Jessie McCraw
Specialty
- Paleontology
Bio
Research Group: ASIL and the Tobin Lab Group
Research Group Website: https://ttobin.people.ua.edu/
Research Interests:
My broader interests are in Marine Paleobiology, Paleoecology, Invertebrate Paleontology, and Biogeochemistry. My research questions ultimately center around the relationship between the geochemistry of the shells of extinct cephalopods and their paleoenvironment and paleobiology. I am particularly interested in various applications of carbon and oxygen isotopes to understanding where different morphologies of ammonites lived in the water column, as well as attempting to deconvolve the influence of their biology (metabolic respiration, life history, growth rates) on the isotopes recorded in their shells.
Current Research Projects:
The first chapter of my dissertation is focused on using paleotemperatures from ammonite shell oxygen isotopes from the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) to reconstruct WIS paleoceanography of the Late Cretaceous. Another project in development is looking at isotope variability within and between multi-species fossil assemblages contained within large concretions to compare oxygen isotopes reflecting the different temperatures of their respective environments.
Affiliation: GSA & SEPM
Education: Undergraduate:
B.Sci. Geosciences, University of Arizona, 2018
Education: Master’s:
M.Sci., Earth Science, Syracuse University, 2020
Education: Doctorate:
PhD Student, Geosciences, University of Alabama, in progress
Courses taught:
Graduate TA, Geology 102: The Earth Through Time, University of Alabama
Graduate TA, EAR 210: History of Earth and Life, Syracuse University
Graduate TA, EAR 104: Earth Sciences Laboratory, Syracuse University
Undergraduate TA, Geos 412 Lab and Field Excursion: Introduction to Oceanography, University of Arizona
Undergraduate TA, Geos 255 Lab: Historical Geology, University of Arizona
Undergraduate TA, Geos 302 Lab: Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, University of Arizona
Undergraduate TA, Geos 255 Lab: Historical Geology, University of Arizona Undergraduate TA, Geos 251 Lab: Physical Geology University of Arizona