Sa'angna Mi'ila Gollette
Earth & Planetary Sciences
Mentor: Keith Prufer, Ph.D.
Project: Reconstructing Late Holocene Climate in Central America Using Oxygen Isotopes of Speleothems
About Sa'angna Mi'ila Gollette
My study aims to investigate rainfall patterns by analyzing the oxygen isotopes in a stalagmite retrieved from Yok Balum Cave using mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, and statistics. This stalagmite contains a historical record ranging from 600 years (Before Present – BP) through 9,000 years BP based on the accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The stable oxygen isotope data gathered will show how a stalagmite can elucidate precipitation variability in the Maya Lowlands.
