Who We Are?
Meet our research group
We are a large group of scientists (colleagues, national and international collaborators), postdoctoral researchers, and students interested in developing a better understanding of fundamental geological processes in the country of Guatemala.
Researchers
dr. jonathan obrist-farner
My research focus is primarily in the fields of sedimentology and stratigraphy and their applications to understanding environmental, climatic, and tectonic processes at different spatial and temporal scales. I utilize diverse tools, including field, sedimentological, geophysical, geochemical, and geochronological techniques that provide unique perspectives of the geologic past. My research has relevance to current key societal challenges, including assessing human risk along tectonically active regions and understanding future consequences of global warming and associated changes in environmental conditions.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Nawaf nasser
As a micropaleontologist, my research focuses on exploring the potential of lake testate amoebae—microscopic, shelled benthic protozoans—for tracking the ecological and environmental response of lakes to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. I integrate tools from (micro)paleontology, sedimentology, geochemistry, climate science, and geostatistics to understand the complex dynamics between testate amoebae, lake components (i.e., biological, sedimentological, and geochemical), and various stressors at different spatial and temporal scales. By linking modern lake conditions to past reconstructions, my work provides insights into environmental and hydroclimatic conditions driving ecological change in lakes, enhancing predictions of future response of lake ecology to natural and anthropogenic impact.
phd students
Trenton McEnaney
As a paleoseismologist and sedimentologist, my research focuses on the timing of geologic deposits in which evidence of prehistoric earthquakes are recorded. I study the sedimentary record of terrestrial and lacustrine environments and their relationship to seismic events. By better understanding the timing and magnitude of prehistoric earthquakes we can more accurately forecast when potential future earthquakes may occur. My current research is centered on the reconstruction of the paleoseismic cycle along the Polochic Motagua Fault System in Guatemala. This is achieved through fault trenching and using lake cores to establish chronology for past seismic events.
LINUS VICTOR ANYANNA
I am a Ph.D. student specializing in palynology, a field that explores the world of pollen and spores to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s past. My work revolves around vegetation reconstruction, with a specific focus on the utilization of pollen and spore data preserved in lacustrine sediments. I strive to piece together past ecosystems and climatic events in a region through analysis of pollen. Currently, I am working on the paleovegetation and paleoclimatic reconstruction of Lake Izabal, spanning the Miocene to the Holocene epoch. I integrate geochronological methods, elemental geochemistry, and pollen and spore taxa. My goal is to understand the historical vegetation and paleoenvironmental conditions that shaped Lake Izabal and its surroundings.
OLUWAKUNLE MOLOFOLUWA OGUNSAKIN
My love of nature inspired my passion for earth science research. My research interests revolve around using new geological tools to probe the past, as well as to adequately understand future responses/scenarios. My research focuses on the evolution of the Lake Izabal basin as well as the paleoclimatic reconstruction of the Pleistocene – Holocene time interval. This analysis approach incorporates seismic data, outcrop investigations, and sediment cores. The goal is to better understand the initiation and development of basins, as well as how such depositional environments and ecosystems adapt to and record climate changes.
SUVRAJIT GHOSH
My research is focused on investigating the geochemical and biogeochemical processes within lacustrine ecosystems. I employ a multidisciplinary approach, utilizing geochemical, isotopic, and sedimentological proxies that enable me to reconstruct historical environmental shifts and their impacts on lakes. Understanding these transformations is important, as lakes are invaluable natural resources, serving as vital components in maintaining the delicate balance of our global ecology. In my current research, I am examining past environmental fluctuations in Lake Izabal, Guatemala, to unravel their influence on biogeochemical processes and their potential implications for similar ecosystems worldwide.
grant clark
As a structural seismologist, I study seismic waves generated by earthquakes and other seismic sources to investigate how their properties change as they travel through the Earth’s crust and mantle. By analyzing these changes, I aim to develop accurate models of the structure, composition, and dynamics of the crust and mantle. Using the currently deployed Lake Izabal Seismic Array, I will identify patterns in the location and timing of contemporary seismic activity. Additionally, I will apply tomographic methods to image the Earth’s subsurface and create detailed models of the fault system in Guatemala. These efforts will contribute to a deeper understanding of the fault system’s behavior and improve our ability to assess the hazards they pose.
Former lab members
Dr. Derek Gibson
My research as a paleoclimatologist and geomorphologist focuses on the sedimentary record of lacustrine environments. I use sediments in extant lakes to reconstruct how and why Earth’s hydroclimate has changed in the past in order to better predict potential future changes. Evidence of past extreme events is often left behind in the sedimentary record and can be used to better understand the linkages between Earth’s climate system, hydrologic disasters, and landscape evolution. I develop paleoclimatic and geomorphic records by combining sedimentological, geochemical, and isotopic proxies from sediment cores collected from various environmental settings around the world.
Derek is now an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University
Dr. edward duarte
My research interests include the understanding of sedimentary basin fill, and how we can read the stratigraphic record to interpret past climate, eustacy and tectonics. I utilize combined tools and techniques, including outcrops, well cores, wireline logs, and seismic. I have been involved in multi-disciplinary projects aiming to understand the sedimentary basin evolution in foreland basins of Colombia and Brazil; the Holocene climate and tectonic changes in Guatemala, as well as in hydrocarbon exploration projects in Colombia.
Edward is now a postdoctoral researcher at the EDYTEM Laboratory, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, France
