Lisa Colville '07 published Greenland climate research in Science

In a July 30, 2011 paper in the journal Science, Lisa Colville '07 et al. contend that Greenland was only partially deglaciated during the last interglacial time, 125,000 years ago. Prior to her study, the prevailing view was that the Greenland Ice Sheet had disappeared during that warming interval. Scientists know that sea levels were about 6 m higher at this time and most have insisted that the additional sea water was derived from melting in Greenland. The article suggests that Greenland was responsible for only about half of the sea level increase. So where did the water come from? The obvious choice is Antarctica. Consequently, Colville's study necessitates a re-examination of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, which may have been less stable  than previously thought. 

Lisa’s paper , titled "Sr-Nd-Pb isotope evidence for ice-sheet presence on southern Greenland during the last interglacial" was a product of her M.S. thesis at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and was co-authored by her advisor and other collaborators. For her study, Lisa did the field work in Greenland and lab isotope work at the University of Wisconisn. Lisa graduated with a B.A. in Geology from  Albion College in 2007. While a student at Albion, Lisa took advantage of research opportunities in the White Mountains of California and aboard a ship in Antarctica. 

A news article and additional links to news coverage of this climate study can be found at the University of Wisconsin web-site.