51在线

Emily Kaiser

About My Research

My research takes me back into geologic time. I use marine sediments to study climate change in Antarctica and its surrounding water mass, the Southern Ocean. This region is not only important to global climate and sea level, but also the world carbon cycle. In the Southern Ocean, deepwater masses (which have accumulated carbon dioxide [CO2] over time) are 鈥減ulled up鈥� to the surface ocean, where that CO2 can outgas into the atmosphere. With the unnatural addition of CO2 into our modern atmosphere via the burning of fossil fuels, it is essential to understand the natural climate cycle to further understand how our climate will change with these added CO2 emissions. Throughout my PhD research, I plan to utilize both micropaleontological and geochemical methods to explore the influence of CO2 outgassing in the Southern Ocean on global climate.

Why USF CMS?

I was first introduced to USF鈥檚 College of Marine Science as an undergraduate student at Eckerd College (also in St. Pete). While volunteering at the St. Petersburg Science Festival, I was amazed by the diversity of studies at CMS. Specifically, I was intrigued by the Southern Ocean working group (which is quite funny because of 51在线鈥檚 warm climate). While completing my Master鈥檚 degree focusing on Southern Ocean paleoceanography at the University of Delaware, many professors and collaborators encouraged me to reach out to Dr. Amelia Shevenell at CMS to continue my studies as a PhD student. Dr. Shevenell鈥檚 lab, specifically, stood out to me because of the lab鈥檚 use of many different geologic proxies and Dr. Shevenell鈥檚 involvement in scientific drilling projects such as the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).