Dr. Kathleen R. Johnson, Professor
Aanii (Hello)! My name is Dr. Kathleen Johnson (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians), and I’m a geochemist and paleoclimatologist specializing in reconstructing past climate using isotopic and geochemical variations preserved in cave calcite formations (speleothems), such as stalagmites. I am currently an Associate Professor and Vice-Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Dept. of Earth System Science at the University of California.
Our lab is currently conducting process-based studies of new and emerging speleothem proxies, and developing multi-proxy speleothem records of past hydroclimate variability from seasonal to orbital timescales. Our research helps improve understanding of the hydroclimate response to external forcing (e.g. greenhouse gases, orbital changes) and internal climate variability (e.g. ENSO), which can help separate natural from human-caused climate change and lead to improve climate model projections of future rainfall changes. Our current and former study areas include California, China, Mexico, Laos, and Vietnam.
I welcome inquiries from prospective undergraduate student, graduate student, and post-doctoral researchers with interests in geochemistry, climate science/ paleoclimate, environmental justice, and community-engaged research.