Pete Puleo
Assistant Professor

I am a paleoclimatologist and paleolimnologist, which means I use lake mud to reconstruct past climate and environmental change. I have conducted research far away across Greenland and locally in Lake Geneva, WI. My main approach for reconstructing climate change is by analyzing the oxygen isotope values in materials stored in lake mud like bug remains, plant parts, and shells. These materials record a snapshot of lake water chemistry when they grow. The lake mud acts like a time capsule, safely storing the remains for analysis after organisms die and settle to the lake bottom. 

My current research projects involve reconstructing climate change from a lake sediment core from near Manitowoc, WI and investigating the oxygen and hydrogen isotope chemistry of local surface waters. 


Courses:
Physical Geography
Introduction to Environmental Science
Environmental Geology