Skip to main content

Sheela Gowrisankaran

Instructor
Research Technician, Tropical Climate and Coral Reefs Lab
Sheela_biopic
sgowrisankaran@arizona.edu

I am geoscientist who uses lake sediments from the Galápagos to reconstruct past climate. Lake sediments, much like tree rings and corals, act as natural climate archives. I’m especially interested in El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that shapes weather around the world, including right here in Tucson. By analyzing chemical signatures in the sediments, I reconstruct ENSO behavior and rainfall over the past 6,000 years. This works helps us understand how the ocean and atmosphere respond to natural climate change, and what that might mean for our future in world with human-driven climate change. When I’m not in the lab, you can usually find me up on Mt. Lemmon—climbing, hiking, biking, and enjoying the outdoors.