Postdoctoral Scholars
Emmanuel Bustamante
Advisor: Andy Kemp
Area of Study: I have experience conducting sub-surface and surface geological research to reconstruct Holocene sea-level changes and comprehend the influence of climate and tectonic forces on the evolution of coastlines and the potential risk they pose to coastal communities. I use micropaleontological, chemical, and chronological stratigraphic techniques to analyze sedimentary sequences of temperate and tropical coastal tidal wetlands. Additionally, I utilize geospatial technologies to perform geomorphological surveys to assess the most recent changes in coastal areas.
At Tufts University, I am part of the research project: Dynamic sea-level trends during the past two millennia. My research is centered on examining the replication of relative sea-level reconstructions by utilizing salt marsh sediments to effectively determine the imprints of local-scale processes prior to drawing conclusions about regional processes.
Duncan Wheeler
Advisor: Becca Jackson
Area of Study: I am interested in using ocean observations to inform the development of new physics theories and idealized models in coastal systems. Additionally, I am interested in interdisciplinary work that uses the social sciences to identify how physical sciences can be done in a way that most effectively benefits society. For my PhD thesis, I studied the impacts of infragravity frequency waves on shallow estuaries through turbulent boundary layer dynamics and performed an interview based study of coastal physical oceanography professors to understand the cultural conflicts and challenges that academic researchers face.
At Tufts, I will be using observations from Greenland and Alaska to study ocean-glacier interactions in fjord systems. Ocean-glacier interactions form a large part of our uncertainty on how fast glaciers in the northern hemisphere. By improving our understanding of the relevant dynamics, we can enable climate modelers to better predict future changes.