I am an earth scientist and biogeochemist, specializing in understanding the impacts of large-scale alternations in coupled human and natural systems on biogeochemical cycling across diverse hydrologic systems including coastal, marine, and cryosphere environments. I apply high resolution geochemical and geophysical tools towards societally relevant problems including: (1) past and ongoing climate change by exploring how rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and increased wildfire activity impact vulnerable coastal and marine systems, aiming to provide insights into their resilience and management, (2) anthropogenic pollution by investigating the effects of human activities—including industrialization, warfare, and technological advancements—on sensitive ecosystems including reconstructing pollution sources, emission timing, and impact, and (3) land-use change using distributed temperature sensing and high resolution ice and sediment core geochemical data to inform land management and conservation strategies.

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I owe my interest in science and research in part to my mother, who taught me and my brother outside the classroom. We worked with people of all ages investigating the natural world through direct involvement in environmental programs, including University of New Hampshire Marine Docents, Great Bay Coast Watch, Seacoast Science Center, and New Hampshire Audubon. Through experiences monitoring water quality, phytoplankton, bald eagles, and working as a rocky shore naturalist, my early work impressed upon me the importance of understanding the natural world and the need to engage with youth and the community. These early experiences motivated me to pursue a degree in secondary science education with a double major in chemistry and earth and space science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. I went on to complete my doctoral degree at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR with Alyssa Shiel investigating influences of natural and anthropogenic lead sources on environmental archives. 

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Research Interests:

My research focuses on tracing the pathways of heavy metals in the environment to consider and mitigate the consequences of environmental perturbations on life in the ocean and on land. I work in a diverse array of systems from West Coast estuaries to systems to Arctic environments, developing and applying high-resolution geochemical techniques. Currently, I am using lead isotopes in glacial ice to fingerprint historical (500 BCE to the present) changes in lead pollution sources.

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Teaching Goals:

My goal as an Earth Science educator is to create a learning environment that is student-centered, where students actively engage with and inform the course content and build confidence and skills in making evidence-based conclusions. Introducing students to Earth Science in a deep, meaningful way, creates opportunities for students to understand the world around them. These connections and the understanding of what influences and shapes our world creates scientists and citizens who are well informed and prepared to discuss and search for solutions to some of the biggest issues facing our society.

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CV Snapshot

Postdoctoral Positions:

Cryosphere and Climate Science Postdoctoral Research Associate, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (Oct 2023 - Present)

National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (Oct 2021 - Sept 2024)

 

Education

Ph.D., Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (2021)

Dissertation: "Investigating Influences of Natural and Anthropogenic Lead Sources on Environmental Archives at Multiple Spatial and Temporal Scales: Evidence from Oysters and Ice Cores."

Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (2020)

B.S.Ed., Chemistry and Earth & Space Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (2015)

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Grants & Fellowships

• NSF Office of Polar Programs: Artic Systems Science (2024-2027) “Investigating Roman Era, Black Death, and Industrial Era Pollution Sources Using Inverse Modeling of Lead Isotopes in an Array of High-Resolution, Northern Hemisphere Ice Cores.” Award #2326535 

• National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2021-2024) “OPP-PRF: Investigating 2.5k Years of Human History and Atmospheric Transport in Greenland Ice Using High-Resolution Lead Isotopic Records.” Award #2138782; $327,921

• Geological Society of America Graduate Student Research Grant (2018-2019); $1,960 

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Publications

• Zhang, B., Chellman, N.J., Kaplan, J.O., Mickley, L.J., Ito, T., Wang, X., Wensman, S.M., McCrimmon, D., Steffensen, J.P., McConnell, J.R. and Liu, P. (2024). Improved biomass burning emissions from 1750 to 2010 using ice core records and inverse modeling. Nature Communications, 15(1), p.3651. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-47864-7

• McConnell, J.R., Chellman, N.J., Wensman, S.M., Plach, A., Santibanez, P.A., Brugger, S.O., Eckhardt, S., Freitag, J., Kipfstuhl., S.,
  Stohl, A., Stanish, C. (2024). Hemispheric-scale heavy metal pollution from South American and Australian mining and metallurgy during the Common Era. Science of the Total Environment. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169431

• McConnell, J.R., Wensman, S.M., Chellman, N.J. (2023). Microparticle and Trace Element Studies. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Sciences. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-99931-1.00152-5

• Wensman, S.M., Shiel, A. E., & McConnell, J. R. (2022). Lead isotopic fingerprinting of 250-years of industrial era pollution in Greenland ice. Anthropocene, 38, 100340. doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2022.100340

• Wensman, S.M., Morgan, J.D., Keegan, K. (2022). Ice-core records of human impacts on the environment. Past Global Changes Magazine (PAGES), 30, 2. doi:10.22498/pages.30.2.108

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Conferences & Workshops

• AGU Fall Meeting, Washington DC, USA (Dec, 2024)

• CTEMPS Fiber-Optic Distributed Acoustic and Temperature Sensing for Interdisciplinary Earth Scientists, Truckee, CA (Aug 2024)

• ​AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA (Dec 2023)

• AGU Leadership Academy & Network for Diversity & Inclusion in the Geosciences (LANDInG), D.C., U.S.A. (Oct 2023)

• Ice Core Open Science Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA (May 2023)

• Ice Core Early Career Researchers Workshop, Seattle, WA, USA (May 2023)

• AGU Fall Meetings, Chicago, IL, USA (Dec, 2022)

• AGU LANDInG Event, Chicago, IL, USA (Dec 2022)

• International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences 3rd Open Science Conference, Crans Montana, Switzerland (Oct 2022)

• Ice Core Young Scientists Seminar, Crans Montana, Switzerland (Oct 2022)

• Volcanic Fingerprints in Ice Cores Workshop, Bern Switzerland (Sept 2022)

• Ice Core Early Career Researchers Workshop, virtual (Jan 2022)

• GSA Annual Meeting, virtual (Nov 2020) 

• Goldschmidt2020, virtual (Jun 2020)

• CERF 25th Biennial Conference, Mobile, AL (Nov 2019)

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