. - Aurelia Casarrubias
Advisor: Amy Leventer
A Holocene climate record based on diatoms from the Sabrina Coast, Antarctica - Ciara Pettinos
Advisor: Bruce Selleck
Nitrogen and Carbon Isotopes in Bivalve Tissue and Shell Organic Matrix: Differentiating Impacted vs. Non-impacted Watersheds, Central and Northern New York - Jackson Lucas
Advisor: Amy Leventer
Ice Retreat in the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula: The Application of Diatoms for Understanding Climate Change - Tiong Hua (Andy) Sia
Advisor: Richard April
Effects of Liming on the Soil Geochemistry of the Adirondack Mountains - Ellis Van Slyke
Advisor: William Peck
Carbon isotopes and sugars in birch, black walnut, butternut, and maple syrup - Nathan (Nate) Taylor
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Magnetite T.I.: The Case of the Blue Lava or Origin of Surficial Color in the Blue Dragon Lava Flow, Craters of the Moon National Monument
- Kevin Varga
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Understanding magmatic plumbing system dynamics at Fernandina Island, Galapagos - Julia Home
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Volcanological Perspectives on Paulin and East Lakes, Newberry Crater, Oregon - Ariel Hampton
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Interaction of Basaltic Lava Flows with Patterned Ground: Field and Analog Studies - Katherine (Kate) Hardock
Advisor: Martin Wong
40Ar/39AR thermochronology of Harcuvar metamorphic core complex, Arizona - Sarah Katz
Advisor: William Peck
Mineralogy and Stable Isotopes of Taconic Metasedimentary Rocks in Dutchess and Litchfield Counties - Teymoor Tahbaz
Advisor: Bruce Selleck
Regional correlation and geochronology of a Late Ordovician K-bentonite from the Wells Outlier, New York - Ann (Annie) Preston
Advisor: Bruce Selleck
Sequence Stratigraphy Correlations and Depositional Environments of the Late Ordovician Sequence in the Wells Outlier (Wells, New York) - Rebecca (Becca) Silardi
Advisor: Bruce Selleck
Syndepositional and Post Deposition Tectonism in the Late Ordovician from the Wells Outlier in Wells, New York - Maggie McGuire
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Geochemical Evolution of Espanola Island, Galapagos Archipelago - Ashlynne Rando
Advisor: Richard April
Geochemistry of the Adirondacks: A Liming Study - Ryan Clements
Advisor: Martin Wong
Kinematics and temperature conditions of mylonitization in the Harcuvar metamorphic core complex, Az. - Michael (Mike) DuBois
Advisor: William Peck
Geochemical analysis of pyroxene megacrysts from massif anorthosite in the Adirondacks region - Zachary (Zac) Sawin
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Effect of Barrier Design on Hazard Mitigation of Lava Flows - Erin Cummings
Advisor: William Peck
Causes of Variability in Carbon Isotope Ratios in Maple and Birch Syrups - Megan (Meg) Ryan
Advisor: Constance Soja
Analysis of Trilobite Taphofacies at Geer Road Quarry, New York - Kegan Thompson
Advisor: Constance Soja
Paleoecology of Devonian trilobites at Geer Road, Lebanon, New York - Michael (Mike) Yavorek
Advisor: Richard April
Mineralogy of the Karheen Formation in SE Alaska - Kevin Lough
Advisor: William Peck
Constraining Metamorphic Conditions of the Morin Shear Zone, QC, Using Thermobarometry - John Quazza
Advisor: Karen Harpp
Investigation into the Insulating Properties of Scoria on Basaltic Lava