Geology Research

Students and professors at Colgate carry out geologic research exploring a wide range of topics at locations around the world.

In addition to research studies run by Colgate professors, the department is also a member of the Keck Geology Consortium, a multi-college collaboration that opens up a broad range of research opportunities for both undergraduates and faculty members. Students involved in Colgate or Keck-related research often travel with their research adviser to their study locations in order to gain firsthand field experience.

Africa

  • Aubreya Adams studies the origin and evolution of the East African Rift System, and its relationship to the African Superplume and researches the origin of the enigmatic Cameroon Volcanic Line.

Mars

  • Joe Levy is prospecting for glacier and permafrost ice deposits on Mars that might contain traces of past habitable environments or that could be used by future explorers using satellite and rover data.

Antarctica

  • Amy Leventer does extensive climate change research on the East Antarctic Margin.
  • Joe Levy studies the sediment, water, and ice in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys to understand the connections between climate change, hydrology, and life in extreme environments.

Galápagos Islands

  • Karen Harpp researches the volcanic processes and history of the Galápagos.

 

Eastern North America

  • Aubreya Adams investigates the seismicity and crustal structure of the Adirondack Mountains.
  • William Peck studies metamorphic and igneous rocks in Quebec, New York, and New Jersey to determine the tectonic history of Eastern North America 
  • Paul Harnik studies the impacts of human activities, in particular eutrophication and climate change, on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico by comparing live populations with the remains of historical populations preserved in seafloor sediments.

Western North America

  • Joe Levy is measuring the flow rate and internal structure of debris-covered glaciers in Alaska and the mountain West to determine how changing temperature and precipitation is encoded in glacial landscapes.
  • Martin Wong's work in the southwestern United States aims at gaining an understanding of the mechanics of metamorphic core complexes.
  • Aubreya Adams uses seismic data recorded along the southern Alaskan margin to determine how upper mantle structures and dynamics relate to spatial variability of earthquake and volcanic behaviors.

Student Theses

Student research is a significant feature of our undergraduate curriculum that often leads to presentations at professional meetings and publications in scientific journals. To qualify for honors in geology, students must complete a year-long senior thesis, the culmination of a research project usually started the summer before their senior year. Following is a list of theses completed by Earth & Environmental Geoscience students in recent years.

2026 Research

Aidan Kennefick
Advisor: William Peck
Constraining Deformation and Metamorphism in the Cheney Mountain Shear Zone, East Adirondack Highlands, New York

Jacob Norton-Scherer
Advisor: William Peck
Post Irene Mineralogical Inventory of Cascade Slide, Adirondack Mountains

Natalie Urban
Advisor: William Peck
Petrology of Gedrite-Cordierite-Garnet Gneiss from the Front Range, CO

Eric Widrick
Advisor: William Peck
Carbon Sequestration at the Valentine Wollastonite Mine in Lewis County, New York

Gisele Tjan
Advisor: Joe Levy
Spectroscopic Investigation of the Jarosite-Bearing Region of Mawrth Vallis to Constrain Ancient Aqueous Processes on Mars

Vivian Klemmer
Advisor: Karen Harpp
The Eruptive and Geochemical History of San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos

Rylie Berwanger
Advisor: Alison Koleszar
Tracing Magma Mixing Through Plagioclase Papulations at Augustine Volcano, Alaska

Madison Cammarata
Advisor: Paul Harnik
Environmental Correlates of Life History Variation in Cupuladriid Bryozoans Across a Modern Productivity Gradient

Flannery Hogan
Advisor: Joe Levy
Slope Area Relationships for Martian Gullies

Emily Pfaff
Advisor: Joe Levy
Hypersaline Soil Solutions from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica as Analogs for Freeze Resistant Martian Near-Surface Pore Water

Riley Taylor
Advisor: Joe Levy
Thermal Properties of Alvord Desert Soils: Remote Detection of Soil Moisture in Mars Analog Sediments

Top row L to R: Gisele Tjan, Jacod Norton-Scherer, Vivan Klemmer, Aidan Kennefick, Eric Widrick, Natalie Urban; Bottom row L to R: Emily Pfaff, Riley Taylor, Flannery Hogan, Rylie Berwanger, Madison Cammarta
2025 Research

Ryan D'Errico

Advisor: Alison Koleszar

Reconstructing Eruption Intensity at Augustine Volcano, Alaska


Alexa Russo

Advisor: Amy Leventer

Diatoms as a Proxy for Mid-to-Late Holocene Oceanographic Change


Vivian Adelman

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Temperature-dependent Variation in Egg Size in Marine Protobranch Bivalves


Will Aspinwall

Advisor: William Peck

Geochronology of Anorthosites and Ferroan Granitoids of Grenville Inliers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania


Chris O'Connell

Advisor: William Peck

Rare Earth Element Analysis of Adirondack Anorthosite


Katie Victor

Advisor: Joe Levy

Water at Work or Sediment on the Slide: Slope/Area Relationship at Channel Heads of Martian Gullies


Ian Andrews

Advisor: Joe Levy

Where Does It Come From, Where Does It Go: Antarctic Watershed from Above and Below


Morgan Cecil

Advisor: Joe Levy

Hamilton under a Salt: Salinization of Surface Waters and Municipal Water Supply


Amelia Rastley

From Rock to Reef: How Geological Substrates Shape Coral Reef Ecosystem Health - Insights from Fieldwork in Fiji

2024 Research

Jane Carskaddan

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Evaluating Molluscan Microstructure as a Proxy for Environmental Conditions in Coastal Oceans


Riley Farbstein

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Evaluating the Effects of Anthropogenic Eutrophication on R. amianta in the Gulf of Mexico


Jessica Wen

Advisor: Aubreya Adams

Surface Wave Tomography and Radial Anisotropy of the Alaskan Subduction Zone


Tom Richards

Advisor: Karen Harpp

Investigation of the Eastern Galápagos: A Geochemical Comparison of Espanola and San Cristobal Islands


Keiona Williams

Advisor: Alison Koleszar

Augustine Volcano: Analysis of Past Eruptions and Magma Mixing through Trace Elements


Henry Lin

Advisor: William Peck

Origin of Iron Deposits in the Adirondack Mountains


Drew Hindall

Advisor: William Peck

Geotourism and Education at the Gore Mountain Garnet Mine, Adirondack Mountains


Juan Gomez

Assessing Geochemical Dynamics in the Kern River


Sophie Naylor

Impacts of Different Soil Management Practices on Carbon Stores in a Central NY Farm

 

Top row L to R: Jessica Wen, Tom Richards, Riley Farbstein, Jane Carskaddan, Keiona Williams; Bottom row L to R: Sophie Naylor, Henry Lin, Drew Hindall, Juan Gomez
2023 Research

Izzy King

Advisor: Joe Levy

Ca-Cl Brine Formation in McMurdo Dry Valleys Water Tracks: Evidence of cation-exchange-driven brine chemistry dependent on depth, micoclimate zone, and organic matter


Tommy Subak

Advisor: Joe Levy

Volumetric Analysis of Martian Chaos Terrain


Lingfeng (Gary) Kuang

Advisor: Joe Levy

Ister Chaos: Mapping, Geometric Analyses, and Evaluation of Potential Formation Models


MC Rapoza

Advisor: Joe Levy

Early Inner Solar System Conditions Recorded in Ordinary Chondrite NWA 14756


Charlie Filipovich

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Assessing Live-Dead Shifts in Molluscan Functional Diversity in Coastal Alabama


Victor Unnone

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Cupuladriid Bryozoan Life History Varies with Primary Productivity in the Northern Gulf of Mexico


Jacob Steinberg

Advisor: William Peck

Carbon Isotope Perspective on the Origin of Graphite Deposits in the Adirondack Mountains


Matthew King

Advisor: William Peck

A Geochemical Analysis of Graphite-Bearing Pegmatites in the Adirondack Mountains


Jessica Zehner

Advisor: Alison Koleszar

The 1100 y.b.p. Eruption of Tephra C at Augustine Volcano, Alaska: Variations in Eruptive Style and Magma Source at an Intermediate Arc Volcano


Abigail Melican

Advisor: Alison Koleszar

Changing Explosivity Through Time: Textural and Geochemical Analysis of Large Eruptions at Augustine Volcano, Alaska


Alexa Trubiano

Advisor: Aubreya Adams

3D Shear Wave Imaging of the Alaskan Subduction Zone

 

Top row L to R: MC Rapoza, Izzy King, Tommy Subak, Charlie Filipovich, Victor Unnone, Gary Kuang; Bottom row L to R: Alexa Trubiano, Jacob Steinberg, Matthew King, Abigail Melican, Jessica Zehner
2022 Research

Luke Calderaro

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Eutrophication on Marine Ecosystem Dynamics in the Northern Gulf of Mexico


Sadie Kasten

Advisor: William Peck

Wollastonite Weathering and Carbon Sequestration at the Valentine Mine (NY) and in Experiments


Celia Meyer

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Assessing the Spatiotemporal Effects of Anthropogenic Eutrophication on Marine Bivalve Life Histories in the Northern Gulf of Mexico


Olivia Quartz

Advisor: Amy Leventer

Examining Fragilariopsis kerguelensis Rectangularity in Eash Antarctica as a Proxy for Reconstructing Paleoclimate


Evie Unger-Harquail

Advisor: Amy Leventer

Evaluation of Fragilariopsis kerguelensis asa Paleotemperature Proxy on the Sabrina Coast


Jeri Stoller

Advisor: Paul Harnik

Geographic Variation in Shell Preservation Across the Northern Gulf of Mexico


Fairuz Ishraque

Advisor: Joe Levy

Martian Glacial History from Region-Based Convolutional Neural Network Analysis of HiRISE Image Data


Jessica Johnson

Advisor: Joe Levy

Hidden Habitability in Antarctica: Assessing Salts as Constraints for Organic Matter in Martian Analog Water Tracks


Bronson Cvijanovich

Advisor: Joe Levy

Surface Change in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys: Mapping Dynamic Rivers in Unvegetated Ice-rich Soils

 

Martin Welych-Flanagan

Advisor: Amy Leventer

Stable Isotope Signatures of Middle Devonian Brachiopods: A Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis

 

Sydney Walters

Advisor: Aubreya Adams

Seismic Imaging of the Alaskan Subduction Zone

 

Top row L to R: Jeri Stoller, Sadie Kasten,Luke Calderaro, Celia Meyer, Evie Unger-Harquail, Olivia Quartz; Bottom row L to R: Martin Welych-Flanagan, Sydney Walters, Fairuz Ishraque, Jessica Johnson, Bronson Cvijanovich
2019 Research
  • Isabel Dove
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Exploratory Holocene Climate Records from Edward VIII Gulf, Kemp Land Coast, East Antarctica
  • Patrick Matulka
    Advisor: Joseph Levy
    Rounding and Comminution Rates of Ice Clasts Using the Titan Tumbler: Fluctuating Circularity and Stepped Mass Loss
  • Samuel Timothy
    Advisor: William Peck
    Geochemical Analysis of Wollastonite Skarn Rock from the Lewis Deposit, Adirondack Mountains
  • Mark LaPan
    Advisor: William Peck
    Stable Isotope Geochemistry and Calcite-Graphite Thermometry of Marbles in Lewis and Oak Hill Wollastonite Skarn
  • Shae Labbe
    Advisor: William Peck
    Formation of Calcite Veins in Wollastonite Ore from the Lewis Deposit: Insights From Textures and Chemistry
  • Michelle Tebolt
    Advisor: Joseph Levy
    Slope, Elevation, and Thermal Inertia Trends of Recurring Slope Lineae
  • Faith McDonald 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Passive Carbon Sequestration at a Wollastonite Mine: Mineralization: X-Ray Diffraction Analysis
  • Victoria Arnold
    Advisor: William Peck
    Passive Carbon Sequestration at a Wollastonite Mine: Stable Isotope Analysis
  • Adam Coles
    Advisor: Joseph Levy
    Sea Ice Recession in Relation to ANWR Oil Potential: Decreasing Summer Ice Coverage Adds Additional Drilling Concerns
  • Monica Dimas
    Advisor: Joseph Levy
    Madison County Watershed Chemistry
  • Natalie Kozlowski
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Radiolarians as Proxies for Oceanographic Change Along the East Antarctic Coast
  • Allison Callanan
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Identifying Microplastics in Antarctic Marine Sediment: The Amundsen Sea and the Northeastern Antarctic Peninsula
  • Hayley Pearson
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Magma Chamber Evolution in the Galápagos
  • Adrian Heath
    Advisor: Joseph Levy
    How Does Water Deposition Occur in the Driest Soils on Earth?: Salt and Sediment Properties of Hygroscopic Soils in Antarctica/li>
  • Chelsea Jacques
    Advisor: Joseph Levy
    Characteristics of Boulder Halos on Mars: Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere
  • Sara Gillis
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Education Modules and Curriculum Guides on the Geology of Eleuthera,The Bahamas
  • Camila Loke
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Searching for Pleistocene Glacial-Interglacial Cycles in the Southeast Indian Ridge
(Top row L to R: Patrick Matulka, Michelle Tebolt, Isabel Dove, Mark LaPan, Samuel Timothy, Shae Labbe; Middle row L to R: Monica Dimas, Allison Callanan, Faith McDonald, Natalie Kozlowski, Victoria Arnold, Adam Coles; Bottom row L to R: Sara Gillis, Camila Loke, Adrian Heath, Chelsea Jacques, and Hayley Pearson)
2018 Research
  • Erica Nathan
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Here Comes the Sun: Multi-Line Spectral Analysis of Solar Flares
  • Alexander Taylor
    Advisor: William Peck
    Isotope and Geochemical Analysis of Adirondack Anorthosite and Implications for Massif Emplacement History
  • Julia Barcello
    Advisor: William Peck
    Formation of Wollastonite Ore from the Lewis Deposit: Insights from Garnet Chemistry
  • Lily Daggett
    Advisor: William Peck
    Chemical Zoning in Garnets from the Lewis Deposit, Adirondacks
  • Regina Pimental
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    San Cristobal, An Early "Plumer": An Analysis of the Evolution of Magma Plumbing Systems in the Galapagos Archipelago
  • Meghan Duffy
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Diatom proxy record of Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, Sabrina Coast, East Antarctic Margin
  • Lily Ganske
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Diatom proxy reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene, Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica
  • Austin Sun
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Phytoplankton Community Composition off the Eastern Coast of New Zealand
  • Seamus Crowley
    Advisor: Constance Soja
    Educational Exercise and Database Development on the State Fossil of New York: Eurypterus remipes
  • Carlie McCumber
    Advisor: Constance Soja
    A Day in the Life of a Devonian Trilobite: An interactive teaching tool
(Top row L to R: Erica Nathan, Julia Barcello, Regina Pimental, Lily Daggett, Alex Taylor; Bottom row L to R: Lily Ganske, Austin Sun, Seamus Crowley, Carlie McCumber, and Meghan Duffy)
2017 Research
  • Jake Mahr 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Rejuvenescent Volcanism on San Cristóbal Island, Galapagos: A Late "Plumer"
  • Hannah Bercovici 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Isla Rabida, Galapagos: A little island with a big secret
  • Taylor Dawson 
    Advisor: Martin Wong
    EBSD and Ti-in-quartz analysis of mylonites from the Harcuvar core complex region
  • Glenna Thomas 
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Antarctic Radiolaria
  • Grace Howard 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Thermometry and geochronology of Adirondack anorthosite
  • Oleg Kozel
    Advisor: William Peck
    Pseudosection analysis and geochronology of Adirondack anorthosite
  • Taylor Mooney 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    A Diatom-Based, Paleolimnological Study of Shadow Lake, Waupaca County, Wisconsin
  • Alex Campbell 
    Advisor: Bruce Selleck
    The Trace Element Geochemistry of the Trenton-Utica Boundary in Herkimer County, New York
  • Natalie Smith 
    Advisor: Bruce Selleck
    Flat Creek, Jackson, Wyoming: Assessing Impacts of Development on Water Quality
  • Jonathan (Jonny) Miller 
    Advisor: Aubreya Adams
    Sources of Rifting in the East African Rift System: A Rayleigh Wave Tomography Study
  • Veronica Vriesman 
    Advisor: Martin Wong
    Cold Relamination in California: A Petrological Study of Salina de Sierras' Schist Emplacement
  • Matthew (Matt) Quinan
    Advisor: William Peck
    Provenance of detrital zircons in the Paleoproterozoic Morin terrane, Quebec
  • Brett Field 
    Advisor: Constance Soja
    An interactive educational exercise on local Devonian trilobites for teachers and students in Hamilton, N.Y.
  • Aurelia Casarrubias 
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    A Holocene climate record based on diatoms from the Sabrina Coast, Antarctica
  • Ciara Pettinos 
    Advisor: Bruce Selleck
    Nitrogen and Carbon Isotopes in Bivalve Tissue and Shell Organic Matrix: Differentiating Impacted vs. Non-impacted Watersheds, Central and Northern New York
  • Jackson Lucas 
    Advisor: Amy Leventer
    Ice Retreat in the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula: The Application of Diatoms for Understanding Climate Change
  • Tiong Hua (Andy) Sia 
    Advisor: Richard April
    Effects of Liming on the Soil Geochemistry of the Adirondack Mountains
  • Ellis Van Slyke 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Carbon isotopes and sugars in birch, black walnut, butternut, and maple syrup
  • Nathan (Nate) Taylor
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Magnetite T.I.: The Case of the Blue Lava or Origin of Surficial Color in the Blue Dragon Lava Flow, Craters of the Moon National Monument
(Top row L to R: Hannah Bercovici, Jake Mahr, Oleg Kozel, Grace Howard, Taylor Dawson, Glenna Thomas; Middle row L to R: Alex Campbell, Veronica Vriesman, Jonny Miller, Matt Quinan, Taylor Mooney, Brett Field, Natalie Smith; Bottom row L to R: Jackson Lucas, Andy Sia, Ellis Van Slyke, Ciara Pettinos, Nate Taylor, and Aurelia Casarrubias)
2016 Research
  • Kevin Varga 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Understanding magmatic plumbing system dynamics at Fernandina Island, Galapagos
  • Julia Home
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Volcanological Perspectives on Paulin and East Lakes, Newberry Crater, Oregon
  • Ariel Hampton 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Interaction of Basaltic Lava Flows with Patterned Ground: Field and Analog Studies
  • Katherine (Kate) Hardock 
    Advisor: Martin Wong
    40Ar/39AR thermochronology of Harcuvar metamorphic core complex, Arizona
  • Sarah Katz 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Mineralogy and Stable Isotopes of Taconic Metasedimentary Rocks in Dutchess and Litchfield Counties
  • Teymoor Tahbaz 
    Advisor: Bruce Selleck
    Regional correlation and geochronology of a Late Ordovician K-bentonite from the Wells Outlier, New York
  • Ann (Annie) Preston 
    Advisor: Bruce Selleck
    Sequence Stratigraphy Correlations and Depositional Environments of the Late Ordovician Sequence in the Wells Outlier (Wells, New York)
  • Rebecca (Becca) Silardi 
    Advisor: Bruce Selleck
    Syndepositional and Post Deposition Tectonism in the Late Ordovician from the Wells Outlier in Wells, New York
  • Maggie McGuire 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Geochemical Evolution of Espanola Island, Galapagos Archipelago
  • Ashlynne Rando 
    Advisor: Richard April
    Geochemistry of the Adirondacks: A Liming Study
  • Ryan Clements 
    Advisor: Martin Wong
    Kinematics and temperature conditions of mylonitization in the Harcuvar metamorphic core complex, Az.
  • Michael (Mike) DuBois 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Geochemical analysis of pyroxene megacrysts from massif anorthosite in the Adirondacks region
  • Zachary (Zac) Sawin 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Effect of Barrier Design on Hazard Mitigation of Lava Flows
  • Erin Cummings 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Causes of Variability in Carbon Isotope Ratios in Maple and Birch Syrups
  • Megan (Meg) Ryan
    Advisor: Constance Soja
    Analysis of Trilobite Taphofacies at Geer Road Quarry, New York
  • Kegan Thompson 
    Advisor: Constance Soja
    Paleoecology of Devonian trilobites at Geer Road, Lebanon, New York
  • Michael (Mike) Yavorek 
    Advisor: Richard April
    Mineralogy of the Karheen Formation in SE Alaska
  • Kevin Lough 
    Advisor: William Peck
    Constraining Metamorphic Conditions of the Morin Shear Zone, QC, Using Thermobarometry
  • John Quazza 
    Advisor: Karen Harpp
    Investigation into the Insulating Properties of Scoria on Basaltic Lava
(Top row: L to R: Julia Horne, Teynoor Tahbaz, Ariel Hampton, Kate Hardock, Kevin Varga, Sarah Katz; Middle row L to R: Maggie McGuire, Becca Siladi, Mike Dubois, Annie Preston, Ashlynne Rando, Ryan Clements; Bottom row L to R: John Quazza, Kegan Thompson, Mike Yavorek, Kevin Lough, Meg Ryan, Erin Cummings, and Zac Sawain)