UNRAVELING THE HISTORY OF EARTH’S CLIMATE AND ECOSYSTEMS

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Our group seeks a deeper understanding of how Earth’s natural systems have bahaved in the past, and how this knowledge can better inform us of the future. We are principally focused on reconstructing the evolution of Earth’s climate and ecosystems using biogeochemical tracers preserved in various geological archives. To better constrain the mechanisms responsible for observed changes, ongoing work also involves modern calibration studies and paleoclimate simulations using complex earth system models.

The lab is directed by Michael Griffiths, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science at William Paterson University of New Jersey.

Featured Articles

Deciphering local and regional hydroclimate resolves contradicting evidence on the Asian monsoon evolution

*Wolf, A., Ersek, V., Braun, T., French, A., McGee, D., Bernasconi, S.M. Skiba, V., Griffiths, M.L., Johnson, K.R., Fohlmeister, J., Breitenbach, S.F.M., Pausata, F.S.R., Tabor, C.R., Longman, J., Roberts, W.H.G., Chandan, D., Peltier, W.R., Salzmann, U., Limbert, D., Trinh, D.A., 2023. Nature Communications, 14, 5697.

Endothermic physiology of extinct megatooth sharks

Griffiths, M.L., Eagle, R.A., Kim, S.L., Flores, R.J., Becker, M.A., Maisch IV, H.M., Trayler, R.B., Chan, R.L., McCormack, J., Akhtar, A.A., Tripati, A.K., and Shimada, K., 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120 (27) e2218153120.

See related Commentary

Glacial changes in sea level modulated millennial- scale variability of Southeast Asian autumn monsoon rainfall

Patterson, E.W., Johnson, K.R., Griffiths, M.L., Kinsley, C.W., McGee, D., Due, X., Pico, T., Wolf, A., Ersek, V., Mortlock, R.A., Yamoah, K.A, Bùij, T.N., Trầnj, M.X., Đỗ- Trọngk, Q., Võj, T.V., and Đinh, T.H., 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120 (27) 2219489120.

Constraining clouds and convective parameterizations in a climate model using paleoclimate data

Ramos, R. D., LeGrande, A. N., Griffiths, M.L., Elsaesser, G. S., Litchmore, D. T., Tierney, J. E., Pausata, F. S. R., Nusbaumer, J., 2022. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems,
doi: 10.1029/2021MS002893.

Cenozoic megatooth sharks occupied extremely high trophic positions

Kast, E.R., Griffiths, M.L., Kim, S.L., Rao, Z.C., Shimada, K., Becker, M.A., Maisch, H.M., Eagle, R.A., Clarke, C.A., Neumann, A.N., Lüdecke, T., Leichliter, J.N., Martínez-García, A., Akhtar, A.A., Wang, X.T., Haug, G.H., Sigman, D.M, 2022. Science Advances 8, eabl6529.

See related Focus

Trophic position of Otodus megalodon and great white sharks through time revealed by zinc isotopes

McCormack, J., Griffiths, M.L., Kim, S.L., Shimada, K, Karnes, M., Maisch IV, H., Pederzani, S., Bourgon, N., Jaouen, K., Becker, M.A., Jöns, N., Sisma-Ventura, G., Straube, N., Pollerspöck, J., Hublin, J.J., Eagle, R.A., and Tütken, T., 2022. Nature Communications 13, 2980.

End of Green Sahara amplified mid-to late Holocene megadroughts in mainland Southeast Asia.

Griffiths, M.L., Johnson, K.R., Pausata, F.S., White, J.C., Henderson, G.M., Wood, C.T., Yang, H., Ersek, V., Conrad, C. and Sekhon, N., 2020. Nature Communications 11, 4204.

East Asian hydroclimate modulated by the position of the westerlies during Termination I.

Zhang, H., Griffiths, M.L., Chiang, J.C.H., Kong, W., Wu, S., Atwood, A., Huang, J., Cheng, H., Ning, Y., Xie, S., 2018. Science 362, 580-583.

See related Perspective

Western Pacific hydroclimate linked to global climate variability over the past two millennia.

Griffiths, M.L., Kimbrough, A.K., Gagan, M.K., Drysdale, R.N., Cole, J., Johnson, K., Zhao, J.-x., Cook, B., Hellstrom, J.C., Hantoro, W.S., 2016. Nature Communications 7, 11719.

Rapid interhemispheric climate links via the Australasian monsoon during the last deglaciation.

Ayliffe, L.K., Gagan, M.K., Zhao, J.-x., Drysdale, R.N., Hellstrom, J.C., Hantoro, W.S., Griffiths, M.L., Scott-Gagan, H., St. Pierre, E., Cowley, J.A., Suwargadi, B.W., 2013. Nature Communications 4, 2908.

Increasing Australian–Indonesian monsoon rainfall linked to early Holocene sea-level rise

Griffiths, M.L., Drysdale, R.N., Gagan, M.K., Zhao, J.-x., Ayliffe, L.K., Hellstrom, J.C., Hantoro, W.S., Frisia, S., Feng, Y.-x., Cartwright, I., St. Pierre, E., Fischer, M.J., and Suwargadi, B.W., 2009. Nature Geoscience 2, 636-639.