Sedimentary Geology

Richard Kettler uses instrumentation in the Optically Stimulated Luminescence Laboratory to determine the burial age of sand grains in a wide-range of eolian, beach, fluvial and glacio-fluvial deposits.

Geochemistry of iron, carbon, sulfur, and organic molecules. 
Richard Kettler and his students examine the geochemistry of iron, carbon, sulfur, and organic molecules to explore such diverse topics as the biogeochemistry of thermoacidophilic microbes, the chemistry of meteorite parent bodies, and the origin of life. Other efforts involve examining the Fe-C-S chemistry of rocks to investigate how factors like diagenesis and ocean chemistry control the distribution of ore deposits.

Sedimentology, stratigraphy, surficial processes and landscape evolution. 
Matt Joeckel and his students examine the stratigraphy, sedimentology, and geochemistry of Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata to ascertain long-term changes in climate and environment in the central US. Paleosols provide a particular focus of study. Current field-based efforts are focused in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Utah.

Pleoclimatology and paleoecology from stable isotope geochemistry

Ross Secord and his students use stable isotope geochemistry from sedimentary basins in the Rocky Mountain region to recognized intervals of environmental and climatic change. Studies use carbon isotopes in paleosol carbonates and dispersed bulk organics, and carbon and oxygen isotopes in mammalian tooth enamel. Stable isotope stratigraphy is used to recognize short-term warming events (“hyperthermals”) in the terrestrial record and tie these to the mammalian fossil record. Current research is focused on early Eocene records in the Wind River and Bighorn basins of Wyoming.

 Photo from Hell’s Half Acre. From left to right: Willow Nguy, Devra Hock, Samantha Mills, Alex Shupinski, Julia Arenson, Ross Secord, and Karen Cuevas. Photo provided by Ross Secord.