ASHLEY M. PALUMBO
I'm currently a fifth-year PhD candidate studying with Dr. James Head in the Planetary Sciences group at Brown University.
My graduate research focuses on early Mars' atmosphere, climate and geology, utilizing the 3D LMD GCM and another numerical models to analyze different processes that effect the climate on a geologically short time scale.
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I recently participated in Brown's Research Matters program. Click here to watch the video! I was also chosen to compete in the Ivy 3-Minute Thesis competition at the UN.
This summer, I've returned to studying the best planet, Earth! I completed an internship at ExxonMobil with the Global Unconventionals Team.
Click around to learn more!
MY LATEST RESEARCH:
NATURE AND EVOLUTION OF THE EARLY MARTIAN CLIMATE
Characteristics of a "warm and wet" early Mars. We simulate a greenhouse-warmed early atmosphere with global mean annual temperature above freezing and characterize the distribution of rainfall, snowfall, and local temperatures above freezing. Surprisingly, there's still not much rain! See our publication in Geophysical Research Letters.
Pictured: Rainfall on umbrella. Image credit: Shutterstock
Seasonal temperature variations. We employ the 3D LMD GCM for early Mars to determine whether the warmest hours of the summer season may have been conducive to melting of ice, runoff, and valley network formation. See our publication in Icarus Journal.
Pictured: Onyx River Antarctica. A possible valley network analog. Image credit: www.ourbreathingplanet.com
Amount of water required for valley network formation. Using the current valley network database and calculations to describe liquid water flow and erosion, we estimate the volume of water required to have carved the martian valley networks. See our publication in Icarus Journal.
Pictured: Viking 1 image of a valley network taken from orbit. Image credit: NASA
Impact cratering induced warming. In this work, we provide geologic perspective to answer the question: could impact-induced rainfall and heating be responsible for Noachian fluvial activity? See our publication in Meteoritics and Planetary Science Journal.
Pictured: High resolution image of crater on Mars. Image credit: Discover Magazine
Where to find me next?
I'll be attending the Fall AGU Meeting in San Francisco this December.
Look for me there!