Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Stella Szostak ’26
GEOSCIENCES
PROJECT TITLE
The Coevolution of Life
and Climate Over 800
Million Years (in Australia)
ORGANIZATION(S)
Maloof Research
Group, Department of
Geosciences, Princeton
University
LOCATION(S)
Adelaide, Australia;
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Adam Maloof,
Professor of Geosciences;
Ryan Manzuk, Ph.D.
candidate, Geosciences;
Julia Wilcots,
Postdoctoral Research
Associate, Geosciences
I investigated the coevolution of life and climate
in Australia during two periods: Snowball Earth
and the Cambrian Explosion. Snowball Earth
describes two events when the Earth became
completely glaciated during the Neoproterozoic
era, between 720 and 635 million years ago.
The Cambrian Explosion, when animals rapidly
evolved into the major groups we recognize today,
occurred 100 million years later. In the field,
we studied and measured layers of carbonate
sedimentary rock from the Neoproterozoic to
make interpretations of the paleoenvironment.
Beyond making these observations, I took
GPS points, collected and labeled samples and
measured rock layers. To study the Cambrian era,
we measured, mapped and sampled a fossilized
reef to understand how reef environments impact
rapid evolution. Back on campus, I sorted, sawed
and polished the Neoproterozoic samples for
imaging and analysis while running the mass
spectrometer. Participating in the process from
field to lab forced me to view geology in a new
sense. I began to recognize the sheer amount
of information that can be read from the rocks;
from observations in a bedded layer to data out
of a mass spectrometer. After deep-diving into
sedimentary geology, I look forward to exploring
even more possibilities within geoscience.
CLIMATE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
35