9/28/24 – The Bryant Lab attended our first conference–the 2024 Midwest Geobiology Symposium at Iowa State! All three of our students successfully presented posters detailing their recent research progress and plans, while Roger loitered awkwardly:
Julia Kassis (’26) interpreted her recent data from modern seagrasses analyzed at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Laboratory. These data show sulfur concentration and speciation in seagrass tissues that may be indicative of sulfur transformation within the plants—providing ideas about the mechanisms seagrasses use to tolerate sulfide intrusion. An important start to determining how seagrasses might react to additional sulfide in the face of climate change!
Emily Apel (4th year PhD) showcased recent Scanning Electron Microscopy images of Morozovellid foraminifera from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Soon these fossils will be analyzed for C-isotopes with the Wisconsin Secondary Ionization Mass Spectrometer!
Isabelle Rein (2nd year PhD) discussed how δ 34SCAS isotopes can be filtered with δ44/40Ca isotopes to constrain faithful records of Ediacaran-Cambrian seawater sulfate concentrations. Isabelle was also awarded Runner Up for the Best Graduate Student Poster!
Look out next year for the 2025 Symposium will be hosted at our home institution–Purdue University!
The Bryant Lab 