Lina C. Pérez-Angel’s research in paleoclimatology has contemporary relevance. During the Pliocene, between 5 and 2.5 million years ago, Earth’s atmosphere had about 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide—pretty similar to what we have now. She uses bacterial lipids and other biomarkers on rocks to see how ancient rains, droughts, and temperatures affected the environment then and compares the results to recent data to see how these processes were different from what is happening now.
Selected publications
Pérez-Angel, L.C., Sepúlveda, J., Montes, C., Smith, J.J., Molnar, P., González-Arango, C., Snell, K., Dildar, N. (2022). Mixed Signals from the Stable Isotope composition of Precipitation and Plant Waxes in the Northern Tropical Andes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 127, e2022JG006932. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG006932
Goldman, A. E., S. R. Emani, L. C. Pérez-Angel, J. A. Rodríguez-Ramos, and J. C. Stegen. (2021). Integrated, Coordinated, Open, and Networked (ICON) Science to Advance the Geosciences: Introduction and Synthesis of a Special Collection of Commentary Articles. Earth and Space Science. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA002099
Molnar, P. & Pérez-Angel, L. C., (2021). Constraints on the paleo-elevation history of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia from its palynological record. Geosphere, 17(4), pp.1333-1352. https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02328.1.
Pérez-Angel, L.C. (2020). Measuring past terrestrial temperatures with bacterial lipids. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0098-y (invited)
Pérez‐Angel, L. C., Sepúlveda, J., Molnar, P., Montes, C., Rajagopalan, B., Snell, K., Gonzalez-Arango, C., Dildar, N., (2020). Soil and air temperature calibrations using branched GDGTs for the Tropical Andes of Colombia: Toward a pan‐tropical calibration. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 21, e2020GC008941. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GC008941
Pérez‐Angel, L. C., & Molnar, P. (2017). Sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific and surface temperatures in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia during El Niño: Implications for Pliocene conditions. Paleoceanography, 32, 1309– 1314. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017PA003182
Montes, C. Cardona, A., Jaramillo, C. Pardo, A. Silva, J.C., Valencia, V., Ayala, C, Pérez-Angel, L.C., Rodriguez-Parra, L.A., Ramirez, V., Niño, H., 2015, Middle Miocene closure of the Central American Seaway, Science, v. 348, pp. 226-229. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa2815
Climate conversations came to life at IBES this semester as thought leaders, students, and changemakers gathered to exchange ideas, share stories, and shape real-world solutions.
"The climate history of tropical regions has been chronically understudied," former Voss Postdoc Researchers Jayson Maurice Porter and Lina C.
Lina C. Pérez-Angel write in this article. "Correcting the record will require new methods and new mindsets.
Voss Postdoctoral Researcher Lina Pérez-Angel, who co-founded a bilingual science communication platform called GeoLchat, noted that "Science communication is as real and as hard as doing research."
Voss Postdoctoral Research Associate Lina Pérez-Angel offered commentary on the rapid acceleration of climate change, saying “there’s nothing in Earth’s history that shows a change happening this quickly.”
Dive into a year of accomplishments at IBES, where community-engaged scholarship, cutting-edge research, student-led projects and events, and more highlight the many ways that our community is rising to meet the 21st century’s climate, sustainability, and environmental challenges.