Curriculum Vitae

Patrick A. Rafter

Post-doctoral Research Associate
Department of Geosciences                                               prafter *(atsiqn) princeton.edu
Guyot Hall, Princeton University                                          Phone: 001 858 405 0539
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA                                                 
Web: http://geoweb2.princeton.edu/geowiki/doku.php/patrick_rafter
http://charleslab.ucsd.edu/charleslab-patrick.html
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EDUCATION

2009-             Post-doctoral Research
                                    Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA Advisor: Daniel M. Sigman
Research: Marine nitrate biogeochemistry and tropical Pacific paleoceanography.
           

2002-2009    Ph.D. Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, USA
Advisor: Christopher D. Charles
Dissertation title: Tropical Pacific nutrient dynamics of the modern and Pleistocene ocean: insights from the nitrogen isotope system

2000               B.S. Environmental Science / B.S. Marine Environmental Studies
Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA

CURRENT RESEARCH AREAS
-Using marine nitrate isotopes to investigate water mass pathways / modifications and climatic influence on marine N biogeochemistry with a special focus on Subantarctic Mode Water and Oxygen Deficient Zones.
-New records of tropical Pacific paleoceanography (using alkenones and sediment d15N) to examine “paleo ENSO” and the influence of greenhouse gases on state of equatorial Pacific.

PUBLICATIONS (PEER-REVIEWED)
Rafter, P.A., C.D. Charles, D.M. Sigman, G.H. Haug and J. Kaiser, (In Press) Subsurface tropical Pacific nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrate: biogeochemical signals and their transport, Global Biogeochemical Cycles.
Rafter, P.A., S.L. Jaccard, E.D. Galbraith, T. Kiefer, and M. Kienast, (In Press) The nitrogen cycle in the ocean, past and present: 2nd NICOPP meeting report, PAGES Newsletter.
Rafter, P.A. and C.D. Charles, (In Review) Pleistocene equatorial Pacific dynamics described by zonal gradients in nitrogen isotopes, Nature.

PUBLICATIONS (IN PREPARATION)
Rafter, P.A and D.M. Sigman, (In Prep) Dual nitrate isotope distribution from the high to low latitude Pacific Ocean.
Rafter, P.A, D.M. Sigman, L. Aluwihare, R. Goericke (In Prep) ENSO and the marine N cycle: nitrate isotope time-series of California Under Current.
Rafter, P.A. and A. Martinez-Garcia (In Prep) Insights to “Paleo-ENSO” from a central equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature reconstruction.
Rafter, P.A. and G.H. Haug. (In Prep) Investigating the Permanent Pliocene El Nino with sedimentary N isotopes.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2008               Teaching Assistant for Chris Charles, ESYS 10: Introduction to Environmental Systems, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
2007               Teaching Assistant for Lihini Aluwihare, SIO 101: California Coastal Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
2007               Teaching Assistant for Chris Charles, ESYS 10: Introduction to Environmental Systems, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
2006 Teaching Assistant for Lynne Talley, ESYS 10: Introduction to Environmental Systems, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD       
2005               Teaching Assistant for Gabi Laske, ERTH/SIO 10: Natural Disasters, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD 
2004               Teaching Assistant for Gabi Laske, ERTH/SIO 10: The Earth, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD  
2003               Teaching Assistant for Sam Iacobellis, ERTH/SIO 20: The Atmosphere, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD           

HONORS / AWARDS / GRANTS
2006-2007    Fellowship: Ocean Drilling Program—Joint Oceanographic Institutions Schlanger Fellowship
2005/2003    Grants: SIO Whole Earth Society—Graduate Student Research Grant
2004               Fellowship: California Space Institute
2000               Fellowship: EPA – National Network of Environmental Management Studies Fellow
1999/2000    Awards: Florida Institute of Technology – Outstanding Junior / Senior in Environmental Science


PRESENTATIONS (First author)
2011               Poster. Gordon Conference on Chemical Oceanography: Dual nitrate isotopes from the high to low latitude Pacific Ocean.
2011               Talk. Dalhousie University: Nitrogen Cycle in the Ocean, Past and Present Workshop.
2010               Talk. Rutgers University: Invited Speaker–Tropical reign? A 1.2 million year record of nutrient dynamics in the eastern equatorial Pacific
2010               Poster. International Conference on Paleoceanography: A sedimentary template for tropical Pacific nitrate consumption and thermocline depth in the late Pleistocene: is it the high or low latitudes?
2010               Talk. CICESE (Center of Science and Higher Education, Ensenada, Mexico): Invited Speaker–A 1.2 Ma record of eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline depth from sediment nitrogen isotopes
2010               Talk. Ocean Sciences Conference: A Survey of the tropical Pacific nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrate–new measurements show surprising isotopic highs and lows
2009               Talk. UCLA: Invited Speaker—New insight to tropical Pacific circulation using isotopic tracers
2008               Poster. AGU Fall Conference—Tropical Pacific nutrient dynamics from the Late Quaternary to the modern ocean
2008               Talk. USC: Invited Speaker—Tropical Pacific nutrient dynamics of the past 1 Ma
2006               Talk. Ocean Sciences Conference—Tropical Pacific nutrient dynamics of the past 140kyr.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (Select)
2008               Ocean. Multi-coring, box-coring, seawater sampling in the Santa Barbara Basin. 5 days on the RV Sproul.
2009               Ocean. Gravity-coring, dredge recovery, seawater sampling in the Arabian Sea. 21 days on the RV Roger Revelle.

2005               Ocean. CTD technician, seawater sampling in the eastern tropical Pacific. 40 days on the RV Ka’imimoana.

 


UNIVERSITY SERVICE
2009-Present            Organizer: Princeton University—Reviewing Nitrate Isotopes Seminar
2005                           Student Representative: SIO Faculty Committee on Planning and Budget
2007                           Lead Student Representative: SIO Climate / Geological Research Division Faculty Search Committee
2003-2005                Organizer: SIO New Topics in Paleoclimatology Seminar