My experience

Overview

I drilled fossilized corals and ran the powders through the mass spectrometer. Isotopic analysis elucidated the precipitation and temperature conditions that were common when the coral was growing. Radioactive dating told us what that time frame was. We used this data and data from other archives (marine core sediments, historical records, tree rings, etc.) to reconstruct climate data over the centuries and analyze trends, helping us to predict climate in the future.

The team was amazing to work with. Very encouraging and nurturing. I feel like I learned so much! They helped me to apply and work under a PURA grant in my second semester.