Current Members
Dr. Pamela Grothe
B.S. Geology (Honors), UMW
M.S. Geology, University of Colorado Boulder
Ph.D. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ned Gable
B.S. Environmental Science, 2027
Research: Testing coral thermometry techniques using UMW’s Thermo iCap RQplus ICP-MS
Avery Duncan
B.S. Conservation Biology, 2027
Research: Testing Tridacna clam as paleoclimate recorder.
Ainsley Lord
B.S. Environmental Science and Conservation Biology, 2026
Research: Using large skeletal architecture fossil corals to reconstruct central tropical Pacific climate
Calleigh Keeley
B.S. Environmental Science, 2026
Research: Validating modern Dipsastraea corals as climate recorders in the central tropical Pacific.
Sophia Pedroza
B.S. Environmental Science and Conservation Biology, 2026
Research: Comparing lagoonal Porites coral geochemistry to open-ocean Porites with applications for paleoclimate reconstruction.
Lab Alumni
Jessica Oberlies
B.S. Environmental Science and Spanish, 2025
Currently in the Peace Corps in the Philippines working on coastal management.
Research: Evaluating the geochemistry from coral species Hydnophora Microconos as a reliable proxy for tropical Pacific climate
Ava Spencer
B.S. Environmental Science, 2023
Research: Urban Heat Islands and Social Vulnerability in the city of Fredericksburg, VA
Eden Rakes
B.S. Environmental Geology, 2021
Currently in graduate school at the University of Georgia studying environmental hydrology
Research: Schlerochronology and oxygen-18 analysis of 18th century Crassostrea Virginica shells from the Chesapeake Bay: significance for archaeology and paleoclimate
AND
Estimated 2020 CO2 emission reductions from COVID-19 in Virginia
Cheyenne Palmo
B.S. Environmental Science, 2020
Currently an Environmental Education Specialist at Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council
Research: Oxygen isotope variation in Crassostrea Virginica shell and the Chesapeake Bay (and its tributaries): Applications to Regional Paleohydrology
Melody Zeher and Catherine DeGoyler-Howell
B.S. Geology, 2023
Melody is currently in graduate school at GMU completing a master’s in paleoclimate.
Research: Assessing the diagenetic susceptibility of the large skeletal architecture coral species Hydnophora Microconos – Implications for tropical paleoclimate reconstructions
Jacob Cantor
B.S Geology, TBD
Research: Assessing on-shore rubble coral deposits for palaeoecological reef analysis in the Bay of Wrecks, Kiritimati Island
Allison Grant
B.S Environmental Science, 2021
Currently High School Environmental Science Teacher
Research: The legacy of redlining on urban heat in Virginia cities
Andrea Moore
B.L.S. Environmental Geology, 2019
Completed an M.S. at Florida State University studying climate change with Dr. Alyssa Atwood
Research: Mid-Holocene paleo-ENSO reconstruction using fossil coral geochemistry. (Big thanks to creating this web site!)
Kathleen Elliott
B.S. Environmental Geology (Honors), 2019
Currently a Masters of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Student, North Carolina State University
Research: Seasonality of water isotopes in the Fredericksburg region