Home
Bayne Westrick-Snapp
Masters of Geology candidate
About Me
I am currently at  Cal State Universary Fullerton working on my Masters degree in Geology, with a specific interest in geochemistry and marine geology.  I received my BS in Geology at CSUF with a minor in Chemistry.  I am working on my thesis with Dr. Sean Loyd, with whom I finished an undergrad thesis with in Summer 2016.  Some interests beside geology include: Herps (reptiles/amphibians), gardening, insects (I raise Monarchs and ocassional Swallowtails), as well as marine organisms (I currently work for an aquarium).
Geology Research Experience
Current MS project:  I will be looking at the Carbon and Sulfur isotopes of the Bonanza King Formation in California.  This formation is primarily a Cambrian aged limestone/dolostone.  Many late Cambrian aged lime/dolostones globally show a positive excursion with both isotopes.  I will be looking to see if this area exhibits the same excursion and continue from there.
Undergrad Thesis: I looked at the Carbon 13 make up of Concretions found within the Castaic Formation (located north of Castaic, CA) under Dr. Sean Loyd. Â The purpose was to determine how much was sourced from organic or inorganc C sources.
Independent Studies: Â I spent a month mapping parts of the Andes Mountains in Argentina with Dr. Vali Memeti, fellow undergrads, Argentinian Geologiest, and PhD candidates in May of 2015.
Other Research and Work Experience
I currently work for Cabrillo Marine Aquarium where I am a part of the education department. Â At the aquarium, I interact and educate the public as well as teach groups of students (pre k and above) about various aspects of the ocean (animals, algae, physical and chemical processes, etc)Â based on what their field trip is about.Â
While working here, I had the opportunity to help some friends collect fish for their research in Mexico. Â I continue to help another friend collect grunion (during their mating season) for his PhD work.
I continue to do coastal park, salt marsh, and tide pool surveys that are performed by the aquarium (doing these led to me being hired). Â In these surveys, we either use quadrats to sample sites, or a seine net to gather organisms, then we count, measure, and sometimes weigh the specimens and release them.