Continental Environments Research Group (CERG) - Research

Cenozoic of Montana CERG examines Cenozoic climatic and biotic changes in Montana to understand the role of climatic and environmental change in driving biotic and ecological changes. We do this using a combination of stable isotope geochemistry, paleosol geochemistry, and phytolith extraction. Overall, we are building a 40 Myr record of climatic and biotic changes, with a focus on critical transitions including the Eocene-Oligocene transition, the Oligocene-Miocene transition, and the spread to ecological dominance by the grasses during the Miocene. The project website is here: Montana Project Site. The project is currently funded by NSF Award #1024535.

Paleoenvironments of Spain CERG works in Spain on a variety of different problems ranging from understanding dinosaur habitats in Asturias to reconstructing high-resolution (Milankovitch-scale) paleoclimatic records in the Ebro Basin. In the Ebro Basin, paleoichnology plays a crucial role in deciphering the paleoecology.

Soil Biogeochemistry and Proxy Development One of key outstanding questions is how the terrestrial biosphere will respond to global climatic change. To address this question, CERG uses a variety of isotopic and elemental geochemical tools to examine nutrient and element cycling. Phytoliths are also extracted to look at short-term paleoecological changes in modern soils. This combination of approaches also makes it possible to derive proxy relationships for key environmental variables such as precipitation and temperature that can be applied to paleosols to reconstruct paleoclimate. A part of this work focused on modern microbial mat systems is currently funded by NSF Award #1035595.

Precambrian Paleoenvironments and Life on Land Precambrian paleosols and clastic sediments often preserve MISS (microbially-induced sedimentary structures) and organic matter that makes it possible to reconstruct what life on land was like during the Precambrian. In addition, the chemical composition of paleosols may also be used to reconstruct the atmospheric pCO₂. These results are then put into atmospheric chemistry models to understand better the role of both trace atmospheric gases and of physical factors such as albedo, continental growth, and water vapor. The project is currently funded by NSF Award #1050760.