Research
I am a sedimentary isotope biogeochemist utilizing the geologic record of extreme global warming events and extinctions as proxy events to constrain Earth feedbacks which inform our understanding of potential future climate scenarios as a result of present warming. My training has focused on paleontology (invertebrate and taphonomy), sedimentology, and geochemistry (inorganic and organic), affording a diverse perspective to holistically evaluate feedbacks in deep time from various lenses.
My lab group research projects center around understanding feedbacks in the modern Earth system and Earth’s past as well as refining how we interpret the environmental information recorded in an isotopic system of interest (e.g. d13C [carbonate and organic matter], d34S [pyrite, CAS, and organic sulfur], d18O [carbonate], or d15N [organic matter]). This work is accomplished through geologic fieldwork, collection/core facilities work, wet chemical techniques, and analytical measurements using mass spectrometry.
Currently we are working on: (1) constraining the environmental information recorded in the modern marine isotope records of organic sulfur, (2) understanding a unique carbonate mud mound system from the Early Carboniferous seemingly coincident with a major carbon isotope excursion and (3) evaluating the impact that thermal maturation has on the sulfur isotope record within organic rich shales. See my personal research website for more detail on these projects as well as others.
I am actively recruiting to build my research group and welcome emails of interest from potential students or postdocs who may be interested in any of the above projects or related research projects. Please email me at: marroquin2@wisc.edu