This dissertation investigates processes controlling the Ca isotope geochemistry (δ44/40Ca) of Icelandic samples, from an atomic to island-wide scale. These studies embody the range of applications for which the Ca isotope proxy can apply in surficial environments, and I offer novel δ44/40Ca data for Icelandic rivers, rocks, minerals, soil, and...
Carbonates constitute Earth's largest carbon (C) reservoir, with most shallow marine deposition occurring on the low-latitude carbonate platforms covering ~800,000 km2. The Yucatán Platform situated between the Western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico basins, is one of the largest present-day carbonate platforms. As with post-Paleozoic carbonates generally, it is readily...
Mineral inclusions in diamond, brought to the surface through kimberlitic eruptions, provide a unique glimpse into the geochemical inner workings of Earth’s deep interior. Diamonds source a wide range of depths in the mantle. While most diamonds originate from the upper 200 km of the Earth’s mantle, aptly called super-deep...
This dissertation researches the Cenomanian, Turonian, and Coniacian Stages (100.5 - 86.3 Ma) of the Cretaceous Period, a geologic interval of interest due to its extreme global warmth, iconic faunas, and oceanic anoxic events (OAEs). Five globally dispersed geochemical and stratigraphic case studies reconstruct interactions of the mid-Cretaceous carbon cycle...
I. The distribution of tsunami amplitudes in the open ocean is controlled by source mechanism and bathymetry geometry. Although detailed studies have considered heterogeneity effects in earthquake tsunami sources, little or no attention has been paid to the effects of physical resolution of detailed bathymetry on tsunami waveforms in the...
The structure of the North American crust and mantle was investigated using P wave teleseismic tomography and the links between seismic tomographic models, locations of volcanism, sediment isopachs, and continental scale crustal structures via plate reconstruction modeling. Nearly 50,000 teleseismic P wave delay times were measured from seismograms recorded by...
