biogeochemistry / molecular fossils / stable isotopes
How does life leave chemical traces in the rock record?
Life leaves chemical traces in rocks. We figure out how those traces are produced and what information they carry.
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Questions we're asking
We work across biogeochemistry, geobiology, and geospatial science. The common thread is reading the chemical and physical records that life and the environment leave behind, from modern ecosystems to billion-year-old rocks.
microbiology / SIMS / single-cell
Why do genetically identical cells behave differently?
Genetically identical bacteria don't all do the same thing. We use SIMS to measure metabolism one cell at a time and find out why.
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spatial statistics / paleoclimate / isotope geochemistry
How does geography shape the signals locked in ancient molecules?
Proxy calibrations can be fooled by geography. We build Bayesian spatial models that separate real environmental signals from spatial confounding.
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machine learning / artificial intelligence / organic geochemistry
Can AI decode Earth's history from petroleum?
Every oil sample is a molecular fossil record. We are training artificial intelligence on large petroleum geochemistry databases to find patterns that traditional biomarker ratios miss.
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remote sensing / lidar / drones
What can drones and satellites reveal about ecosystems?
Most ecological measurements flatten 3D ecosystems into 2D maps. We use lidar and drones to capture the full spatial structure of forests, outcrops, and landscapes.
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biomarkers / information theory / biosynthesis
What is the information content of a fossilized molecule?
Many different organisms can produce the same molecule. We use information theory and biosynthetic network analysis to quantify how much a molecular fossil can actually tell you about its source.
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