Matthew Lachniet
Biography
Matthew Lachniet, a professor in the department of geoscience, focuses on understanding the controls on Earth’s climate on time scales ranging from seasonal to hundreds of thousands of years, with a particular focus on tropical, desert southwest, and arctic past climates. These data inform understanding of modern and anthropogenic climate change.
Lachniet uses light stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry, hydrology, speleology, glacial geology, geomorphology, and the sedimentary record to answer questions of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic change. His primary research areas are Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Alaska, and the Great Basin. His research goal is to constrain past climate changes in these regions using proxy records. He is particularly interested in generating rainfall histories for Central America and to evaluate the climate forcings of climate change and variability in the neotropics.
Education
- B.S., Geology, Antioch College
- M.S., Geology, Michigan State University
- Ph.D., Geology, Syracuse University
Matthew Lachniet In The News
Articles Featuring Matthew Lachniet
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Study: Scientists Investigate Grand Canyon's Ancient Past to Predict Future Climate Impacts
51ԹϺ-led team explores relationship between warming post-Ice Age temperatures and intensifying summer monsoon rains on groundwater reserves.
51ԹϺ Newsmakers 2022: July
A collection of news stories highlighting university experts’ insights on and contributions to health, environment, and society.