Dr. Jessica Moerman uses geologic archives, such as cave stalagmites, lake sediments, and soil deposits, to investigate Earth’s past climate history. Her work specifically seeks to put present climate change in context with past climatic and environmental variability, with specific focus on the tropical water cycle, drought, and precipitation variability. Jessica has led multiple research expeditions to the tropical caves of Borneo and rift valleys of Kenya. As a member of the Human Origins Program’s Olorgesailie Drilling Project and Smithsonian Stable Isotope Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Jessica investigates how changes in water balance and vegetation in the southern Kenya rift over the past 500,000 years influenced human evolution and behavior.