My research interests lie in the reconstruction of the last deglaciation in the northeastern U.S., primarily as indicated by the annual layering (varves) of sediments from glacial lakes.
This work has involved radiometrically calibrating the New England Varve Chronology with 14C ages and expanding its paleomagnetic declination record in order to correlate varve stratigraphy across a wider geographic area.
The main goal of this research is to assemble high-precision (annual) records of glacial events that can be compared to regional and global records of climate. This comparison can be used to test a number of hypotheses regarding the mechanisms for rapid climate change events at the end of the last glaciation and the interactions of ice sheets, the ocean, and atmosphere as overriding controls on climate.
Varve records and related records of deglaciation and climate in New England are also key factors in understanding the earliest occupation of the landscape by humans and other organisms. For more information about my current research, please go to the North American Varve Chronology Website.
