Overview
For the past several years, I have been pursuing the goal of understanding climate change on time-scales from decades to millions of years. I am particularly interested in what forces natural climate variability, how past climates have influenced the ecology and diversity of organisms in the tropics, as well as how climate change and other human activities will affect the eventual fate of these organisms.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Professor Emeritus of Earth and Climate Science
·
2023 - Present
Earth and Climate Sciences,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Recent Scholarly Works
Initial results from a Trans-Amazon Drilling Project core from the Acre Basin of Brazil
Journal article Scientific Drilling · June 26, 2026 The Trans-Amazon Drilling Project (TADP) is reconstructing the late Cenozoic history of Amazonian geology, climate, rivers, and forests. Drilling in the Acre Basin of western Brazil in 2023 recovered an 860 m drill core characterized by sediments that were ... Full text CiteImproved Constraints on Andean Glaciations From the Lake Titicaca Continental Drilling Record
Journal article Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology · June 1, 2026 Long sedimentary records from tropical lakes provide crucial archives for reconstructing the timing and extent of tropical alpine glaciations, yet robust chronologies beyond the radiocarbon limit (ca. 50 ka) remain scarce. Here, we refine the ca. 350 kyr c ... Full text CiteTwo-phased ITCZ-driven upper salinity stratification in the western equatorial Atlantic during Heinrich Stadial 11
Journal article Global and Planetary Change · December 1, 2025 The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) plays a central role in regulating tropical hydroclimate, with direct implications for water security and economic activity across vast regions. Changes in the latitudinal position of the ITCZ are strongly linked t ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Biodiversity Conservation in the Binational Mira-Mataje River Basins-Building Biophysical and Socio-Environmental Bases for Conservation and the Adaptive Management of Ecosystem Services
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation · 2017 - 2025Collaborative Research: Trans-Amazon Drilling Project
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2018 - 2024A Proposal to Manage the U.S. Science Support Program Office associated with the International Ocean Discovery Program (USSSP-IODP) (On-campus)
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by The Trustees of Columbia University · 2020 - 2022View All Grants
Education
University of California, San Diego ·
1981
Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University ·
1975
M.S.
University of Rochester ·
1973
B.A.