Gerald T. Rustic, Associate Professor

rustic@rowan.edu
856-256-5277
324 Discovery Hall
Pronouns: he/his

Dr. Rustic is the PI of the Rowan Oceanographic and Paleoceangraphic Investigation Center (TROPIC).  TROPIC researchers are currently investigating the spatial variability of ENSO during the last glacial maximum (~20-25kya) through an NSF-funded P2C2 grant, and investigating the surface and subsurface hydrology of the Eastern Tropical Pacific from the LGM to MIS5e (the last interglacial) with NSF funding. 

We are also investigating eastern equatorial Pacific ocean conditions from modern day through the Holocene to understand climate variability over the last 10,000 years. Our research lab now has two undergraduate researchers and two graduate researchers. If you are interested in investigating climate change and the mechanisms of climate variability, research positions are available!

 

 
Courses taught:

• GEOL01.131 Earth in Transition
• GEOL01.133 Climate, Catastrophes, Civilizations and Collapses
• GEOL01.230 Paleoclimatology
• GEOL01.250 Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions
• GEOL01.435 The Ice Ages and Quaternary Geology

Research keywords: ENSO, paleoceanography, paleoclimatology, climate change, oceanography, foraminifera, laboratory methods
 
Research
Dr. Rustic is a paleoceanographer and paleoclimatologist. Dr. Rustic’s lab is The Rowan Oceanographic – Paleoceanographic Investigation Center, or TROPIC. He studies how the Earth’s climate varied in the past and in particular how the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has influenced (and been influenced by) climate changes in Earth’s history. He uses various proxies to reconstruct past ocean conditions, including the chemical and isotopic composition of single-celled organisms called foraminifera and the amounts of organic molecules called alkenones produced by algae. Foraminifera are wonderful little geochemists that record oceanic conditions through time, providing a window into past climates. After all, the Earth’s surface is 70% water, and the ocean and its interactions with the atmosphere are vital components of the global climate system! 

Dr. Rustic is the founder of TROPIC, which houses a trace elemental analytical facility using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The laboratory has a ThermoScientific iCAP 6500 duo ICP-OES with ASX-520 autosampler, multiple microscopes, sediment handling equipment, chemical cleaning facilities and foraminifera preparation areas. 
 
Education
2015-2017 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
2015 Ph.D. Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York
2013 M.Phil. Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York
2011 M.S. Environmental Science, Rutgers University
1995 B.S. Biology and Geology, University of Rochester
 
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