Dr. Bess Koffman is a geochemist and paleoclimate scientist whose research is focused on understanding past climate variability. In particular, she uses ice core records of atmospheric dust to learn how and why Earth’s atmospheric circulation has changed through time. She is also interested in the biogeochemical impacts of atmospheric deposition (e.g. mineral dust, volcanic ash, pollutants) on terrestrial and marine environments. Her work on ice and sediments has taken her to New Zealand, Antarctica, and Alaska. Dr. Koffman completed her B.A. in Geology at Carleton College and her Ph.D. in Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Maine. She held an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Polar Regions Research at Columbia University and a Society of Fellows Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dartmouth College, where she first started working in the Arctic. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Geology at Colby College.