Pillow-palagonite complex forming as a result of hot lava entering a former river channel or lake in the Columbia River Flood Basalt Province, Washington State, USA (c. 15 My). Individual sediment packages were picked up from the bottom of the water body and trapped within the lava complex (see white arrow). Orange-brown palagonite is a type of clay which forms through the break-down of volcanic glass that surrounds the basaltic pillows.
After graduating at the University of Bonn in 2010, Alena Ebinghaus took up a PhD project at the University of Aberdeen, examining inter-lava sedimentation and plant ecosystem development in the Columbia River Flood Basalt Province, Washington State. Following her graduation in 2014, Alena joined the University of Aberdeen as a post-doctoral researcher. In her current research, Alena focuses on the understanding of continental environments during past rapid climate warming, such as the Early Danian Dan-C2 event and the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Since 2017, Alena has served as the Early Career Scientist (ECS) representative of the SSP division.
