Dr Dune - Julia Cisneros
Dr Julia Cisneros- Geoscientist, Assistant Professor of Earth Surface Processes - Virginia Tech; GeoLatinas. Connect with Julia on Bluesky (RIP Twitter).
Her Research: Sand! Spend a few minutes at a sandy beach and you’ll be shaking, pouring and digging sand off and out of everything! EVERYTHING! Sand particles are small and light and so they easily get pushed around by the wind and water and get everywhere. Wind and water flowing over sand also organises sand particles and forms a variety of bigger structures. Sand dunes are the most visible form of this but there are many and they also are formed underwater in the ocean and in rivers.
Scientists call the structures that sand and sediment(mud, gravel) form when wind and water flow over them, bedforms. Bedforms include undulating ripples just a few millimeters tall, dome shaped hills, crescent shaped dunes, massive star shaped sand dunes and more. The tallest bedform above ground is a sand dune called Duna Federico Kirbus in Argentina 1,230 meters tall (4,035 ft). We couldn’t find what the tallest bedform underwater is - let us know if you do.
Bedforms, and understanding how they are created and move, is really important. Coastal dunes protect against ocean flooding, ships need to be able to navigate rivers and port mouths, and Mars rovers need to know if they will be able to get up and over a dune that is in their way. They are also important to understand history, we mean deep history, fossils! Fossilized ripples show that a body of water used to be there, sand dunes can become sandstone hills with rich information in each sediment layer. In both cases, we can learn about what the climate and environment was like millions of years ago.
Julia’s group focuses on understanding the processes of bedform formation and how they move in ancient and inaccessible worlds. The goal of their research is to identifying and quantifying the links between the flow of fluids (water and air) over a bedform, sediment transport, and bedform morphodynamics (how they change shape). A better understanding of these interactions will allow scientists to read the records of ancient environments, use current bedforms to characterize past conditions of Earth and on other planets, and improve how environments are managed in the face of climate change.
Her scientific superpowers: “I can see across spatial and temporal scales. I can see from the sky and underwater. I can see the future and into the past. I have "vision"”
Her heroes: Her family and friends
Her Top Tip: “Be yourself, and dream big!"
What does it take to do all of this and succeed (her ranking): 1) curiosity 2) creativity 3) communication, and 4) hard work
What else do you need? Perseverance and resilience
Her scientific strengths: Collaboration, grant writing and creative solutions to problems.
Her scientific spark: “When I was in high school, I attended a geoscience camp for underrepresented students. I learned about geoscience and was enthralled. Specifically, I learned about sand dunes preserved in the rock record as "cross stratification." I learned that these sedimentary features tell us about the ancient environment (deserts) and the direction the winds were blowing. I was hooked. I applied to Texas A&M University in the department of Geology and Geophysics and I never looked back. Now, I run the Bedform Dynamics Group at Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences.”
Have you ever failed at something? “In university, as an undergraduate, I was really overwhelmed during my sophomore year due to a variety of external forces (I was taking too many classes and my childhood dog died). I ended up failing a physics test. When I went to talk to my professor, he was not sympathetic or understanding and instead questioned if I deserved to be in the class. I ended up confiding in one of my geology professors, who understood my hardships and listened to me, reminding me that I was a great student and I did deserve to be in the class.
I ended up studying really hard for the physics final and I got a 100 on the test, which raised my grade back up to a 89.6% - just 0.4% away from an A. The professor refused to raise my grade to an A, but I knew I deserved it. I knew I succeeded and showed him that I should be in the class and that I was a great student. I remember back to that moment fondly because it was the first time of many that I had to overcome barriers to solidify my place within academia.”
Why is diversity in STEM important and what does it mean to you? “Diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM is important because it helps us ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to science. There are so many brilliant people out there with perspectives that are valuable to how we create solutions to our world's biggest problems. Centering DEI in STEM means that we continue to lower the barriers to participation so that those people, who otherwise would not have an opportunity to bring their perspective to our disciplines, can.”
Want to learn more about Julia and her research, here’s one of her seminars!