William & Mary geology students and faculty showcase research at AGU conference
William & Mary researchers showcased their work at the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists in December.
The annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference brings together “tens of thousands of scientists from all corners of the Earth,” said Joanmarie Del Vecchio, assistant professor of geology. The week-long event includes daily sessions led by speakers from different areas of study, while attendees also showcase their own research. The event fosters engagement within the professional community and opportunities for uncommon growth at the undergraduate level.
“We only see (our colleagues) once a year at this meeting, and it’s where we can talk about new ideas, exchange information, work together and come up with new proposals in the field,” said Del Vecchio.
Representatives from federal organizations such as NASA and NOAA are often among the attendees at AGU.
“There are usually some plenary speakers from all facets of how the world works. So, sometimes, a politician will speak or a CEO of a climate change solution organization. There’s a wide variety of people who attend,” said Ciruzzi.
While only a handful of W&M students have attended the conference in the past, this year six students conducted and/or contributed to individual research that was presented at the conference: Addison Greenfield '26, Aayla Kastning '26, Noah Rupert '25, Sophia Heilen '26, Gavin Nagle '25, Kinsey Shefelton '24. Along with Del Vecchio, Dom Ciruzzi and Clem Hamelin, both assistant professors of geology, also participated.
“It is a little bit unusual for undergraduates to attend (AGU) as it’s typically mostly graduate and Ph.D. students who are presenting work there,” said Ciruzzi.
This opportunity to share their current findings gave the students helpful feedback that will guide them as they continue their research.
“One of the people who has written a textbook widely used in this advanced level class that I teach came up to (a student’s) poster and was talking to him. And so, (the student) said, ‘This Frank Spear person just talked to me and had really good feedback on my poster,’” said Hamelin. “It was intimidating but also really validating (for the students) to hear from other experts in the field that their work is interesting and that there are avenues for them to think about their work in a bit of a more broad fashion than what we, you know, as individuals have to offer.”
Similarly, Greenfeld entered a competition for poster presenters and received valuable feedback on his research titled “Investing Topographic Thresholds of Water Tracks and Other Permafrost Landforms.” Greenfeld worked to “investigate how topographic signals of water tracks compare to those of thermokarst, channels and bare hillslopes” and “how topography impacts water track morphology,” as included in his research’s abstract.
Water tracks are areas of concentrated water flow in Arctic permafrost landscapes, sitting between hilltops and fully formed streams, and they are hotspots for productivity and thus exchange a lot of carbon with the atmosphere. As the Arctic warms and permafrost thaws, these features may begin eroding, which could release large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. By analyzing the shape and slope of water tracks using remote imagery, Greenfeld aims to understand where they form, how stable they are, and whether they might become major sources of erosion and carbon release in the future.
The university’s Year of the Environment in 2025 encourages student engagement with work that is relevant to our evolving understanding of the natural world.
“For my students, it injected a renewed excitement about what they were doing and sent them down so many fun paths,” said Del Vecchio.
“It's an eye-opening experience for them to have chances to have exposure to different things, when it comes to their time at William & Mary,” said Hamelin.
