Siânin Spaur

I am a new member of the Argon Geochronology Lab group with a background in terrestrial paleoclimatology and geochronology. My research interests lie in reconstructing conditions on Earth's surface in the past using stable isotope geochemistry and other paleoclimate proxies, and using 40Ar/39Ar dating to establish high-resolution geochronology for these records. I am especially interested in understanding past hydroclimate, specifically precipitation, in order to understand how it shaped environments and faunal/floral assemblages in the past. I am also generally interested in stable isotopes of surface waters, both in modern and past waters, as tracers of seasonal cycles, precipitation sources, and connectivity between water reservoirs. I hope to conduct more paleoclimate projects in New Mexico to better inform our understanding of how local climate and environments in the southwestern US respond to global climate changes.

• M.S. Geosciences - Paleoclimatology, Colorado State University, 2022
  • Thesis Advisor: Jeremy K. Caves Rugenstein
  • Master's thesis: The hydroclimate and environmental response to warming in the southwestern US: A study across the Mid-Miocene Climate Optimum
• B.S. Earth & Environmental Sciences, Lehigh University, 2020
  • Thesis Advisor: Frank J. Pazzaglia
  • Undergraduate Thesis: Age and environmental change information encoded in Early-Middle Pleistocene paleosols exposed in buried valleys of the Eastern Pennsylvania anthracite fields