Behnaz Balmaki

My research focuses on late Holocene paleoecological reconstructions and investigation of sea level change and its impact upon coastal environments by using multiple proxy data. I am using late Holocene and Recent foraminifera and pollen as paleoenvironmental indicators to study the environmental geology of coastal areas, focusing on their evolution in response to sea level fluctuation. I am developing a diatom transfer function to reconstruct sea levels for the coast of southern California based upon the relationship between diatom assemblages and elevation.