Biography
Thomas graduated with an undergraduate degree in geology from Cornell College in 2016 and completed a PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University in 2022. He began as an ICRAG postdoctoral researcher in winter 2023. Broadly, his research interests center on generating records of past climate using the chemistry of biogenic carbonates (foraminifera, corals).
The chemistry of plankton shells preserved in ocean floor sediments provide invaluable records of ocean temperature and salinity that reach much farther back in time than direct human measurements. The climate signal preserved in these shells however is susceptible to dissolution in acidic ocean water. This is especially problematic for the Arctic and subpolar Oceans where surface waters are a major sink of atmospheric CO2. As an iCRAG researcher, Thomas will experimentally dissolve Arctic Ocean plankton shells and use microCT images to determine how dissolution impacts the climatic signal recorded in the calcium carbonate of plankton shells.
Role
- Postdoctoral Researcher
Institution
- NUIG
Research Area
- Earth System Change
Expertise
- Geomarine Environment
