Texas A&M Geologist Receives ARRA Award for Research on Ancient Antarctic Climate Change
Dr. Bridget Wade, professor of geology and geophysics in the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University, received a CAREER award and funding from the National Science Foundation, under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), in the amount of $456,178 for her project titled “Oligocene microfossil Konservat-Lagerstätte: Implications for planktonic foraminiferal taxonomy, paleobiology, and marine temperatures.”
Dr. Wade’s research focuses on climate change during a time period known as the Oligocene (34 to 24 million years ago). This interval of time began with a big shift in climate, when a large ice sheet developed on Antarctica. (The Earth today has major ice caps on Antarctica and Greenland, but this was not always the case). Once the Antarctic ice cap was established, it waxed and waned many times between periods with relatively little ice and periods with very expansive ice sheets. However, the impact of these large variations in Antarctic ice volume upon tropical sea surface temperatures and marine biota are largely unknown.
Previous estimates of Oligocene sea surface temperatures from microfossil geochemistry indicate tropical and subtropical temperatures that were substantially lower than those in modern times. But there is a problem in previous studies: microfossil shell geochemistry can be altered post deposition and bias temperature reconstructions. To address this problem, Dr. Wade will examine microfossils from sites with exceptional preservation (Konservat-Lagerstätte). A detailed study of well preserved microfossils will build an accurate picture of how the Oligocene climate changed, and will lead to a greater understanding of Oligocene climatic events and the impact on tropical biota.
Dr. Wade’s research will be integrated with a number of K-12, undergraduate, and graduate student activities that involve project-based discovery learning. In partnership with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program at Texas A&M, Dr. Wade will expand a successful pilot program for minority high school students, Summer pre-College Ocean Research Experience (SCORE), which emphasizes integrated research experiences in ocean sciences. A permanent exhibit on polar climates and the history of Antarctica will be designed, and Dr. Wade will create three-dimensional podcasts of microfossils “micropods” for incorporation into teaching activities.
This project serves as an important demonstration of the benefits of the ARRA program, both to research endeavors and to educational outreach efforts, at Texas A&M University. For more information on ARRA at Texas A&M, visit the Texas A&M ARRA Research and Development Information website at http://rgs.tamu.edu/arra/ .
A profile of Dr. Wade is available on her home page on the Department of Geology and Geophysics website, located at http://geoweb.tamu.edu/profile/BWade .
