How about opportunities to explore different aspects of geoscience? Ask Allyson Murray and Whitney Marshall who are spending ten weeks at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography as Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow in Oceanography (SURFO).

Allyson is a rising senior in Geology and Marine Science at Stockton University. She is working in the laboratory of Marie-Hélène Cormier, analyzing sediment patterns of Lake Azuei from seismic reflections and 14C dating. Brackish Lake Azuei, situated at the Caribbean-North American plate boundary, provides records of tectonic activity and climate variability in its sediment.

A rising junior in Geoscience at the Pennsylvania State University, Whitney uses satellite images and numerical modeling to better understand seismic activity and local geology, with a focus on Iranian earthquakes. The aim of this project is to improve earthquake analysis practices for less accessible areas of the world. Whitney’s advisor is Matt Wei.

The SURFO program is funded by the National Science Foundation as a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in a STEM major.

Featured Image: Whitney Marshall (left) analyzing data from a seismically active region of Iran, and Allyson Murray (right) sampling a sediment core from Lake Azuei.