Sarah Jonathan
Tell us about yourself:
I am currently a PhD candidate working with Roman DiBiase at Penn State, where my research focuses on understanding how erosion and weathering rates vary in steep landscapes. I grew up in Connecticut, before attending Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. Since then I have lived and worked in many places including stints in New York State, California, Colorado, and Massachusetts.
After studying geology in college, I spent some time working in watershed restoration and water resources as well as coaching cross country and track and field. Eventually I moved Boston to start my masters at Boston College with Noah Snyder, working to refine age-depth models from lake cores across New England in order to better understand how watersheds have responded to the onset of European settlement and the resulting changes in land use.
What is your research about?
My current research focuses on the evolution of steep hillslopes in landscapes with a patchy surface cover of both soil and bedrock and how they respond to different climatic and lithologic settings. Because of the heterogeneity in surface cover, it can be hard to predict how erosion and weathering processes behave in these landscapes. My work uses a mixture of field sampling, geochemistry, and remote sensing.
What excites you about your research?
I have always had loved the outdoors and have spent as much time as possible camping and hiking in the mountains, so fieldwork has always been one of my favorite parts of research. My understanding and appreciation of these incredible landscapes has been deepened by returning to them after time spent studying them in the lab. One of the most rewarding experiences for me comes not just from visiting new field locations, but from returning time and again to field sites and getting to know the inner workings of how they behave and the myriad interconnected processes and histories that can be seen reflected in the modern landscape.
What broader importance does your research have for society?
Erosion and weathering in mountain ranges have a number of direct and indirect impacts on society. In the near term, steep landscapes are often where we expect to see landslides. Understanding how these regions evolve and erode can inform our understanding of hazard management. Moreover, the presence or absence of soil on a hill side will control how water moves across that surface, and what behavior we might expect from hydrographs following storms.
In addition, silicate weathering is one of the major global carbon sinks on geologic time scales, but the relative importance of weathering in rapidly uplifting mountain ranges has been debated. Improving our understanding of weathering processes in these regions has implications for long term climate modeling.
What inspired you to pursue a career in Earth Science?
My first class at Berkeley was Geomorphology, taught by Bill Dietrich, and it didn't take long to understand that (1) Bill was an awesome person to learn from, and (2) I was quickly developing a passion for research. The semester consisted of four field trips that culminated in four research reports, which were foundational for understanding what a life as a "scientist" could look like (plus many, many conversations with the TA's for the class).
What are you looking to do after you complete your PhD or postdoc?
When I started college, I knew little about geology or earth science as a field. I didn’t know what I wanted to study, but I knew I was interested in science. As I was deciding between Biology, Chemistry, and Physics I took a geomorphology class, taught by Kelly MacGregor, at the suggestion of a cross country teammate and realized that this was a field in which I could combine many of my interests to better understand how the world operates. In many ways, choosing geology allowed me to avoid making a choice and instead let me combine my interests and more tangibly connect my learning and research back to what I saw every day in the real world. An added bonus was the ability to get outside and spend time in incredible places.
The Macalester College geology department also turned out to be a great community with a wonderful group of faculty who showed an incredible level of enthusiasm about what they were teaching. This group, especially my advisor, Kelly MacGregor, made the subject exciting and encouraged me to continue on in the field.
What are you looking to do after you complete your PhD or postdoc?
I am currently working to finish up my PhD and am applying to postdocs and faculty positions. I am excited about teaching and would love to be able to provide a similar experience as I was able to receive from my professors at Macalester College. One of the great things about geology is that it lends itself so well to hands-on, experiential teaching. I would like to be able to use my own experiences and research to introduce a new group of students to the field and encourage them to pursue their own interests in the earth sciences.
Given unlimited funding and access to resources, what is your dream project that you would pursue?
Given unlimited funding and resources, I would set up long term research stations in mountain regions across and variety of climate and vegetation regimes around the world. I would want to be able to collect data reflecting the both the long term and modern evolution including things like 10Be catchment averaged erosion rates, repeat high resolution LiDAR mapping, and annual studies of ecologic change. While it is often difficult to do, I believe that deeply studying a few individual sites and really understanding how they operate as a complete system can reveal surprising links between the geologic, climatic, biologic, and other components of a landscape. I would want to work across these sites with a variety of experts in different scientific fields to uncover how these various pieces work together to better understand how ecosystems shape and are shaped by our world.
What else do you do? Any hobbies or interests outside of work?
Outside of work I spend a lot of my time running. I am a member of the Georgetown Running Club (no connection to Georgetown University) and compete in cross country, road, and track races with them both regionally and nationally. I also love to get outside and hike and explore. When inside, I am often found in the kitchen baking treats to bring to share with friends and colleagues.
Email: srj5258@psu.edu