Dr. Christopher Moy
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BSc (Union College); MSc (Syracuse University); PhD (Stanford University) Sedimentology/Paleoclimatology Office - Geology 2S04 Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow (on leave) |
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**I am currently seeking students interested in conducting PhD research on past New Zealand climate and environmental change. The Univeristy of Otago offers competitive PhD scholarships to well-qualified applicants. Please contact me if interested (chris.moy@otago.ac.nz).**
Research Interests
- Paleoclimatology
- Sedimentology
- Stable isotope geochemistry
My research focuses on identifying how large-scale climate modes and key components of the global climate system have changed in the past and how the variability and magnitude of past change compares to modern observations. I have primarily used lake sediment cores from the South American Andes to investigate late Pleistocene and Holocene climate and environmental change. My current research is focused on applying stable isotope geochemistry, scanning XRF technologies, radiocarbon, and modern climate data sets towards investigating past climates and influences on the global carbon cycle. I am currently involved in a number of projects investigating Holocene climate and environmental change and potential impacts on the carbon cycle.
I) Exploring the Relationship Between Past Atmospheric Dust Deposition, Climate, and Biological Productivity in the North Pacific Ocean.
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Atmospheric dust plays an important role in the global climate system by directly altering the Earth’s radiation budget and by influencing biogeochemical cycling in the ocean. Although dust has been emphasized as an important driver of global climate change, there are very few well-dated and highly resolved records of dust deposition that can be used to examine the influence on the global carbon cycle over millennial timescales. In collaboration with John Crusius (USGS-Woods Hole) and colleagues at WHOI, Lamont-Doherty, and ETH, I am developing high-resolution records of dust deposition from peat bogs in southern Alaska and Middleton Island that span the Holocene and can be compared to established North Pacific records of primary productivity derived from an Fe-limited part of the Pacific Ocean. Southern Alaska is an ideal location to investigate past changes in dust flux because a significant portion of global dust deposition occurs in the northern Pacific Ocean and coastal Alaskan glacial outwash and fluvial floodplains are a significant local dust source that can play a large role in biogeochemical cycling in the N. Pacific, but as of yet, has not been extensively examined.
II) Holocene Climate Change in Southwestern Patagonia: New Insights from Large Lakes and Fjords
Southernmost South America is well-located for investigations of climate variability associated with the westerly wind field, Southern Ocean circumpolar flow, and the South Pacific Gyre. Regional climate is influenced by both tropical and high latitude forcing, and in many locations, atmospheric circulation is tightly coupled to precipitation. Yet very few well-dated high-resolution records of past climate change are available in this region. A recently funded three year US NSF project led by R. Dunbar and N. Diffenbaugh (Stanford University), and including P. Moreno (U. de Chile) and myself, will recover sediment cores from Lago Sarmiento, Lago del Toro, and the adjacent fjords. Our primary goal is to produce a robust and exceptionally well-dated Holocene chronology of past variability in rainfall, water balance, and temperature from the Pacific margin of southwestern Patagonia that will shed light on past changes in the westerly wind regime.
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Lago Sarmiento in Torres del Paine National Park is a large, alkaline, closed-basin lake that is currently precipitating CaCO3 in isotopic equilibrium with surface waters. Sediment cores recoved from this lake will be help reconstruct past changes in hydrology related to the Southern Hemisphere westerly wind regime. Photo credit: R. Dunbar.
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Calcium carbonate bioherms exposed up to 5 meters above the current Lago Sarmiento shoreline. These unique bioherms are found growing at shallow depths in the water today, and ultimately, will help reconstruct past fluctuations in lake level. Photo credit: R. Dunbar.
III) Investigating Late Quaternary Climate and Environmental Change in New Zealand Lakes and Fjords
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New Zealand's unique location in the Southern Hemisphere offers opportunites for the development of paleoclimate records that have regional and global significance. The large diversity of lacustrine systems, coupled with the fjords on the South Island, supports multiple approaches and investigations into past climate related to the westerly wind system and Southern Ocean circulation. In the coming years I plan to develop sedimentary records of global change from multiple marine and terrestrial sites in New Zealand.
Publications
Crusius, J., Schroth, A.S., Gassó, S., Moy, C.M., Levy, R.C., and Gatica, M., 2011, Glacial flour dust storms in the Gulf of Alaska: Hydrologic and meteorological controls and their importance as a source of bioavailable iron. Geophysical Research Letters, v. 38, L06602. doi:10.1029/2010GL046573.
Moy, C.M., Dunbar, R.B., Guilderson, T.P., Waldmann, N., Mucciarone, D.A., Recasens, C., Ariztegui, D., Austin, J.A., and Anselmetti, F. S., 2011, A geochemical and sedimentary record of high southern latitude Holocene climate evolution from Lago Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 302, no. 1-2, p.1-13. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2010.11.011.
Moreno, P.I., François, J.P., Moy, C.M., Villa-Martínez, R.P., 2010, Covariability of the Southern Westerlies and atmospheric CO2 during the Holocene.Geology, v. 38 no. 8, p. 727-730. doi: 10.1130/G30962.1
Waldmann, N., Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., Austin, J.A., Pirouz, M., Moy, C.M., and Dunbar, R.B., 2010, Holocene mass-wasting events in Lago Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego (54°S): Implications for paleoseismicity of the Magallanes-Fagnano transform fault. Basin Research, v. 23, no. 2, p. 171-190. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2010.00489.x.
Moy, C. M., Moreno, P. I., Dunbar, R. B., Francois, J. P., Kaplan, M. R., Villalba, R., and Haberzettl, T., 2009, Climate change in southern South America during the last two millennia. In "Past climate variability from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene in South America and Surrounding Regions." (F. Vimeux, F. Sylvestre, and M. Khodri, Eds.), pp. 353-393. Springer Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research Series (DPER). doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2672-9_15
Moreno, P.I., Kaplan, M.R., Francois, J.P., Villa-Martinez, R., Moy, C.M., Stern, C.R., and Kubik, P.W., 2009, Renewed glacial activity during the Antarctic cold reversal and persistence of cold conditions until 11.5 ka in southwestern Patagonia. Geology, v. 37, p. 375-378. doi: 10.1130/G25399A.1
Moreno, P.I., Francois, J. P., Villa-Martinez, R., and Moy, C. M., 2009, Millennial-scale variability in Southern Hemisphere westerly wind activity over the last 5000 years in SW Patagonia. Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 28 (1-2), p. 25-38. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.10.009
Waldmann, N., Ariztegui, D., Anselmetti, F. S., Austin, J. A., Moy, C.M., Stern, C., , Recasens, C., and Dunbar, R., 2009, Holocene climatic fluctuations and positioning of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies in Tierra del Fuego (54°S), Patagonia. Journal of Quaternary Science. doi: 10.1002/jqs.1263.
Moy, C.M., Dunbar, R.B., Moreno, P.I., Francois, J.P., Villa-Martinez, R., Mucciarone, D.A., Guilderson, T.P., and Garreaud, R.D., 2008, Isotopic Evidence for Hydrologic Change Related to the Westerlies in SW Patagonia, Chile During the Last Millennium, Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 27 (13-14), p. 1335-1349. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.03.006
Waldmann, N., Ariztegui, D., Anselmetti, F. S., Austin, J. A., Dunbar, R., Moy, C. M., Recasens, C., 2008. Seismic stratigraphy of Lago Fagnano sediments (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) - A potential archive of paleoclimatic change and tectonic activity since the Late Glacial. Geologica Acta, 6(1), 101-110. doi: 10.1344/105.000000244
Guilderson, T. P., Roark, E. B., Quay, P. D., Flood Page, S. B., and Moy, C. M., 2006, Seawater Radiocarbon Evolution in the Gulf of Alaska: 2002 Observations. Radiocarbon 48, 1-15.
Lachniet, M., Burns, S.J., Piperno, D.R., Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V.J., Moy, CM., and Christenson, K., 2004, A 1500-year El Niño/Southern Oscillation and rainfall history for the Isthmus of Panama from speleothem calcite. Journal of Geophysical Research, v.109, D20117. doi:10.1029/2004JD004694
Moy, C.M., Seltzer, G.O., Rodbell, D.T., and Anderson, D.M., 2002, Variability of El Niño-Southern Oscillation activity at millennial time scales during the Holocene epoch, Nature, v. 420, p. 162-165. doi:10.1038/nature01194
Teaching
200-level
300-level