Lorna Kearns

Lorna Kearns is a palaeoecologist, specializing in planktic foraminifera with which she investigates ecosystem responses to climate change in both recent and deep time. Her research ranges from fine scale measurements such as micro-CT scanning and single chamber Mg/Ca to broad measurements of diversity across millions of years. At UTIG, her research with Christopher Lowery and collaborators at the University of Colorado Boulder focuses on the recovery of the oceans following the K/Pg extinction which killed off 90% of planktic foraminifera. Her project aims to understand the diversity of planktic foraminifera and to determine how the ecosystem rebuilt itself in the aftermath of the extinction event.