Natalie Maiorano Email & Phone Number

Syracuse, Ny, Us

Geneva, Ny, Us

INDEPENDENT STUDYZurich Bog, you can run, but you can’t hide! Senior year, having gained additional knowledge and analytical skills, I returned to my old Zurich Bog data sets only to find them noisy and hard to read. This launched me on a journey to determine which paleoclimate proxies can best detect high-resolution climatic changes in a peat bog. I found that the most conclusive paleoclimate proxies, log Mn/Fe (shifts in redox conditions) and Atomic C/N (organic matter sources), combined with the wonders (and horrors) of the programming language R, produced clear, easy to read data. In fact, noise was reduced so much that I was able to pinpoint 3 additional dry periods I had missed previously. This new discovery led me to an altered conclusion: not only does Zurich Bog respond to local conditions as in-filling occurs, but also regional fluctuations in water availability.

Geneva, Ny, Us

CAPSTONE PROJECTI had the pleasure of being the architect of a comprehensive study on the feasibility of geothermal energy for HWS and the surrounding Finger Lakes community. Explored physical and technical systems, economic viability, policy implications, and educational outreach, while integrating local research with international case studies to assess the potential for sustainable implementation. This interdisciplinary project integrated insights from multiple fields, departments, and stakeholders, requiring extensive online research and consultations with companies.

The William Scandling is a research vessel that operates on Seneca Lake through Hobart and William Smith Colleges. During my time on the boat, I performed deckhand duties such as checking oil and fuel levels and securing the boat during departure and docking, ensuring safety and efficiency on board. I handled specialized equipment (e.g. piston corer, Niskin bottle, CastAway CTD, Van Geeb Grab Sampler) to collect bottom sediment and water samples at various depths for high school and college students to analyze. I aided in meeting students’ educational objectives by helping them record and interpret data.

While visiting Costa Rica, one of the most environmentally-conscious countries in the world, I volunteered at a recycling center where I sorted recycled materials for proper disposal or re-use. This position opened my eyes to the intricate systems required to manage waste sustainably and the collective responsibility we all share in protecting our planet. Witnessing firsthand how local Costa Rican communities prioritize environmental stewardship deepened my understanding of global ecological challenges, especially those in the U.S., and fueled my commitment to sustainability.

Geneva, Ny, Us

Peat bogs are excellent archives for reconstructing climate changes due to their small surface areas and shallow depth. I used loss-on-ignition, X-ray fluorescence, elemental and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, and a visual description of a sediment core collected from Zurich Bog in Arcadia, NY to infer changes in past water-table levels over the last 6,000 years and to compare these changes to regional lakes and bogs. I discovered correlations between low lake levels and known cold events in the North Atlantic region, concluding that water fluctuations at Zurich Bog respond to large-scale climate events, not local ones. I found the visual descriptions and stratigraphic columns of the core to be one of the most useful tools during this research.

Geneva, Ny, Us

Assisted incoming first-year college students with collecting samples and recording data to prepare them for their first college STEM courses.