Ph.D. Rutgers University
Office: SB D-204
Telephone: (718) 997-3305
FAX: (718) 997-3299

Research Interests

I am a geologist with research interests that encompass a wide variety of problems related to Cenozoic climatic change. To tackle these problems, I develop sedimentological, microfossil, and geochemical data obtained from cores that were taken from estuaries, near-shore, and deep-sea. These are used to extract climatic, oceanographic, and global sea-level signals at the decadal- to million-year scale. My research can be broadly divided into four groups. The first group combines projects that use a new method to constrain global sea-level amplitudes that I developed and then implemented for pre-Pleistocene records. This involves an integrated approach using lithofacies, age control, foraminiferal biofacies, and two-dimensional backstripping.

The second group focuses on developing a better understanding of the Cenozoic climatic history of Antarctica. To this end, I am now a member of the ANDRILL (ANtarctic DRILLing) Program, which "is a multinational initiative that aims to recover stratigraphic core records for interpreting Antarctic's climatic, glacial, and tectonic history for the past 50 Ma". In the 2007, I will be part of the Southern McMurdo Sound Drilling Project, which will recover sedimentary cores ranging in age from 2 to 17 million years ago. I am also a team leader of the Offshore New Harbor Project, which will image sedimentary archives that extend to when Antarctica was mainly ice free (50-35 million years ago) in 2008.

A third set of projects are aimed at gaining greater insights into paleoceanographic and climatic changes during important warm periods in Earth's history: the early Miocene (21-16 Ma) and late Paleocene (59-55 Ma). These projects use stable isotopes and trace metals to reconstruct climatic and paleoceanographic changes. A fourth group includes projects that use a new integrated approach to determine climate variability and environmental changes of the Hudson River region for the past 7,000 years.

Teaching Philosophy and Interests

My teaching objectives are based on my training and experience as a primary, secondary, and university level educator, the needs of the students, and my own interest in the earth sciences. In instructing introductory geology students, I have three main objectives:

1. To spark students' curiosity and excitement about the world around them. For most students, an introductory geology course is their first experience in learning and exploring science. This provides me as an educator with the opportunity to motivate students to look beyond their immediate surroundings (to teach what is outside the four walls), with the result that they become more interested, concerned, and amazed at the diversity of biological and physical environments on and within the planet. I do this by creating a positive, student-centered environment in the class (as well as outside the class, e.g., field trips).
2. To teach at an introductory level the methodologies of modern contemporary science. This is critical in ensuring that the populace has a basic understanding of science in deciding public policy.
3. To integrate up to date science and societally relevant topics into the curriculum (bringing geology "to life"). I hope to show students that entering the field of geology can be a rewarding experience, which can contribute to society.

For upper level undergraduate classes, such as stratigraphy, I have two main goals.

1. To promote and encourage the use of the scientific method and the method of the multiple working hypotheses.
2. To frame any geology course using a larger multi disciplinary approach to the earth sciences. This gives them a broader perspective and experience of the wide array of geological applications that can serve them in their future careers.

A list of courses taught:

Undergraduate

• GEOL101 Physical Geology
• GEOL102 Historical Geology
• GEOL202 Earth Materials II
• GEOL213 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
• GEOL239 Evolution of Ecosystems

Graduate

• GEOL502 Earth History and the Fossil Record

Selected Publications

Pekar, S.F., Christie-Blick, N., 2007, Resolving apparent conflicts between oceanographic and Antarctic climate records and evidence for a decrease in pCO2 during the Oligocene through early Miocene (34-16 Ma): Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, accepted.

Pekar, S.F., DeConto, R.M., Harwood, D.M., 2006, Resolving a late Oligocene conundrum: deep-sea warming versus Antarctic glaciation: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 231, p. 29-40.

Pekar, S. F., Hucks, A., Fuller, M., and Li, S., 2005, Glacioeustatic changes in the early and middle Eocene (51-42 Ma) greenhouse world based on shallow-water stratigraphy from ODP Leg 189 Site 1171 and oxygen isotope records: Geological Society of America Bulletin, 117:1081-1093.

Pekar, S. F., Christie-Blick, N., Miller, K. G., and Kominz, M. A., 2003, Evaluating factors controlling stratigraphic architecture at passive continental margins: Oligocene sedimentation in New Jersey: Journal of Sedimentary Research, 73:227-245. (Outstanding Journal Paper in the Journal of Sedimentary Research for 2003)

Pekar, S. F., Christie-Blick, N., Kominz, M. A., and Miller, K. G., 2002, Calibrating eustasy to oxygen isotopes for the early icehouse world of the Oligocene: Geology, 30:903-906.

Pekar, S. F., Christie-Blick, N., Kominz, M. A., and Miller, K. G., 2001, Evaluating the stratigraphic response to eustasy from Oligocene strata in New Jersey: Geology, 29:55-58.