About Me

I am Dr. Pamela Grothe. Currently, I am an
Associate Professor of Geology in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA.

I received my B.S. in Geology at the University of Mary Washington, studying under the very same people I now call my colleagues! I graduated with Departmental Honors, Summa Cum Laude, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After a short break of trying to figure out what to do with my life, I moved to Boulder, Colorado and worked for the Center for Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado building digital elevation models for NOAA and their tsunami preparedness program. During that time, I completed my M.S in Geology before moving to Atlanta, GA to complete my Ph.D. in paleoclimatology in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department at Georgia Tech with Dr. Kim Cobb.

I am a geologist by training, but climate scientist by action! I am a paleoclimate scientist, which means I use natural archives to reconstruct climate in the past. My primary research uses the geochemistry from corals and mollusk shells to reconstruct the climate over the last several hundred to several thousands of years. One of my main research interests is understanding past variability of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) since the mid-Holocene. My goal is to understand how ENSO is sensitive to external forcings, such as solar insolation, with possible implications to how its frequency and intensity may change with rising greenhouse gases.

I am also working with “untested” coral species in the tropical Pacific as climate recorders and testing novel sea surface temperature (SST) proxies using ICP-MS.

More locally, I am researching changes in rainfall patterns in the Chesapeake Bay region to better understand how the present-day rainfall patterns are related to natural variability versus human-induced climate change. Additionally, I enjoy working on local issues students have an interest in, such sea level rise, urban heat island effect and carbon emissions from various things such as COVID, data centers., and even UMW!

Beyond my research, I love teaching and sharing my enthusiasm about science and educating others about the global climate and ocean systems. When I am not in the classroom, field, or lab, you’ll find me outside enjoying one of the too many hobbies I have – running, biking, swimming, kayaking, SCUBA diving, hiking, backpacking, camping, etc! And maybe most importantly, I am a SCIENCE MOM to the three most beautiful boys.