Kirill Sirik ’27, Operations Research and Financial Engineering

Kirill Sirik ’27

Major

Operations Research and Financial Engineering

Project Title

The δ88Sr Composition of Marine Carbonates

Presentation Link

View Kirill's Presentation

Minor(s): Applied and Computational Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Economics

Records of the strontium isotopic composition of seawater may reveal insights into how continental weathering, hydro-thermal activity and carbonate deposition changed throughout the geological past. Carbonates can serve as an archive of the stable strontium isotopic composition of ancient seawater, but interpreting the isotopic signals is complicated by the effects of local environmental phenomena. I investigated the stable strontium isotope (δ88Sr) composition of more than 200 marine carbonates to enhance our understanding of the modern strontium isotope budget. This project is situated within a broader research agenda focused on reconstructing ancient seawater chemistry and understanding the influences of local environmental factors, such as precipitation rates, on the isotopic composition of carbonates. My project aims to reveal patterns in δ88Sr values across different environments, ultimately providing insights into the spatial variability of δ88Sr and its implications for both modern and ancient marine Sr isotope systems.