Meet Our Team

Scientific discovery and communication is a team effort. Our science is performed in collaboration with researchers from institutions around the USA and abroad, and often with local, State, and Federal stake-holders.

People: Image

Darren J. Larsen

Associate Professor

Ph.D. University of Colorado, Boulder & University of Iceland

M.S. University of Colorado, Boulder

B.A. Colby College

Dr. Darren Larsen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geology at Occidental College. His research interests lie at the intersection of paleoclimatology, Quaternary science, and geomorphology, where he uses a range of tools, field observations, and analytical techniques to answer questions in these highly interdisciplinary fields. Much of this work involves investigating sedimentary archives to develop a greater understanding of Earth’s climate system and surface processes. He is especially interested in the sedimentary record of abrupt climate change, glacial-lacustrine sedimentation, and neotectonic activity in Arctic and alpine regions, as well as landscape evolution and the interaction of living organisms with their physical environment.

Sarah E. Crump

NSF Postdoctoral Fellow

B.A. Carleton College

Ph.D. University of Colorado Boulder

Dr. Sarah Crump is a paleoclimate scientist who applies an interdisciplinary, earth systems framework to pursue questions of modern relevance. Her primary interests lie in developing sedimentary records of past warm periods and episodes of abrupt climate change during the Quaternary. She aims to document the pronounced environmental effects of past climate change in Arctic and alpine settings, including ecosystem and cryosphere responses. Her toolkit includes molecular lake sediment analyses, particularly sedimentary ancient DNA, as well as cosmogenic radionuclide dating of glacial deposits. She is also committed to broadening participation within the earth sciences and improving the communication of science outside the academic realm.

To read more, please visit Dr. Sarah Crump's personal site.

Amelia Muscott

Student

Thesis: Reconstructing glacier fluctuations and late Holocene hydroclimate variability in the Teton Range, WY from alpine lake sediments

Peter Grimmett

Student

Investigating past wildfire occurrence and sediment flux in alpine catchments of the Eastern Sierra, CA

Lane Wang

Student

Using sediment grain size distributions and geochemistry to reconstruct Holocene lake level and hydrological changes at Summit Lake, NV

Adrian Aviles

Student

Investigating changes in glaciolacustrine sediment accumulation at Delta Lake, WY during the late Holocene

Tippy Dog

Lab Mascot

Perhaps the most loved being at Hameetman Science Center.
Thesis: Scientific and practical support for the truth that dogs save humans

People: Our Team

Former S.P.L.O.C Members

Sedimentology and Paleoclimate Lab at Occidental College

Lori Berberian

Occidental College Class of 2020
Thesis: Holocene Tephra Archives and Tephrochronology in Iceland: Establishing Marker Tephra for the Kjölur Region of the Central Highlands
(Occidental College Geology Honors 2020)

Current Position: Graduate Student, University of California Santa Barbara Earth Science (M.S. expected Spring, 2022)

Ian Van Dusen

Occidental College Class of 2020
Thesis: Pattern and signature of Holocene landscape and environmental changes in Central Iceland as recorded by lake sediments and relict soils
(Occidental College Geology Honors 2020)

Current Position: Graduate Student, University of Oregon

Aria Blumm

Occidental College Class of 2019
Thesis: Reconstructing Earthquake events on the Teton Fault, WY
(Occidental College Geology Honors and 1st place undergraduate thesis by the Pacific Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM Raymond V. Ingersoll 2019 award)

Current Position: Graduate student, University of Arizona