Education

M.S., Geology, University of Pittsburgh
B.S., Geology, Northern Illinois University
B.A., Anthropology, Northern Illinois University

Research Interests and Responsibilities

Geological research and analyses involving geoarchaeology, sedimentology, stratigraphy geomorphology and taphonomy for various geological/archaeological localities. These include analyses and interpretation of the geological and geochemical properties of sediments, as well as core samples,  using a variety of tools ranging from X-ray photography, laser particle-size analysis with the Coulter Counter  (LS200), Scanning Electron Microscopy (Leica Stereo Scan 440 and Philips XL-30 ESEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) using backscattered (BSI) and secondary (SEI) imaging with a JEOL-JMA-840A high resolution scanning microscope.

Assists Dr. Jean-Daniel Stanley, Director, Geoarchaeology Program, in the public education of current and probable impacts and hazards of human induced change in coastal and deltaic settings.

Collaborates with Dr. Richard Carlson, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (DTM) , in the investigation of natural and anthropogenic isotopic variation of lead in Egyptian sediments and artifacts. This includes analytical procedures for lead geochemistry  involving dissolution and elution and analysis using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) with a Finnegan isotope-ratio mass spectrometer.

Use of SI resources in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) including ESRI’s ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst to integrate pre-existing subsurface geological databases into 2D and 3D graphic representations for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

Assists Dr. Jean-Daniel Stanley and collaborators in the Geoarchaeology Program with bibliographic searches and research-oriented topics including geology, archaeology and epidemiology and related data collection methodologies.

Maintains the research collections of Dr. Jean-Daniel Stanley and the Geoarchaeology Program, including the samples housed in the museum’s cold storage facility; also assist visiting scientists, researchers and students in sampling protocols and requirements.

Field Work

• Grand Canyon, Arizona
• Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
• Potwar Plateau, Pakistan
• East Africa Rift Valley, Kenya
• Nile Delta region, Egypt
• Calabria region, southern Italy

Publications

Buried Canopic Channel Identified Near Egypt’s Nile Delta Coast with Radar (SRTM) Imagery, with Jean-Daniel Stanley. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 21(5): 503 – 514, 2006.

Human Impact on Sediment Mass Movement and Submergence of Ancient Sites in the two harbours of Alexandria, Egypt, with Jean-Daniel Stanley and Franck Goddio, Norwegian Journal of Geology (in press).

Submergence of Archaeological Sites in Abu Qir Bay, the Result of Long-term Processes plus Catastrophic Events, with Daniel Jean Stanley, G. Schnepp. In Abu Qir I (F. Goddio, ed.), Oxford Press (in press).

Vibracores in Abu Qir Bay: Description and Analyses, with Daniel Jean Stanley. In Abu Qir I (F. Goddio, ed.), Oxford Press (in press).

Submergence of Ancient Greek Cities off Egypt’s Nile Delta – A Cautionary Tale, with Daniel Jean Stanley, F. Goddio and G. Schnepp. GSA Today 14: 4 – 10, 2004.

Direct Sediment Dispersal from Mountain to Shore, with Bypassing via Three Human-modified Channel Systems to Lake Annecy, SE France, with Daniel Jean Stanley. Journal of Coastal Research, 20(4): 958 -969, 2004.

Finding Buried Treasure. The Curcurbit Network News, Miami, Florida. Published electronically and no longer available online. Fall 2003. (Story involves seeds recovered from sediment cores drilled at the underwater archaeological sites of Heraklion and Eastern Canopus, Egypt).

Iron-Coated Quartz as a Provenance and Paleoclimatic Marker in the Rhone Delta, France, with Jean-Daniel Stanley. Journal of Coastal Research 18(4): 712 - 729, 2002.

Iron-Stained Quartz as a Record of Recent Sediment Reworking by Natural and Anthropogenic Processes, Rio Grande Delta, Texas, with Daniel Jean Stanley and Giovanni Randazzo. Journal of Coastal Research 17(3): 584 - 598, 2001.

Iron-Stained Quartz to Distinguish Holocene Deltaic from Pleistocene Alluvial Deposits in Small Core Samples, with Daniel Jean Stanley and Arghya K.Hait. Journal of Coastal Research 16(2): 357 - 367, 2000.

Looking Into the Ancient Past. International Intergraph Graphic Users Group, Huntsville, Alabama.  Electronically published, 1997.

The Role of GIS in the Interdisciplinary Investigations at Olorgesailie, Kenya, a Pleistocene Archaeological Locality, with R. Potts and D. Cole.  In Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems, M. Aldenderfer and H.D.G. Maschner, editors.  Oxford University Press 1996.

The Pleistocene Locality of Kanjera, Western Kenya:  Stratigraphy, Chronology and Paleoenvironments, with A.K. Behrensmeyer, R. Potts, T. Plummer, L. Tauxe and N. Opdyke.  Journal of Human Evolution 29:247-274, 1995.

Mapping Human Origins on an Ancient Landscape, with J. Clark.  Professional Surveyor 15(4):10-12, 1995.