Paleoclimate &
Climate Change
Lab.

Investigating how natural and anthropogenic forcings shape East African and South Asian monsoons, climate extremes, and locust–climate dynamics across human and geological timescales.

PI – Dr. Daniel Gebregiorgis
Indian Ocean globe with ERA5-derived precipitation minus evaporation: burnt coral is negative, turquoise and deep blue are positive, and pearl marks zero. Ivory arrows with dark outlines show 850 hPa summer winds only over the Indian Ocean and the EAM and SAM domains. Closer spacing within EAM and prominent arrowheads reveal the cross-equatorial turn. Large bold EAM and SAM label the East African and South Asian monsoon study boxes. E greater than zero marks upward evaporation over the southern Indian Ocean. Omega dot q beside SAM denotes conceptual thermodynamic-dynamic interaction; it is not a separate data layer. Bold V with subscript 850 hPa identifies the full horizontal wind vector. Circles mark Chew Bahir in lime, Hadar in coral, Mechara caves in teal, Tigray caves in lavender, NGHP-17 as an ivory ring, U1448 in pink, and SSK168 as a gold ring. Cave markers represent research regions. Full map (opens in a new tab)
P−E · mm/day
850 hPa winds10 m/s
Smoothed Jun–Sep · 1990–2019

ERA5 via WeatherBench 2, with 61-day climatology smoothing. P−E is precipitation minus evaporation estimated from surface latent heat flux. Wind arrows cover the Indian Ocean and the EAM and SAM domains, with closer spacing within EAM. Winds are omitted where the 850 hPa level lies below the average land surface. E > 0 denotes upward evaporation; it does not indicate positive P−E. The SAM annotation ω · q denotes conceptual thermodynamic–dynamic interaction; no ω or q field is displayed. V with subscript 850 hPa denotes the full horizontal wind vector. EAM means East African monsoon; SAM means South Asian monsoon. Boxes show illustrative research domains, and East African rainfall seasons vary by region. Data and methods.

Selected Publications

View all publications on Google Scholar

Research in development

Ancient DNA & Evolutionary Dynamics

We are developing sedimentary ancient DNA approaches to investigate past ecological change and locust activity. Our collaborative simulation work examines pesticide resistance in locusts, expanding the lab’s research on biological responses to environmental change and human intervention.

Climate, Environment & Hominin Evolution

Investigating links among climate variability, environmental change, dietary shifts and hominin evolution in East Africa through sedimentary and geochemical archives.

People

Dr. Daniel Gebregiorgis at an outdoor camp, wearing a white head wrap and field vest.

PI – Dr. Daniel Gebregiorgis

Daniel Gebregiorgis is an assistant professor and climate scientist in the Department of Geosciences at Georgia State University. His research, grounded in geochemistry, primarily focuses on understanding past East African and South Asian monsoon dynamics to shed light on key mechanisms underpinning the response of the monsoon systems to continued greenhouse gas emissions. An overarching focus of his research remains investigating the mechanisms and rates of change that characterized Earth’s past climate variability, as well as the influence of large-scale coupled ocean–atmosphere circulation patterns, including the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), on regional monsoons. As a natural extension of his research on monsoon dynamics, his recent work examines how changes in rainfall and water availability shape locust outbreak regimes and reconstructs the climatic and environmental context of hominin evolution in East Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science with a minor in Mathematics from Addis Ababa University, a Master of Science in Atmospheric Science from the University of Gothenburg, and a Ph.D. in Geosciences from the University of Kiel.

Recent talkLocusts, monsoons & livelihoods · Kavli 2025

Google Scholar GSU profile
Lab & location

PCC Facilities & Instrumentation

PANalytical X’Pert PRO MPD
Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineral-phase identification in bulk sediments and separated clay fractions. Diagnostic basal spacings support clay-mineral characterization.Natural Science Center · NSC 384
LA-ICP-MS
Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for in situ trace-element analysis of geological solids, mineral zoning and small-scale compositional variability.Shared instrumentation · managed by Dr. Nadine Kabengi
Los Gatos Triple Isotope Analyzer
Hydrogen and oxygen isotope measurements (δ2H, δ17O and δ18O) in water using off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) for hydroclimate and geochemical research.Natural Science Center · NSC 384B
HF Fume Hood & Centrifuge
Chemical sample preparation and centrifuge-assisted separation of sediment and clay fractions, with dedicated clay separation space for XRD and geochemical analysis.Natural Science Center · NSC 384B
50 Decatur Street SE
Atlanta, GA 30303
GSU facilities
Department office & deliveries
Langdale Hall, Suite 730
38 Peachtree Center Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30303

Interested in graduate or postdoctoral research? Discuss Opportunities (dgebregiorgis@gsu.edu)