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Tiny organisms known as planktic foraminifera spend their lives in the ocean, forming calcium carbonate shells out of the surrounding elements in seawater. Millions of years later, these shells provide a snapshot of that churning sea they called home and a glimpse into ancient climates.

Geological sciences doctoral students Ravi Kiran Koorapati, Helena Kwarteng, Gretl King and Jeanette deCuba are using microfossils to learn more about ancient climatic and ocean conditions, which may provide insight into our climate change future.

Mentored by ��ñ�� Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences Adriane Lam, all recently received $3,000 grants from the Geological Society of America for their dissertation research — the maximum allowable amount. ��ñ�� 60% of the GSA grant applications are funded, and not all receive the maximum. Lam knows this firsthand: As a graduate student, she didn’t receive the first GSA grant she applied for; her second application brought in $2,000, only part of her request, she said.

“It speaks volumes about the quality of our research because we have experts in our fields reviewing what we are proposing to do,” Kwarteng said. “They are making a decision to fund it, which means we are doing some good work in our lab.”

Founded in 1888, the GSA is a global scientific society with members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries; its very first meeting took place at nearby Cornell University. The organization hosts both an annual conference and smaller regional events, which members of ���s Earth Sciences department frequently attend.

While all four doctoral students are focused on microfossils and the ancient climate, the insights they are seeking vary, ranging from the drivers behind the evolution of marine plankton to the behavior of specific ocean currents. Each project also focuses on a different area: the southeastern Indian Ocean for deCuba, the northwestern Pacific Ocean for Kwarteng, the South Atlantic for Koorapati and the Tasman Sea for King.

All will need to perform stable isotope analysis as part of their research, looking at variations in oxygen and carbon levels in the ancient ocean. However, this requires the use of a mass spectrometer; the researchers will use their funds to conduct this analysis at Hamilton College, which has the equipment they need.

By learning more about past climate change, researchers hope to build a more complete picture as to the impact of future warming. The grant will help the researchers achieve these goals — as well as lay the groundwork for their future in academia, where a track record of successful grant applications is a plus.

“Writing these grants is providing critical training for their careers in the future,” Lam said.