Month: October 2023

Aarya Joshi, Recent Graduate, BS-MS in Biology

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.  Hello, this is Aarya, a recent BS-MS graduate from IISER Mohali, India. I am originally from Pune, a city in India. At the age of 8, like every other kid from my school, I was sent to attend Kathak classes (which is one of the Indian classical dance forms). My status as a student of this dance form continues to this day, albeit with some off periods. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I say that I love to dance and watch other dance performances including various dance forms other than Kathak. Apart from that, I once was an avid reader of the genre fiction/ fantasy with a mandatory ‘Harry Potter’ phase. I have also read multiple historical novels as well as fiction and biographies in my mother tongue, Marathi. These days I am trying to get back into reading, which unfortunately hasn’t had a high success rate. Nowadays, you can often find me watching some TV show, the occasional K-Drama and reality TV, or watching many movie review videos/ movie commentaries in my spare time.

Background is rock bedrock. Foreground has a woman in field attire crouching near a layer that contains fossils material. Bones are on the ground next to her.
Fieldwork at Hathnora, Madhya Pradesh, India.

What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? And what is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? As mentioned above, I have recently graduated from IISER Mohali with a degree in Biology. My journey into the field of palaeontology is a little interesting. As an undergraduate in my college, I did not have a clue about which subject I wanted to pursue as a student of science. After stumbling through a small project in astrophysics and contemplating a career in developmental biology while simultaneously going through a pandemic without any lab exposure, I came across a few courses on archaeology. I had always held a fascination for this field ever since a field trip to an archaeological museum (Deccan College Post Graduate University, Pune) in sixth grade. After attending these courses, I initially decided to pursue a thesis project in archaeology. But given my background in biology, I was encouraged by my guide to give the field of Paleontology a try. Therefore, I first stumbled into this field as a final-year student at my university. 

My project was focused on a Proboscidean assemblage from the Narmada Valley in India. During this project, I learned how to extract fossils, how to prepare them, and how to document them. I also performed a taphonomic analysis on these fossils. This whole experience made me extremely intrigued about this field and the different questions that can be pursued through this. The sole fact that I was handling something that was present on this earth thousands of years ago and was being used to understand the past environments was fascinating enough for me to decide this field as my career. After my graduation, in an attempt to increase my exposure to palaeontology/ palaeobiology, I am doing an internship at the paleobiology lab at IISER Pune and working on molluscs and some marine mammal fossils. I eventually want to pursue a PhD in this field. I currently find myself interested in looking at the evolution of organisms through time and the different ecological drivers affecting this process but at the same time am looking forward to exploring many aspects of the field as I proceed further with my education.

Do you conduct outreach, and if so, who do you communicate science to? Outreach in this field is something that I would like to take a more active part in. As a university student, I was part of a student-initiated group which focused on some science outreach activities. As a part of these activities, we would go and teach Middle school students from surrounding migrant worker communities (this activity was in collaboration with another NGO called ‘Free Fragrance Tuitions’). We also held book donation drives for nearby government schools. I was also part of the display held by my lab (the Paleo-archeology lab at IISER Mohali) for the Foundation Day of our college. During this activity, we were able to display and give information about different vertebrate fossils to school kids belonging to different grades. I also worked as a junior editor for our college magazine, Manthan, I also wrote an article about a lake filled with human bones from Uttarakhand (Roopkund) in Marathi as part of the initiative to make the content of the magazine more accessible. Currently, I am trying to figure out any other possible avenues for outreach, specifically in this field. One day, I would really like to work on converting the content available about this field and various discoveries related to this field into different regional languages as this will make the field more approachable for many students from different regions.

Aarya and students sitting in a circle looking at books and seeming to have a discussion in the foreground. More students and instructors in the background.
During a teaching session for students at Free Fragrance Tuitions

What advice do you have for up and coming scientists? I don’t think I am in any position to be giving advice to anybody as I myself am an up-and-coming scientist. But I guess the one thing that I would like to say, at least based on my experience is that it is very rare that someone will know what they want to pursue as a scientist from the get-go. Most of the time, you will have to go through many trials and errors until something sticks. This period of discovery can often be challenging and a little depressing. Therefore, not getting discouraged is the biggest key to establishing yourself as someone who would like to pursue science for the rest of their lives. So let’s just work towards that together!

Arianna Valentina Del Gaudio, Ph.D. Candidate at University of Graz (Austria)

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Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi everyone! My name is Arianna Valentina Del Gaudio, currently a PhD student at the University of Graz, Austria. I am originally from Italy, where I achieved my bachelor’s degree in Geology at University of Parma. After that, I moved to Birmingham (UK) where I got my master’s degree in Applied and Petroleum Micropaleontology. Besides science, I like reading (mainly thriller books) and listening to indie rock music. Another way for me to relax and stimulate my creativity is baking. My colleagues are always happy when they see me arriving at the office with a cake in my hands! I also enjoy being physically active, so I spend a lot of time hiking together with my dog Coconut. 

Woman surrounded by trees on a path wearing exercise clothes and a backpack. A dog in facing forward on a leash.
backgound has red brick buildings of a campus. foreground has a woman in black graduation regalia

What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? My current Ph.D. research focuses on IODP core samples recovered from Fantangisña serpentinite mud volcano, located in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean (Mariana region). My principal aim is to provide an integrated biostratigraphy, based on planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils, in order to assess the possible age of the mud flow activity in the area. This will help to define the timing and evolution of submarine serpentinite mud volcanoes. Another important point of my research project is to obtain new insights into planktonic and benthic foraminifera assemblages, adaptation and ecology in such an extreme deep marine environment! For example, I can understand how the benthic community is affected by the mud production and how the assemblages behave prior/post and during the mud activity. The study of the planktonic foraminiferal assemblage is important as well! In fact, it allows us to reconstruct the past oceanic conditions in the region. Specifically, I am looking at changes of the ocean thermocline in relation to the ENSO climatic phases (El Niño/ La Niña). 

What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? Since I was a child, I developed a strong fascination for the natural world. My passion for nature began when, every week-end, my grandfather was taking my brother and I to hike in the woods, teaching us everything he knew about the places we were visiting. This is how I learned to observe the world around us. Growing up, my curiosity for the beauty and complexity of nature led me to undertake a course of study in geology. All this brought me where I am right now! 

Woman standing with arms spread wide in between two large shelves of archived drill cores
Woman in mask in a lab setting sampling sections of a drill core

There are so many aspects I like about having a career in science! First of all, working in science means you continue learning and exploring every day. In fact, so far, we have learned a lot about how the natural world works at present time but… things get more complicated when you attempt to perform environmental reconstructions in the past. Every new dataset is challenging but fascinating, as it gives us the possibility to understand a bit better the environmental conditions in the past. 

Moreover, as scientists, we have the opportunities to travel a lot and work in international research teams. For example, I recently joined the IODP Expedition 391 as a biostratigrapher. Our expedition aimed to recover sediment cores and the igneous basement from the Tristan-Gough-Walvis Ridge hotspot track in the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean. 

During these two months in the middle of the ocean, it was exciting to experience how an international team of scientists cooperated together to answer some of our most pressing questions in the earth and climate sciences field. I believe it was a vibrant and highly stimulating environment where a young researcher like me can learn new skills from an experienced group of scientists and work with them to add new pieces to the great puzzle of the geoscience’s world. 

Conference setting with a woman at the podium providing a presentation while audience members look on

What advice do you have for up-and-coming scientists? A first tip for those who want to approach research is to mainly focus on the scientific topics that strongly interest you, because being passionate about something always pushes you to give your best. As a scientist, you also have to be patient as you may experience difficulties in running experiments or interpreting data. In these tough moments, believing in yourself and your abilities will be the key to success. Last but not least, try to develop good communication skills, which are essential to promote your research to the public and to better cooperate with your peers around the world.  

Panorama landscape with a woman laying on rock overlooking a body of water.
Myself at Kalbarri National Park (Australia) admiring the astonishing landscape.

Geology of Oregon Series: Part 2: Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

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Sarah here– this post is a continuation in a series about a recent trip I made to Oregon, USA. Check out the first post, on the geology of hot springs, here! 

It can be hard to believe that the lush, gorgeous forests that I was hiking in to get to the hot springs were only a short way away from the desert of Oregon- but it is! I visited the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which is separated into a few different areas. Arguably, the most famous of the areas is the Painted Hills Unit, which contains amazing sedimentary rocks and fossils. 

The Painted Hills are aptly named- the large hills of clays that preserve magnificent and diverse bands of colors (Figure 1). These hills are remnants of volcanic explosions just over 30 million years ago, when nearby volcanoes were erupting. The ash and fine-grained material from these volcanic eruptions were carried by wind and deposited in this area- over long periods of volcanism, it added up to quite a lot of ash! High volumes of volcanic ash can spread a long distance over wind- we know this, because we have witnessed this in human history. For example, when Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980, ash from this event was found hundreds of miles away (though most of ash, like the Painted Hills, fell within a far shorter distance of just a few miles from the eruption site). Over millions of years, the materials within ash (like glass particles and different minerals) can alter into clays, hence why we see clays today! 

A landscape of hills on a goegeous sunny day. The hills look painted- there are bands of colors running horizontally across them in shades of green, yellow, and red. The colors are just magnificent.
Figure 1. A full view of some of the colors that can be seen in the Painted Hills Unit. 

So- why the colors? Great question! Now, you might think clay is not that interesting- it’s just mud, right?! Well, I am hoping that by the time you’re doing reading this, you’ll have a brand-new perspective on clay! Clay is an incredible resource for geologists when we are trying to learn about past environments in Earth history: particular types of clay can inform us of the types of igneous and metamorphic rocks that were likely present millions of years ago, they can tell us about the levels of oxygen present in the environment when the clay was forming, and even about the climatic conditions of the area. How? There are a number of ways, but a really cool way is by identifying the color of the clay- clay turns specific colors during different conditions. For example, black-colored clay is often associated with extinctions because black clay indicates a lack of free oxygen in the ocean, which leads to death for living creatures. 

At the Painted Hills, we see reds, greens, purples, yellows, and a whole rainbow of shades in between. As the clays were being formed, it recorded the changing climate. Yellow and reddish-colored sediment (Figure 2) that we see today indicates a time on Earth where the area was cooler and drier- this is because of certain elements in the minerals leeching out. Brighter reds are an indicator of more humid, rainy, tropical times in the area (Figure 3). Iron- rich volcanic ash falling from nearby eruptions settled down in layers, and over time, the iron reacted to the presence of warm, wet conditions, causing the red color (think of what happens when you leave your bike in the rain and it rusts- the iron in the bike is reacting to the oxygen present through the moisture-this reaction makes what we call rust). The warmer the climate, often, the faster this reaction can happen- so in more humid climates, we’ll see more of that really red color. The iron is present in the ash in cooler times, too, but because those times were drier, less iron oxidation was occurring. 

two large hills of clays- the one on the right is distinctly yellow-green in hue and the one on the left is predominantly yellow-ish, with red toward the top.
Figure 2. The hill on the right, especially, shows the yellow-hue of drier and cooler climates 
A wooden walkway over red hills. These red hills are a rich, vibrant red. Some close by show mud cracks indicating that the areas is currently dry.
Figure 3. This is a great example of how iron-rich ash, when deposited, creates stunning, vibrant reds through the process of the iron oxidizing (rusting). Note the sedimentary structures, mud cracks, at the bottom right of the image- clay does this when it becomes drier.


Other colors, like a purple-ish hue, are indicative of a type of volcanic rock called rhyolite, which is a pink rock. This type of rock is formed from volcanoes that have more granitic magma (granite can be thought of as our continental crust), as opposed to an oceanic one, which would be basaltic magma, or oceanic crust). In this case, in the volcanic eruptions forming these hills, the continental plate was moving toward an oceanic plate, the latter of which was being subducted (the oceanic plate is far denser, so it is the one that subducts). Volcanic eruptions are incredibly common results of when two plates are colliding (which is called a convergent plate boundary). The rhyolite here weathered over millions of years, which we see now in the form of this lovely colored clay in Figure 4. 
 

A purple-ish, gray-ish hued hill (quite small compared to the others, which were tens to hundreds of feet high)
Figure 4. Rhyolite can weather into the purple- ish hue shown above 

One of the other spectacular remnants of this region, as I mentioned above, is the fossil preservation. There are animal fossils present, but I wasn’t able to see any of them. However, I saw magnificent plant fossils- primarily, I saw petrified wood (or permineralized wood). This type of fossil is created by the wood itself being completely replaced by silica-rich materials- in this case, the wood was buried in silica-rich volcanic ash (continental volcanoes, like ones producing rhyolite) are richer in silica than oceanic ones). Over millions of years, the wood becomes permineralized. I found some gorgeous pieces of petrified wood there (Figure 5). 

My foot on a large piece of petrified wood (~2 feet long). the structure of the bark is visible, but altered heavily and the colors are muted shades of red and brown
Figure 5. A chunk of petrified wood- this used to be a tree trunk before it was covered in silica-rich ash. Over time, the wood is altered heavily and what is left is the structure of the wood (though how much of the structure remains can vary), but chemically, it is no longer the same. Colors of petrified wood are extremely variable, because silica-rich minerals have variable colors (e.g., rose quartz , tiger’s eye, and amethyst gemstones are the same mineral- quartz!) 

Stay tuned for more on the Geology of Oregon series!