Research

The Mid-Atlantic Bight Cold Pool, on the eastern US continental shelf, is a region of cold (<10°C) water that forms every spring and summer from the previous winter's cold surface waters as well as waters transported into the region from farther north. The cold waters sustain a variety of boreal species that are normally found at higher-latitudes. Recent data suggests that the Cold Pool may be degrading with warming waters but bottom water temperature data is lacking in this region. This ongoing project seeks to reconstruct both the temperature and extent of the cold pool through time using Arctica islandica shells and high-resolution ocean model simulations. Additionally, I have partnered with colleagues from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and University of Southern Mississippi on an NSF funded project that investigates how the growth of Arctica islandica has changed through the last several centuries and whether we can use these changes to reconstruct temperature conditions in the Mid-Atlantic Bight through time. For more information on what is involved in getting these shells ready to sample, check out a recent presentation I recently gave to the PAGES Early Career Network North America Research Show-and-Tell.