This Picarro L2130-i Isotope and Gas Concentration Analyzer is housed at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Julie Richey, Ph.D.
Julie Richey is a Research Geologist at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Paleoclimate and Environmental Change
Establishing a baseline of natural climate variability over the past 2,000 years is essential to accurately predicting regional responses to anthropogenic climate change. My research focus is reconstructing temperature and hydroclimatic variability in the Gulf of Mexico/Subtropical Atlantic Ocean using a broad range of different paleoclimate archives. In addition to generating proxy-based paleoclimate records, I am working on proxy development and calibration studies to improve our ability to quantify past changes in temperature, salinity and precipitation in both terrestrial and marine environments.
Coral Paleoclimate
Research Interests
- Using stable isotopes and trace elements to reconstruct climate from coral skeletons
- Investigating the effect of water quality and coral ecology on geochemical proxies
Field Sites
- US Virgin Islands
- Dry Tortugas National Park
- Florida Keys Reef Tract
Project web page: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc/science/coral-reef-ecosystem-studies-crest
Holocene Paleoclimate in the Gulf of Mexico
Project web page: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc/science/climate-and-environmental-change-gulf-mexico-and-caribbean
Research Interests
- Paleoclimate Reconstruction from Marine and Lake Sediments
- Coral Reefs as Climate Archives
- Paleoceanographic Proxy Calibration
Field Sites
- Garrison Basin (Gulf of Mexico)
- Fisk Basin (Gulf of Mexico)
- Pigmy Basin (Gulf of Mexico)
- Sediment Trap Site (Gulf of Mexico)
Science and Products
APPROACH (APplying Proxy-based Reconstruction Of Atlantic Climate CHange)
USGS scientists use marine geological archives to investigate how ocean temperature, salinity and circulation patterns changed over the past few centuries to millennia. This is done by analyzing the geochemical and physical clues about past environments that are preserved in fossil coral skeletons, clam shells, foraminifera and marine sediments.
Reconstructing Ocean Circulation & Hydroclimate in the Subtropical Atlantic
Changes in rainfall patterns as a result of anthropogenic climate change are already having large ecological and socioeconomic impacts across the globe. Increases in flood damage, wildfire damage, and agricultural losses can all be attributed to anomalous rainfall events and prolonged droughts across the United States in recent years. Additionally, Atlantic Ocean circulation, which has a large...
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...
Reef History and Climate Change
Ecosystem-wide study of seafloor erosion, changing coastal water depths, and effects on coastal storm and wave impacts along the Florida Keys Coral Reef Tract in South Florida.
Paleoclimate Reconstruction from Marine and Lake Sediments
Instrumental measurements of climate variables (e.g., precipitation, temperature, ocean circulation, etc.) are only available over the past century or less. In order to quantify the rate and magnitude of natural climate variability going back in time beyond the 20th century, scientists rely on paleoclimate reconstructions.
Paleoceanographic Proxy Calibration
A sediment trap time series in the northern Gulf of America is used to better assess the control of environmental variables (e.g., temperature and salinity) on the flux of both microfossils and molecular fossils to the sediments. The information gained from sediment trap studies is used to develop better proxy-based estimates of past oceanographic conditions from analyses of microfossils and...
Climate and Environmental Change in the Gulf of America and Caribbean
This project documents paleoceanographic, climatic, and environmental changes in the Gulf of America and adjacent land areas over the last 10,000 years. The paleoenvironmental data is used to determine rates of change in the past, and to better understand both the natural and anthropogenic factors that contribute to climate variability on inter-annual to millennial timescales.
Isotopic Water Analyzer
This Picarro L2130-i Isotope and Gas Concentration Analyzer is housed at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Lake Sediment Core
Section of a sediment core collected from the deepest basin of Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. USGS scientists are analyzing cores from the lake to reconstruct past changes in rainfall.
Section of a sediment core collected from the deepest basin of Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. USGS scientists are analyzing cores from the lake to reconstruct past changes in rainfall.
CTD rosette being deployed
A CTD-rosette is a commonly used instrument that measures conductivity (that can inform scientists about salinity), temperature, and depth (CTD). As the instrument is lowered into the water--sometimes down to great depths--the cylinders around will open at various depths to collect water samples at discrete locations throughout the water column.
A CTD-rosette is a commonly used instrument that measures conductivity (that can inform scientists about salinity), temperature, and depth (CTD). As the instrument is lowered into the water--sometimes down to great depths--the cylinders around will open at various depths to collect water samples at discrete locations throughout the water column.
Live Foraminifera - Globorotalia truncatulinoides
Image of live, single-celled foram, Globorotalia truncatulinoides, viewed under a microscope and collected with a plankton net on the R/V Pelican. Its shell is made from Calcium carbonate and the spikes extensions are called rhizopodia.
Image of live, single-celled foram, Globorotalia truncatulinoides, viewed under a microscope and collected with a plankton net on the R/V Pelican. Its shell is made from Calcium carbonate and the spikes extensions are called rhizopodia.
Scanning electron microsope image of the planktic foram Globiger ruber
Scanning electron microsope image of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber
Scanning electron microsope image of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber
Science and Products
APPROACH (APplying Proxy-based Reconstruction Of Atlantic Climate CHange)
USGS scientists use marine geological archives to investigate how ocean temperature, salinity and circulation patterns changed over the past few centuries to millennia. This is done by analyzing the geochemical and physical clues about past environments that are preserved in fossil coral skeletons, clam shells, foraminifera and marine sediments.
Reconstructing Ocean Circulation & Hydroclimate in the Subtropical Atlantic
Changes in rainfall patterns as a result of anthropogenic climate change are already having large ecological and socioeconomic impacts across the globe. Increases in flood damage, wildfire damage, and agricultural losses can all be attributed to anomalous rainfall events and prolonged droughts across the United States in recent years. Additionally, Atlantic Ocean circulation, which has a large...
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...
Reef History and Climate Change
Ecosystem-wide study of seafloor erosion, changing coastal water depths, and effects on coastal storm and wave impacts along the Florida Keys Coral Reef Tract in South Florida.
Paleoclimate Reconstruction from Marine and Lake Sediments
Instrumental measurements of climate variables (e.g., precipitation, temperature, ocean circulation, etc.) are only available over the past century or less. In order to quantify the rate and magnitude of natural climate variability going back in time beyond the 20th century, scientists rely on paleoclimate reconstructions.
Paleoceanographic Proxy Calibration
A sediment trap time series in the northern Gulf of America is used to better assess the control of environmental variables (e.g., temperature and salinity) on the flux of both microfossils and molecular fossils to the sediments. The information gained from sediment trap studies is used to develop better proxy-based estimates of past oceanographic conditions from analyses of microfossils and...
Climate and Environmental Change in the Gulf of America and Caribbean
This project documents paleoceanographic, climatic, and environmental changes in the Gulf of America and adjacent land areas over the last 10,000 years. The paleoenvironmental data is used to determine rates of change in the past, and to better understand both the natural and anthropogenic factors that contribute to climate variability on inter-annual to millennial timescales.
Isotopic Water Analyzer
This Picarro L2130-i Isotope and Gas Concentration Analyzer is housed at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
This Picarro L2130-i Isotope and Gas Concentration Analyzer is housed at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Lake Sediment Core
Section of a sediment core collected from the deepest basin of Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. USGS scientists are analyzing cores from the lake to reconstruct past changes in rainfall.
Section of a sediment core collected from the deepest basin of Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. USGS scientists are analyzing cores from the lake to reconstruct past changes in rainfall.
CTD rosette being deployed
A CTD-rosette is a commonly used instrument that measures conductivity (that can inform scientists about salinity), temperature, and depth (CTD). As the instrument is lowered into the water--sometimes down to great depths--the cylinders around will open at various depths to collect water samples at discrete locations throughout the water column.
A CTD-rosette is a commonly used instrument that measures conductivity (that can inform scientists about salinity), temperature, and depth (CTD). As the instrument is lowered into the water--sometimes down to great depths--the cylinders around will open at various depths to collect water samples at discrete locations throughout the water column.
Live Foraminifera - Globorotalia truncatulinoides
Image of live, single-celled foram, Globorotalia truncatulinoides, viewed under a microscope and collected with a plankton net on the R/V Pelican. Its shell is made from Calcium carbonate and the spikes extensions are called rhizopodia.
Image of live, single-celled foram, Globorotalia truncatulinoides, viewed under a microscope and collected with a plankton net on the R/V Pelican. Its shell is made from Calcium carbonate and the spikes extensions are called rhizopodia.
Scanning electron microsope image of the planktic foram Globiger ruber
Scanning electron microsope image of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber
Scanning electron microsope image of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber