We use a combination of organic and stable isotopic biogeochemical techniques to investigate the biogeochemical record of environmental change preserved in aquatic sedimentary systems - especially lake and ocean sediments. Specific organic compounds called biomarkers, or molecular fossils, can be traced to the organism that produced them. By looking at organic remains in sediments, we can identify variations in the surrounding vegetation (trees and grasses), the aquatic phytoplanktonic community, as well as the micobial community (bacteria and archaea) that have occurred in the past, and use this information to understand global climate and environmental change. We also study modern environments to determine how these system are functioning now so that we can use this information together with the information from past environments we found in the sediments to try to understand local and global climate change in the past. Current projects include sulfur isotope biogeochemistry in sulfidic lakes in the USA and Canada considered modern analogs of the Precambrian ocean, development of Pleistocene paleoclimate reconstructions and their link with human societies in southwestern North America (New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico), western South America (Chile, Peru) and East Africa (Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia), and the development of molecular isotopic proxies for past temperature and hydrology. See "Research" for details of current projects.
Latest News and Updates from the Werne Lab Group!
June 2016: Troy Ferland will attend Isocamp at the University of Utah
May 2016: Dervla Kumar was awarded an NSF Fellowship to attend the Urbino Summer School in Paleoclimatology!
May 2016: Dervla Kumar was awarded a GSA Graduate Research Grant for her research on the delvelopment of GDGT based paleotemperature proxies!
April 2016: The lab has been awarded a second year of funding from NSF-Archaeology or our project "Bridging Paleolimnology and Archaeology through Human Biomarkers in Lake Sediment (Year 2): Climate and Demography in the Titicaca Basin, Peru", a collaborative project with Mark Abbott (Pitt Geology), Liz Arkush (Pitt Anthropology), and Aubrey Hillman (Ohio State).
Damara Strong received a Science Communication Fellowship from the Phipps Conservatory!
March 2016: Dervla Kumar was awarded an Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship for her research on the development of microbial lipid based proxies using GDGTs in lake sediments from Mexico!
June 2016: Troy Ferland will attend Isocamp at the University of Utah
May 2016: Dervla Kumar was awarded an NSF Fellowship to attend the Urbino Summer School in Paleoclimatology!
May 2016: Dervla Kumar was awarded a GSA Graduate Research Grant for her research on the delvelopment of GDGT based paleotemperature proxies!
April 2016: The lab has been awarded a second year of funding from NSF-Archaeology or our project "Bridging Paleolimnology and Archaeology through Human Biomarkers in Lake Sediment (Year 2): Climate and Demography in the Titicaca Basin, Peru", a collaborative project with Mark Abbott (Pitt Geology), Liz Arkush (Pitt Anthropology), and Aubrey Hillman (Ohio State).
Damara Strong received a Science Communication Fellowship from the Phipps Conservatory!
March 2016: Dervla Kumar was awarded an Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship for her research on the development of microbial lipid based proxies using GDGTs in lake sediments from Mexico!
February-April, 2016: Joe Werne, Dervla Kumar, and Troy Ferland participated in MexiDrill, the drilling of Lake Chalco, in Mexico. Over a kilometer of core was obtained! For more information check out http://www.icdp-online.org/projects/world/north-and-central-america/lake-chalco-mexidrill/details/ and https://www.facebook.com/MexiDrillChalco/
In the photo from left are Harriet Rawson (Univ. Oxford), Ryan O'Grady (LacCore, Univ. Minnesota), Dervla and Joe, holding the section of core that put the project at 500 meters. Some glory for the night shift!
February 2016: At the University of Pittsburgh Department of Geology & Environmental Graduate Research Expo Dervla Kumar won best poster presentation and Damara Strong won best oral presentation!
January 2016: Troy Ferland and Joe Werne attended the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project workshop in Atlanta, GA
Upcoming presentations at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December, 2015
Johnson, T.C., J.P. Werne, M. Berke, S. Contreras, E. Brown (2015) A progressively wetter climate in southern East Africa over the past 1.3 million years. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Gilhooly, W.P., J.P. Werne, M. O’Beirne, J. Harris, F. Fouskas, B. Steinman (2015) Reinforcing key concepts in the discipline of geobiology through active learning in the field – and example integrating middle school through graduate school students. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Contreras, S., J.P. Werne, A. Araneda, C.A. Conejero (2015) Evaluating carbon isotope signature of bulk organic matter and plant wax derived n-alkanes from lacustrine sediments as climate proxies along the western side of the Andes. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Gilhooly, W.P., J.P. Werne, M. O’Beirne, J. Harris, F. Fouskas, J. Havig, T. Hamilton (2015) Diurnal sulfur isotope patterns in a stratified euxinic lake. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Molly O'Beirne and Dervla Kumar presented their research at the Midwest Geobiology Symposium in Bloomington, Indiana in October, 2015.
Kumar, D., M. Woltering, J. Halbur, J. Sinninghe Damsté, S. Schouten, J. Munos-Ucros, R. Hicks, J.P. Werne (2015) Patterns of isoprenoid GDGT production in the water column of Lake Malawi, Africa. Midwest Geobiology 2015, Bloomington, Indiana.
O’Beirne, M., J.P. Werne, W.P. Gilhooly, J. Harris, F. Fouskas (2015) Refining gas chromatography techniques for the determination of inorganic polysulfide speciation – analysis and application to artificial and natural samples. Midwest Geobiology 2015, Bloomington, Indiana.
Molly O'Beirne awarded Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship for her research on the Isotopic Biogeochemistry of Organic Sulfur
Damara Kautz awarded a grant from GSA for her research on Mexican paleoclimate
Molly O'Beirne's first paper published in January 2015
O’Beirne*, M.D., L.J. Strzok*, J.P. Werne, T.C. Johnson, R.E. Hecky (2015) Anthropogenic influences on the sedimentary geochemical record in western Lake Superior (1800-present). Journal of Great Lakes Research. v. 41 pp. 20-29.
Johnson, T.C., J.P. Werne, M. Berke, S. Contreras, E. Brown (2015) A progressively wetter climate in southern East Africa over the past 1.3 million years. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Gilhooly, W.P., J.P. Werne, M. O’Beirne, J. Harris, F. Fouskas, B. Steinman (2015) Reinforcing key concepts in the discipline of geobiology through active learning in the field – and example integrating middle school through graduate school students. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Contreras, S., J.P. Werne, A. Araneda, C.A. Conejero (2015) Evaluating carbon isotope signature of bulk organic matter and plant wax derived n-alkanes from lacustrine sediments as climate proxies along the western side of the Andes. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Gilhooly, W.P., J.P. Werne, M. O’Beirne, J. Harris, F. Fouskas, J. Havig, T. Hamilton (2015) Diurnal sulfur isotope patterns in a stratified euxinic lake. EOS Transactions, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015.
Molly O'Beirne and Dervla Kumar presented their research at the Midwest Geobiology Symposium in Bloomington, Indiana in October, 2015.
Kumar, D., M. Woltering, J. Halbur, J. Sinninghe Damsté, S. Schouten, J. Munos-Ucros, R. Hicks, J.P. Werne (2015) Patterns of isoprenoid GDGT production in the water column of Lake Malawi, Africa. Midwest Geobiology 2015, Bloomington, Indiana.
O’Beirne, M., J.P. Werne, W.P. Gilhooly, J. Harris, F. Fouskas (2015) Refining gas chromatography techniques for the determination of inorganic polysulfide speciation – analysis and application to artificial and natural samples. Midwest Geobiology 2015, Bloomington, Indiana.
Molly O'Beirne awarded Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship for her research on the Isotopic Biogeochemistry of Organic Sulfur
Damara Kautz awarded a grant from GSA for her research on Mexican paleoclimate
Molly O'Beirne's first paper published in January 2015
O’Beirne*, M.D., L.J. Strzok*, J.P. Werne, T.C. Johnson, R.E. Hecky (2015) Anthropogenic influences on the sedimentary geochemical record in western Lake Superior (1800-present). Journal of Great Lakes Research. v. 41 pp. 20-29.
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