Jocelyn McGrade

Hi, I'm Jocelyn!

I completed my undergraduate at UNSW in Advanced Science with a major in Earth Science, where I then pursued my Honours under Dr Ian Graham where I looked at secondary mineral species and their potential for contamination at Mount Turner, QLD. After this, I was accepted into the PhD program where I am today!

Project: Stalagmite fabrics, stable isotopes, and trace element variation as proxies for past recharge events at Wombeyan and Wellington Caves, NSW.

Supervised by: Andy Baker, Martin Andersen, Pauline Treble

Project Description: Stalagmites are excellent recorders of paleoclimate. Stalagmites (made of calcium carbonate - often calcite) contain varying ratios of trace elements and isotopes, and the calcite crystal itself can form into various crystal fabrics depending on cave and water conditions. Changes in these different factors can be linked back to past periods of sufficient and consistent rainfall (recharge). Recharge in cave environments is important because it can be used as an analogue for groundwater recharge, a critical aspect to understand as groundwater is a necessary resource.

My project will identify these past recharge events from two sites within NSW, Wombeyan and Wellington Caves. I will also aim to link these recharge events back to known timings of climate drivers, such as ENSO and IOD, to see their influence on recharge at my two sites. My findings will then be used to improve various types of climatic and groundwater modelling.