Kyle Duffey ’19
Geosciences
Calibrating Climate Records with 16 million-year- old Volcanic Rocks, NW USA
The goal of my internship was threefold. First, I traveled to the Columbia River Basalt (CRB) province in Washington to help Josh Murray ‘18 collect samples for his research on carbon dioxide outgassing from the CRB eruptions 5 million-16 million years ago. In the field, I gained an improved ability for searching for outcrops, specifically mafic dikes. Second, on campus, I assisted Jennifer Kasbohm, a fifth-year graduate student in geosciences, by processing her samples from the same geological region. Her research consists of using uranium-lead radiometric dating (U-PB dating) to figure out the ages of different stratigraphic sections of the CRB province. I helped Jennifer perform zircon mineral separation on her samples. Through the work I did with Jennifer, I gained valuable lab experience, and I developed an understanding of various lab materials that I will need to use for my own research. Finally, I worked on an independent project using a handheld X-ray fluorescence device. I began by collecting data in the field, and, back on campus, I worked closely with Blair Schoene on planning the data analysis. I have now taken on this project as my junior independent work.
2017
Climate and Oceans
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University
Blair Schoene, Associate Professor of Geosciences