One avenue of study is outcrop- and core-based studies of the Permian redbeds within the mid-continent region (Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas).  These have been very understudied and our recent analysis suggests that the the depositional and paleogeographic interpretations of the redbeds requires a new vision of the Permian landscape.  Along with my colleagues and students were are finding evidence of eolian silt (loessite) deposition as well as the presence of saline lakes.  This changes not only the paleogeographic setting of the mid-continent, but also forces new interpretations of the transport and depositional processes active for such an enormous volume of sediment accumulating during this time period. 

I am also studying the provenance of these redbeds, and particularly the loessites in order to infer paleowind directions. This seems like a rather odd pasttime, but understanding past atmospheric circulation patterns is critical to providing better constraints to global circulation models, which are used extensively to retrodict past climate and predict future climate. By determining individual U-Pb ages for a population of detrital zircons within a loessite sample, we have been able to determine the source region for the majority of the zircon grains and thus the direction from which the sediment was transported–by wind, since loess is, by definition, an eolian deposit. We are also looking at changes in whole-rock and trace-element geochemistry of the loessites from different time slices and different locations to further investigate changes in provenance related to changes in wind direction and this chemical data is also helping address the origin of these low-latitude loessites. Finally, we are also looking at changes in detrital zircons and geochemistry to document changes in wind direction and intensity on glacial-interglaical timescales, which is very exciting. 

I am also laying groundwork for a new project to analyze lower Permian lacustrine strata in Tanzania and Malawi. These lacustrine strata record the deglaciation at high latitudes of the Late Paleozoic Ice House. Although these rocks have been studied previously, age control is poor. We are attempting to develop a detailed chronology for these strata in order to compare to the records we have obtained in the southwestern U.S. If we are able to make time correlations, we can begin to address questions about climate change in polar vs equatorial belts.