Congratulations to students Stephanie Hibberts (Geology) and Jillian Laird (Chemical Engineering) who were awarded research grants from the Geological Society of America to support their undergraduate research. Both students are mentored by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Kelly Lazar.
Stephanie Hibberts’ proposal, “Extending the hurricane record of the Lesser Antilles: Sedimentological and foraminiferal evidence of past hurricane activity on Dominica,” aims to gain a better understanding of the hurricane record on Dominica and the possible effects climate change has had on hurricane activity and intensity. She will study sediment core samples taken from Dominican marshes to observe their grain size and color, mineral composition, and biological content. Grant funds will be used to radiocarbon date storm layers within the core material. Stephanie was among several students who traveled to Dominica in June 2017 with Drs. Kelly Lazar and Stephen Moysey. You can read about their experience on the Clemson Geopaths Blog
Jillian Laird’s proposal, “Understanding the Fate and Characteristics of Dispersed Oil Remnants from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Persisting Impacts to Gulf Coast Beaches,” aims to better understand how oil is dispersed after an oil spill so that remediation teams can most effectively recover it. This is done by separating the tar from the sand and biologic material (primarily microscopic organisms called foraminifera) to attempt to identify where the tar ball was formed. Jillian started working with Dr. Lazar as a EUREKA! Honors College student in Summer 2016, and will use her research funds to image the foraminifera separated from tar ball material. Jillian currently collaborates with Drs. Kelly Lazar and Cindy Lee on this project.
