Pamela Grothe is a 4th year PhD candidate currently researching paleoclimate - reconstructing tropical Pacific climate through the last 6,000 years using geochemistry from fossil corals. She received a B.S. in geology from Mary Washington College, an M.S. in geology from the University of Colorado and was a part of the Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science Fellowship for the 2014-2015 academic year. Pamela currently has a paper in review in G-cubed titled, "A comparison of rapid-screen 14C and U/Th dates: Implications for paleoclimate reconstruction." 

For her current project, she is reconstructing the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) between 2000 and 6000 years ago from fossil corals from Christmas Island, central tropical Pacific. Future projections of the strength of ENSO, the largest source of year-to-year climate extremes, are highly uncertain. The instrumental record of ENSO activity is too short in time to resolve potential anthropogenic trends in ENSO properties. Coral oxygen isotopes, alternatively, provide monthly-resolved ENSO activity, and extend back 7000 years ago from islands in the central tropical Pacific. Pamela says her initial results suggest a ~60% reduction in ENSO activity between 3000 and 5000 years ago. She goes on to say, “This work is significant as it will allow us to uncover mechanisms behind past ENSO variability and refine simulations of ENSO in climate models.”

In her spare time, Pamela enjoys running, biking, swimming, hiking, camping, kayaking, and SCUBA diving. She also exclaims, “I love my yellow lab rescue dog, Cooper!”