Biography
- Hometown: Saginaw, Michigan
Education
- BS, Environmental Geology, Calvin College
- MS, Geology, University of Toledo, Ohio
- PhD, Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor of Geology, Calvin University, 2019 - present
- Geologist, Ohio Geological Survey, 2018-19
- Wetland Geologist, Illinois State Geological Survey, Prairie Research Institute, 2009 to 2014
Academic Interests
Dr. Higley studies the history of the global water cycle and climate changes. She works on reconstructing ancient environments with an emphasis on the hydrologic and atmospheric conditions of the Holocene and late Pleistocene.
Research
2019 to present:
Geologic mapping of Lake Michigan coastal sediments (undergraduate projects)
Geologic mapping of the Calvin University campus (undergraduate projects))
Graduate research topics:
Hydroclimate in the central tropical Pacific during the last two millennia
Recent hydroclimate climate variability on Kiritimati Island (central tropical Pacific)
Chronology and characteristics of aeolian sediments on Kiritimati Island (central tropical Pacific)
Landscape and environmental change during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in northwest Ohio
Chronology and stratigraphy of a Pleistocene glacial lake in northwest Ohio