Major: Geology
Minor: Wilderness Education
Research Advisor: Dr. Page Quinton
Presidential Scholar Advisor: Dr. Kelly Bonnar
Title: Analyzing carbon and oxygen isotopes in Early Mississippian limestones from Milligan Canyon to determine regional climatic trends
The Lodgepole Formation in Milligan Canyon, Montana offers a window into the past. This location contains Early Mississippian micritic limestones from about 350 million years ago and a record of the climate at that time. A dramatic transition from a climate with warm average global temperatures (greenhouse) to a colder icehouse climate has been observed in the Mississippian Period. To further understand the nature and timing of this climatic shift, I will analyze carbon and oxygen isotope levels and the fossil record through the Milligan Canyon section. These results will allow me to determine if the climate at this location was cooling (trending towards icehouse) and if changes in the climate correlate with changes in the carbon cycle. Analyzing this relationship could also be relevant to modern climatic trends and could be used to understand the ways in which our planet is constantly changing.