Welcome Chris Schiller!

The MSU Paleoecology Lab welcomes a new masters student, Chris Schiller.  He obtained a B.S. in Geology from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.  He'll be working on the Yellowstone Lake Project.  Welcome Chris!

Lab floor wax

The lab got a nice new wax job!  Thanks MSU Facilities!

Fun new tool

Learning new pollen types is a fun, but arduous process.  The MSU Paleoecology Lab recently acquired a new tool that will make it much easier for palynologists to learn.  The dual scope allows two people to view the same slide.  A neat feature is the "pointer" giving one person the ability to point to specific objects on the slide. 

Notes from the field: Argentina

Paleoecology Lab Director, Dr. Cathy Whitlock and Ph.D student Buzz Nanavati hit the skies this last week for the southern hemisphere.  They are traveling to San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina for a conference titled "Modeling past and present vegetation dynamics in Patagonia forest-steppe".  Those gathered are from the fields of ecosystem modeling, paleoecology, and archaeology.  Buzz has shared some beautiful photos of the area.

The region around Bariloche.

The view from Buzz's room in Bariloche!

After the conference, Buzz and Dr. Whitlock will embark on a field excursion to retrieve lake sediment cores for Buzz's Ph.D dissertation.  Check back for more notes from the field!
 

Fairy Lake Vegetation Survey

Being a paleoecologist has many wonderful benefits.  One of them is spending time outdoors in beautiful places.  After retrieving a sediment core from Fairy Lake, James Benes and others returned to the area to conduct a vegetation survey.  The survey helps James understand the modern pollen record found in the top layers of the lake sediment core.  Another beautiful day in the Bridgers!

Fairy Lake

Spending the day on Fairy Lake in the Bridger Range (essentially Bozeman's backyard) was quite a treat.  Retrieving the lake sediment cores for James Benes' master's thesis took place on a spectacular summer day.  Below are some photos of the excursion.

Coring in the Mission Mountains

Dr. Dave McWethy, with M.S. candidate Pico Alt from the Paleoecology Lab cored in the Mission Mountains.  They were joined by students from the Salish Kootenai College in the Flathead Valley, and some other helpers.  The field work was part of Pico Alt's master's thesis and addresses the goals within one of the latest investigations for the MSU Paleoecology Lab.  It was a beautiful day for coring!