Postdoctoral Scholars
Rose Gallo
Postdoctoral Scholar
Advisor: Jill VanTongeren
Area of Study: I am interested in the processes that occur in magma chambers: how magmas interact and what happens during magma storage. I use the textural characteristics and major and trace chemistry of igneous rocks and minerals to investigate these subjects. My PhD focused on magma bodies within one of the rift zones of Kīlauea volcano. I investigated the chemical changes that magmas undergo between eruptions, syn-eruptive mingling processes, and a unique magma encountered in a geothermal borehole which I used to test the utility of common petrologic tools for inferring magma storage conditions.
At Tufts, I will be characterizing the chemical and textural features of the Dufek Intrusion, a Jurassic layered mafic intrusion in Antarctica. I hope to use new compositional information to model possible scenarios for the cooling history of the Dufek magma body.
Paul Summers
Postdoctoral Scholar
Advisor: Becca Jackson
Area of Study: I am interested in understanding the processes that control the fastest flowing ice of Earth’s ice sheets, from ice divide until where the glacier calves and melts into the ocean. I use numerical models to focus on physical processes that enhance glacier flow, calving, and melting. I test these models against observations using remote sensing, in situ, and paleo observations (records of past ice flow/extent). For my PhD I used idealized models to understand the processes that control the width of ice streams in Antarctica.
At Tufts I am working with Rebecca Jackson and Alex Robel at the Georgia Institute of Technology to build a coupled Glacier-Mélange-Ocean model. This project will help us understand the complex, coupled fjord system that controls ice mass loss at the marine boundary of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Glacier calving and submarine melt represents roughly half of Greenland's total contribution to global sea level, yet these processes remain poorly understood. Through this work, we hope to better understand what feedback processes control ice mass loss and fresh water export from the Greenlands Ice Sheet, and future sensitivity to changes in climate forcing.
Duncan Wheeler
Postdoctoral Scholar
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 retreat. By improving our understanding of the relevant dynamics, we can enable climate modelers to better predict future changes.