Courses

GEOLOGY 100: General Geology with Field Emphasis, Fall 2003, Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Fall 2005, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, and Fall 2008

GEOLOGY 102: History and Evolution of the Earth, Winter 2004

GEOLOGY 141: Global Climate Change, Winter 2005, Winter 2006, Winter 2007, Winter 2008, and Fall 2008

GEOLOGY 160: Field Geology, Spring 2004
GEOLOGY 201: Oceanography, Winter 2007 and Spring 2008
GEOLOGY 330: Sedimentation and Stratigraphy, Fall 2004, Winter 2004, Fall 2005, Winter 2006, Winter 2007, Winter 2008, Winter 2009
GEOLOGY 373 and 376: Advanced Field Study, Spring 2004 and Spring 2009

Past Courses

GEOSC 20: Planet Earth, Penn State

GEOSC 320: Geology of Climate Change (co-taught with Richard Alley), Penn State

OCE 3014: Oceanography, Florida International University

GSC 240: Marine Geology, MAST Academy (University of Miami college credit course) (Teaching Assistant)

GSC 582: Field Geology, University of Miami (Teaching Assistant)     

GSC 350: Stratigraphy, University of Miami (Teaching Assistant)

GSC 450: Sedimentology, University of Miami (Teaching Assistant)

GSC 120: Environmental Geology, University of Miami (Teaching Assistant)

Education

Ph.D., Marine Geology and Geophysics, University of Miami-RSMAS,  2001     

B.A., Geology, The Colorado College, 1993

Research Interests

My research interests include (but are not limited to!) the following:

• recent decline of the Caribbean coral Acropora cervicornis
• Modern, Holocene, and Pleistocene paleoclimatology (high-resolution geochronology and geochemistry of carbonates)
• Sedimentology, stratigraphy, and paleoecology of coral reefs (reef facies and composition variability with sea level and climate change)
• The effects of storm events on coral reef communities (ancient and modern)
• The structure, composition, and geochemistry of serpulid bioherms (as potential indicators of Caribbean climate change)
• Anthropogenic controls on corals (effects of nutrient loading, climate change, and recreational use on coral ecology)
• The use of student response technology in the geosciences classroom
• Recent and current field locations include Florida Bay, the Dominican Republic, and Belize.

With Funding from the Keck Geology Consortium, I spent the summer of 2005 working on the reconstruction of high resolution Holocene Caribbean paleoclimate (9-4 ka) with undergraduates from Washington and Lee, Smith College, Franklin and Marshall, Mary Washington, Beloit, Amherst College, Carleton College, and the University of Saskatchewan and faculty members Bill Patterson (University of Saskatchewan), Al Curran (Smith College), and Neil Tibert (University of Mary Washington) in the Dominican Republic (http://keck.wooster.edu/2005_Projects1.html#Dominican_Republic). We spent two productive and fun weeks in the field before splitting into two groups for an additional two weeks of laboratory work at Washington and Lee and the University of Saskatchewan. For a short account of the experience click here. For photos from the field please see Neil Tibert's website. There will be more to follow! For a student perspective on the Dominican Keck research go to Jason Brasseur's journal on the University of Saskatchewan website by clicking here. For access to the preliminary results of this project, see the extended abstracts presented at the Keck Geology Consortium conference in 2006.

Positions

Associate Professor, Department of Geology, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, 2009 to present

Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, 2003 to 2009

Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA, 2001-2003

Research Assistant, University of Miami-Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 1995-2001     

Adjunct Faculty, Department of Geology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 2000

Researcher (unpaid consultant) for The Nature Conservancy Latin American and Caribbean Division, 1996-2000              

Teaching Assistant, Department of Math and Science, The Maritime and Science Technology Academy Magnate High School, Miami, FL, 1998

Teaching Assistant, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 1994-1995

Publications

Swart, P.K., Greer, L., Rosenheim, B.E., Moses, C., Waite, A.J., Winter, A., Dodge, R. and Helmle, K., in press, ¹³C Suess effect in scleractinian corals mirror changes in the anthropogenic CO2 inventory of the surface oceans, Geophysical Research Letters.

Greer, L., Jackson, J., Curran, H.A., Guilderson, T., and Teneva, L., 2009, How vulnerable is Acropora cervicornis to environmental change? Lessons from the early to mid-Holocene. Geology, v. 37, p. 263-266. [PDF]

Medley, P., Tibert, N.T., Patterson, W.P., Curran, H.A., Greer, L., and Colin, J.P., 2007, Paleohydrology of middle Holocene lagoonal and lacustrine deposits in the Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic: Pore morphometrics and isotope geochemistry of ostracoda. Micropaleontology, v. 53, no. 5, p. 409-419.

Greer, L. and Swart, P.K., 2006, Decadal cyclicity of regional Mid-Holocene precipitation as driven by tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures: Evidence from Dominican coral proxies. Paleoceanography, v. 21, PA2020, doi: 10.1029/2005PA001166. [PDF]

Knapp, E.P., Greer, L., Connors, C.D., and Harbor, D.J., 2006, Field-based instruction as part of a balanced Geoscience curriculum at Washington and Lee University. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, p. 103-108. [PDF]

McConnell, D.A., Steer, D.N., Owens, K.D., Borowski, W., Dick, J., Foos, A., Knott, J.R., Konigsberg, A.,  Malone, M., McGrew, H., Van Horn,   S., Greer, L., and Heaney, P.J., 2006, Using Conceptests to assess and improve student conceptual understanding in introductory Geoscience courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, p. 61-68. [PDF]

Greer, L. and Heaney, P.J., 2004, Real-time analysis of student comprehension: An assessment of electronic student response technology in an introductory Earth Science course. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 52, p. 345-351.[PDF]

Greer, L., 2004, Post-Seattle reflections on a different kind of GSA. GSA Today, v. 14, p. 16. [PDF]

Furman, T. and Greer, L., 2004, Active learning in introductory geoscience courses. http://www.pkal.org/docs/intro-geosciences-furman.pdf , published on the web via Project Kaleidoscope, 5 p.

Glumac, B., Berrios, L., Greer, L., and Curran, H.A., 2004, Holocene tufa-coated serpulid mounds from the Dominican Republic:  Depositional and diagenetic history, with comparison to Modern serpulid aggregates from Baffin Bay, Texas., Texas. Proceedings of the 11^th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions, p. 49-65.

Guerard, G. M., Greer, L., and Curran, H. A., 2004, Environmental indicator proxies from a mid-Holocene coral reef, Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic.  Proceedings of the 11^th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions, p. 35-48.

Swart, P.K., Price, R.M. and Greer, L., 2001, The relationship between stable isotopic variations (O, H, and C) and salinity in waters and corals from environments in South Florida: Implications for reading the paleoenvironmental record. Bulletins of American Paleontology, vol. 361, p.17-30.

Chiappone, M., Delgado, G.A., Geraldes, F.X., Greer, L., Pugibet, E., Rodriguez, Y., Sullivan, K.M., Swart, P.K., Torres, R.E., Tschirkey, J. and Vega, M., 2001, Water quality in Caribbean coastal areas: A case study of Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic. The Nature Conservancy, America Verde Publishers, Arlington, Virginia, 149 p. [PDF]

Chiappone, M., Geraldes, F.X., Greer, L., Kiene, W., Pugibet, E., Rodriguez, Y., Sullivan, K.M., Swart, P., Torres, R.E., Tschirky, J. and Vega, M. 2001, Conservation of coral reefs in marine protected areas: A case study of Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic. The Nature Conservancy, America Verde Publishers, Arlington, Virginia, 244 p.[PDF]

Swart, P.K., Healy, G., Greer, L., Lutz, M., Saied, A., Anderegg, D., Dodge, R.E., and Rudnick, D., 1999, The use of proxy chemical records in coral skeletons to ascertain past environmental conditions in Florida Bay. Estuaries, vol. 22, No. 2B, p. 384-397. [ABSTRACT] [PDF]

Curran, H.A., Smith, D.P., Meigs, L.C., Pufall, A.E., and Greer, M.L., 1993, The health and short-term changes of two coral patch reefs, Fernandez Bay, San Salvador Island, Bahamas, Colloquium and Forum on Global Aspects of Coral Reefs: Health, Hazards, and History, University of Miami, RSMAS.

Selected Recent Abstracts                 

Blue denotes undergraduate student co-author

Swart, P.K., Greer, L., Rosenheim, B.E., Moses, C., Winter, A., Dodge, R. and Helmle, K., 2009, ¹³C Suess effect in scleractinian corals mirror changes in the anthropogenic CO₂ inventory of the surface oceans, Eos Trans. American Geophysical Union, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP13E-01.

Teneva, L., Greer, L., Patterson, W., 2008, High-resolution Acropora cervicornis δ18O: implications for early Holocene Caribbean temperatures and position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium Abstracts Volume. p. 24.

Burpee, A., Greer, L., Humston, R., and Hubbard, D., 2008, The Effect of Marine Protection on Carbonate Sediment Production in St. Croix, USVI. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium Abstracts Volume. p. 263.

Burpee, A., Humston, R., Greer, L.,  and Hubbard, D., 2008, The Ecological Effects of Marine Preserves in a Grouper-Free and Diadema Rebounding System in St. Croix, USVI. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium Abstracts Volume. p. 510. 

Curran, H.A., Winsor, K., Greer, L., and Glumac, B., 2008, Unusual Serpulid/Tufa Bioherms Cap Corals of a Mid-Holocene Fringing Reef, Dominican Republic: Paleoenvironmental and Climatic Controls. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium Abstracts Volume. p. 4.

Greer, L., Jackson, J., Curran, H.A., Guilderson, T., Patterson, W., Teneva, L., Rhea, E., Shultis, J., 2008, Is Acropora cervicornis a canary in the global warming coal mine?  Lessons from the mid-Holocene Dominican Republic. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium Abstracts Volume. p. 4.    

Winsor, K., Curran, H.A., Greer, L., Glumac, B., and Tibert, N.E., 2007. Regional and climatic contributions to the formation of Holocene serpulid tube/tufa mounds of the Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs.

Teneva, L.T., De Wet, C.B., and Greer, L., 2006, Vital effects in Acropora cervicornis corals: Evidence from trace elements and stable isotopes. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 7, p. 66.

Greer, L., Jackson, J.E., Guilderson, T.P., Curran, H.A., Patterson, W.P., Mortlock, R.A., Dyck, K., Teneva, L.T., Taggart, J.R., and Taylor, A., 2006, How vulnerable is Acropora cervicornis coral to climate change? Lessons from the mid-Holocene. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 7, p. 534.

Jackson, J.E., Greer, L., Guilderson, T.P., Curran, H.A., Patterson, W.P., Mortlock, R.A., Dyck, K., Teneva, L.T., 2006, High resolution dating and taphonomy of an Acropora cervicornis reef reveal mid-Holocene reef architecture. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 7, p. 534.

Winsor, K., Curran, H.A., Greer, L., and Glumac, B., 2006, Paleoenvironmental implications of mid-Holocene serpulid tube/tufa mounds and underlying coral colonies, Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 7, p. 68.

Medley, P.R., Tibert, N.E., Patterson, W.P., Curran, H.A., Colin, J.P., and Greer, L., 2006, Paleohydrology of middle Holocene lagoonal and lacustrine deposits in the Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic: Pore morphometrics and isotope geochemistry of Ostracoda. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 7, p. 444.

Doss, W., Greer, L., Curran, H.A., Patterson, W.P.., and Mortlock, R.A., 2005, Large tufa-coated serpulid worm mounds signal an abrupt Mid-Holocene transition from marine to restricted hyposaline conditions, Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs

Jackson, J.E., Greer, L., Guilderson, T.P., Patterson, W.P.., and Mortlock, R.A., 2005, High-resolution dating and characterization of Acropora cervicornis growth in the Enriquillo Valley, 9.45-6.06 Ka (U/Th). Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs

Heaney, P., and Greer, L., 2004, Assessing the effectiveness of electronic student response technology. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 490.

Greer, L. and Heaney, P., 2004, Does electronic student response technology work in a small liberal arts classroom? Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 489.

Curran, H.A., Greer, L., Glumac, B., Guerard, G., and Swart, P.K., 2004, Development, decline, and transition in a mid‑Holocene fringing coral reef complex, Dominican Republic. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 313.

Knapp, E.P., Connors, C.D., Greer, L., Harbor, D.J., Schwab, F.L., Spencer, E.W., 2004, Field‑based instruction as part of a balanced geology curriculum at Washington and Lee University. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 159.

Hubbard, D., Ramirez, W., Davis, A., Lawson, G., Oram, J., Parsons, K., Greer, L., Cuevas, D., Del Coro, M., 2004, A preliminary model of Holocene coral‑reef development in the Enriquillo valley, SW Dominican Republic. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 313.

Owens, K., McConnell, D.A., Steer, D., Van Horn, S., Knott, J., Borowski, W., McGrew, H., Dick, J., Greer, L., and Malone, M., 2004, The impact of changing pedagogy to include conceptests and peer instruction in introductory geoscience courses at multiple institutions. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 218.

Curran, H.A., Greer, L., Glumac, B., Guerard, G., and Berrios, L., 2004, Decline and Transition in a Holocene coral reef complex, Dominican Republic. 10^th International Coral Reef Symposium: Okinawa Abstracts Volume, p. 146.

Hubbard, D.K., Davis, A., Lawson, G., Ramirez, W., and Greer, L., 2004, Yes, Virginia, there are framework reefs. 10^th International Coral Reef Symposium: Okinawa Abstracts Volume, p. 146

Gerald, L., Greer, L., and Curran, H.A., 2004, Sclerochronology and geochemical evidence of natural and anthropogenic influences on coral growth in a stressed environment, Belize. 10^th International Coral Reef Symposium: Okinawa Abstracts Volume, p. 88.

Greer, L., Swart, P.K., Curran, H.A., and Guerard, G., 2004, Corals and coral reefs as recorders of decadal-scale Holocene storm frequency: An example from the Dominican Republic. 10^th International Coral Reef Symposium: Okinawa Abstracts Volume, p. 196.

Gerald, L.E., Greer, L., Curran, H.A., Walizer, D.P., and Arthur, M.A., 2003, Belizian coral sclerochronology and geochemistry provide insight into environmental conditions during recent coral growth. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 35, no. 6, p. 587.

Heaney, P.J. and Greer, L., 2003, Using electronic response technology to teach mineralogy in large class settings. Clay Minerals Society Program and Abstracts, p. 73.

Leonard, J., Greer, L., and Greenstein, B.J., 2003, Climate indicators detected in annual growth bands of Pleistocene Montastraea collected from Belize C.A. North-Central Section Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 35, no. 2, p. 18.

Leonard, J., Greenstein, B., and Greer, L., 2003, Climate indicators detected in annual growth bands of Pleistocene Montastrea collected from Belize, Central America.  Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science Abstracts
with Programs p. 39.

Greer, L. and Swart, P.K., 2002, Decadal patterns in tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature indices as recorded by a modern Dominican coral (1935-1996). Eos Trans. American Geophysical Union, 83 (47), Fall Meeting Suppl. Abstract PP62A-0315, 2002.

Greer, L., Heaney, P., and Houseman, D., 2002, Mutual assessment: understanding faculty teaching and student learning via electronic student response technology. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 34, no. 6, p. 296. Invited Speaker.

Berrios, L., Glumac, B., Greer, L., and Curran, H.A., 2002, Tufa-coated serpulid mounds in the Dominican Republic: A unique substrate for Taino Indian petroglyphs. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Annual Meeting, v. 34, no. 6, p. 111.

Greer, L., Heaney, P., Piazza, S., Enerson, D., and Houseman, D., 2002, Creating an Interactive Classroom using Electronic Student Response Systems: Understanding Student Learning. Assessment Strategies to Stimulate Student Learning Colloquy, Penn State University, http://www.psu.edu/dept/tlc/events/colloquy2002/index.html.

Berrios, L., Glumac, B., Greer, L., and Curran, H.A., 2002, Depositional and diagenetic history of Holocene tufa-coated serpulid mounds from the Dominican Republic:  Insights from petrography, stable isotopes and comparison with Modern serpulid aggregates from Baffin Bay, Texas. The 11^th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions, Bahamian Field Station, San Salvador, Bahamas.

Undergraduate Theses Supervised or Co-Supervised

Internal

Kathryn Telfeyan
The influence of the Amazon and Orinoco on Barbados coastal waters: A record from stony corals (tentative) in progress, 2010.

Elizabeth Rhea
Examining δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O composition of skeletal carbonate in scleractinian coral A. cervicornis. 2009.

Alexander Burpee
Ecological and sediment flux implications of marine protected status designation for coral reefs, St. Croix, USVI. 2008

Julia Jackson
An analysis of Acropora cervicornis growth in relation to mid-Holocene climate change, Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic. 2007

Whitney Doss
Serpulids as indicators of mid-late Holocene climate: Timing and paleoclimate significance of large worm tube aggregates, Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic. 2006

Erin Falzareno (secondary advisor with Professor Allison Bell)
The importance of Scaglia Rossa Chert as a raw material for human populations throughout prehistory. 2006

External

Kelsey Winsor, Smith College
The Holocene Contact between Coral Reef Colonies and Serpulid Tube/Tufa Mounds of the Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic: Paleonenvironmental Implications. 2007

Lida Teneva, Franklin and Marshall College
Multi-proxy Evaluation of Early Holocene Acropora cervicornis from the Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic: Implications for Local Climate dynamics and Coral Biochemistry. 2006

Andy Taylor, Amherst College
High and Low Resolution Stable Isotope Profiles of Holocene Bivalves from the Enriqiullo Valley, Dominican Republic. 2006

Kelsey Dyck, Carleton College
High-resolution δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, and taphonomy records from Acropora cervicornis coral and implications for mid-Holocene climate: Las Clavellinas, Dominican Republic. 2006

Jean Taggert, Beloit College
Mid-Holocene climate change in southwestern Dominican Republic: Proxy evidence from stable isotope values and molluscan indices. 2006

Pam Medley, Mary Washington University
Paleosalinity History of a Holocene Lagoon in the Enriquillo Valley, Dominican Republic: Pore Morphometric and Isotope Geochemistry of Ostracoda. 2006

Lila Eve Gerald, Smith College
Growth bands in Belizean patch reef corals: their use as paleoclimate indicators. 2003

Galadriel Guerard, Smith College
Environmental indicator proxies from a mid-Holocene coral reef, Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic. 2001