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Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University

I explore how fossil plants can be used to reconstruct ancient environments (especially CO2, temperature, and climate sensitivity), and the (paleo-) physiological underpinnings behind these plant-environment relationships. Recent and current projects include the reconstruction of early Paleogene and middle Miocene atmospheric CO2 levels from the stomatal distributions in plant leaves, and the development of mechanistically-grounded proxies for climate and leaf ecology from the size and shape of fossil leaves. I also compile Phanerozoic CO2 records and investigate the strength of CO2-temperature coupling over multi-million-year timescales.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University