Photo Gallery


Geology majors and graduate students have the opportunity to participate in research in labs at UB and in a wide variety of locations around the United States and abroad. Below are just a few examples of our students conducting research.



Professor Elizabeth Thomas and PhD student Devon Gorbey from UB along with postdoc Greg de Wet from the University of Colorado on an Inuit sled called a qamatiq at Clyde River, Nunavut in Arctic Canada, on Baffin Island. Photo Credit: Professor Jason Briner

 Professor Elizabeth Thomas and PhD student Devon Gorbey from UB along with postdoc Greg de Wet from the University of Colorado on an Inuit sled called a qamatiq at Clyde River, Nunavut in Arctic Canada, on Baffin Island. Photo Credit: Professor Jason Briner

MS Student Caleb Walcott taking notes about a sample collection in Sitka, Alaska for his thesis that relates to dating an ancient human migration corridor. Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

 MS Student Caleb Walcott taking notes about a sample collection in Sitka, Alaska for his thesis that relates to dating an ancient human migration corridor. Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

(From left to right) Professor Giff Miller (Univ. Colorado ) Devon Gorbey (PhD student at UB, Professor Elizabeth Thomas (UB) and postdoc Greg De Wet (University of Colorado) at Clyde River, Nunavut on Baffin Island. Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

 (From left to right) Professor Giff Miller (Univ. Colorado ) Devon Gorbey (PhD student at UB, Professor Elizabeth Thomas (UB) and postdoc Greg De Wet (University of Colorado) at Clyde River, Nunavut on Baffin Island. Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

Joe Tulenko (PhD Student at UB) Nicolas Young PhD (Alum 2014). Joe is holding a rock sample that he is using to date the history of glacier retreat in the Alaska Range, AK. Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

 Joe Tulenko (PhD Student at UB) Nicolas Young PhD (Alum 2014). Joe is holding a rock sample that he is using to date the history of glacier retreat in the Alaska Range, AK. Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

View of Revelation Mountains, Alaska (August 2019) Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

 View of Revelation Mountains, Alaska (August 2019) Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

View of Kenai Lowland in Alaska, (July 2019) Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

 View of Kenai Lowland in Alaska, (July 2019) Photo credit: Professor Jason Briner

UB Master’s student Meg Corcoran collect snow from the roof of Cooke Hall. Meg measured the stable water isotopes in precipitation to study the water cycle, including lake effect precipitation. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

 UB Master’s student Meg Corcoran collect snow from the roof of Cooke Hall. Meg measured the stable water isotopes in precipitation to study the water cycle, including lake effect precipitation. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

UB geology master’s student Megan Corcoran (left) and UB Assistant Professor of Geology Elizabeth Thomas (right) in UB’s Organic and Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory. In this lab, Dr. Thomas’ team studies how temperature and precipitation changed in the past, and how the water cycle is changing today. Credit: Douglas Levere

 UB geology master’s student Megan Corcoran (left) and UB Assistant Professor of Geology Elizabeth Thomas (right) in UB’s Organic and Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory. In this lab, Dr. Thomas’ team studies how temperature and precipitation changed in the past, and how the water cycle is changing today. Credit: Douglas Levere

Kayla Hollister, UB geology master’s student, hugs a mammoth bone in Alaska. Kayla was there collecting samples from gold mines to study past climate change. Sediment from the mines holds all sorts of fascinating relics, including fossils like these and the remains of ancient trees. Credit: Nathan Polard-Yopek

 Kayla Hollister, UB geology master’s student, hugs a mammoth bone in Alaska. Kayla was there collecting samples from gold mines to study past climate change. Sediment from the mines holds all sorts of fascinating relics, including fossils like these and the remains of ancient trees. Credit: Nathan Polard-Yopek

Kayla Hollister, UB geology master’s student, carefully removes a section of sediment from the wall of a mine near Fairbanks, Alaska. Kayla was part of a team that will be studying past climate change in Alaska. Credit: Elizabeth Thomas

 Kayla Hollister, UB geology master’s student, carefully removes a section of sediment from the wall of a mine near Fairbanks, Alaska. Kayla was part of a team that will be studying past climate change in Alaska. Credit: Elizabeth Thomas

A lake effect snowstorm as viewed from an airplane over the Buffalo region on Nov. 18, 2014. UB geologists study past and future impacts of lake effect storms on Western New York. Credit: Jeffrey Suhr.

 A lake effect snowstorm as viewed from an airplane over the Buffalo region on Nov. 18, 2014. UB geologists study past and future impacts of lake effect storms on Western New York. Credit: Jeffrey Suhr.

A shovel, tape measure and other tools are perched against the deposits of loess and ancient soil that form the wall of a mine. UB Geologists are using molecular fossils found in these sediments to study past temperature and precipitation in Alaska. Layers of volcanic ash, also found in the wall, can help scientists determine the age of different sections of sediments. Credit: Elizabeth Thomas

 A shovel, tape measure and other tools are perched against the deposits of loess and ancient soil that form the wall of a mine. UB Geologists are using molecular fossils found in these sediments to study past temperature and precipitation in Alaska. Layers of volcanic ash, also found in the wall, can help scientists determine the age of different sections of sediments. Credit: Elizabeth Thomas

UB geologists and colleagues collecting samples of loess and volcanic ash, exposed in an active gold mine in Alaska. They are studying climate in Alaska during ancient warm periods. Left to right: Team members on the research expedition including University of Alberta geology researcher Britta Jensen; UB geology master’s student Kayla Hollister; University of Alberta master’s student Nathan Polard-Yopek; and University at Buffalo geology researcher Elizabeth Thomas, who is leading the project. Credit: Elizabeth Thomas

 UB geologists and colleagues collecting samples of loess and volcanic ash, exposed in an active gold mine in Alaska. They are studying climate in Alaska during ancient warm periods. Left to right: Team members on the research expedition including University of Alberta geology researcher Britta Jensen; UB geology master’s student Kayla Hollister; University of Alberta master’s student Nathan Polard-Yopek; and University at Buffalo geology researcher Elizabeth Thomas, who is leading the project. Credit: Elizabeth Thomas

Elizabeth Thomas (left), University at Buffalo assistant professor of geology, and Kayla Hollister (right), UB geology master’s student, take notes while perched on a wall of sediment in Alaska. They were collecting samples to study past climate change in this region. Credit: Britta Jensen

 Elizabeth Thomas (left), University at Buffalo assistant professor of geology, and Kayla Hollister (right), UB geology master’s student, take notes while perched on a wall of sediment in Alaska. They were collecting samples to study past climate change in this region. Credit: Britta Jensen

A team led by UB Assistant Professor of Geology Elizabeth Thomas has set up equipment for collecting snow samples on the rooftop of UB’s Cooke Hall. They measure the stable water isotopes in these samples to study the water cycle, including lake effect precipitation. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

 A team led by UB Assistant Professor of Geology Elizabeth Thomas has set up equipment for collecting snow samples on the rooftop of UB’s Cooke Hall. They measure the stable water isotopes in these samples to study the water cycle, including lake effect precipitation. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

UB Master’s student Meg Corcoran collect snow from the roof of Cooke Hall. Meg measured the stable water isotopes in precipitation to study the water cycle, including lake effect precipitation. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

 UB Master’s student Meg Corcoran collect snow from the roof of Cooke Hall. Meg measured the stable water isotopes in precipitation to study the water cycle, including lake effect precipitation. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

A sample of leaf waxes extracted from lake sediments. Students in the UB Paleoclimate research group use leaf waxes and other molecular fossils to study the history of precipitation and temperature in the Arctic, Asia, and Western New York. Credit: Douglas Levere

 A sample of leaf waxes extracted from lake sediments. Students in the UB Paleoclimate research group use leaf waxes and other molecular fossils to study the history of precipitation and temperature in the Arctic, Asia, and Western New York. Credit: Douglas Levere

Graduate student Kailey DiemKaye (right) and Dr. Ingo Sonder (left) fill 60 kg (about 132 lb) molten volcanic rock into an experiment box, and bring it to a controlled, intense interaction with water. The research project helps to better understand under which conditions magma and water can create explosions during volcanic eruptions.

 Graduate student Kailey DiemKaye (right) and Dr. Ingo Sonder (left) fill 60 kg (about 132 lb) molten volcanic rock into an experiment box, and bring it to a controlled, intense interaction with water. The research project helps to better understand under which conditions magma and water can create explosions during volcanic eruptions.

Graduate student Maggie LeClair and Professor Richelle Allen-King heading out to sample glacial fed Lake Zigadenus.

 Graduate student Maggie LeClair and Professor Richelle Allen-King heading out to sample glacial fed Lake Zigadenus.

Graduate student Maggie LeClair and Professor Richelle Allen-King taking flow measurements at the outflow of Lake Zigadenus.

 Graduate student Maggie LeClair and Professor Richelle Allen-King taking flow measurements at the outflow of Lake Zigadenus.

Graduate students Anastasia Rashchupkina and Brandon Keim document detailed sedimentary structures in ash deposits produced during the eruption of Ubehebe Crater 2000 years ago, in Death Valley

 Graduate students Anastasia Rashchupkina and Brandon Keim document detailed sedimentary structures in ash deposits produced during the eruption of Ubehebe Crater 2000 years ago, in Death Valley

Brandon Keim and Anastasia Rashchupkina on the rim of Ubehebe Crater after a couple of weeks of ashy fieldwork in Death Valley.

 Brandon Keim and Anastasia Rashchupkina on the rim of Ubehebe Crater after a couple of weeks of ashy fieldwork in Death Valley.
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