Tierra Moore

University of Pennsylvania
Department of Earth & Environmental Science
(562) 756-3201 | planetierra@yahoo.com

Research Interests
Soil carbon storage and cycling
Soil quality and environmental decision-making

Education

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Soil Biogeochemistry
PhD Student
Rice University, Houston, TX
B.A. Earth Science and Environmental Policy
Class of 2015

Awards & Honors

Graham Stebbings Community Service Award, Special Recognition (2015)
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Environmental Studies Award(2014)
National Association of Black Geoscientists Scholarship (2014)
First Place, Shell Center for Sustainability Awards(2014)
Second Place, Rice University Greene Prize (2014)
National Science Foundation REU Intern, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium(2013)
Chevron Earth Science Scholarship (2013)
Port of Long Beach Scholarship(2011)
Dollars for Scholars Award (2011)

Research Experience
GIS Technician & Research Assistant | Co-Manager
GIS Data Center, Rice University, 08/2013 Present
Guide patrons with a variety of projects using GIS software
Collect and process data at the university library to survey study space use with GIS
Created a 3-D topographic grid of downtown Houston
Research Intern | Geochemistry
California State University Long Beach, 05/2014 08/2014
Prepped tourmaline samples from the Mount Mica pegmatite formation for data analysis
Analyzed the elemental concentration in tourmaline minerals using X-ray diffraction
National Science Foundation REU Intern | Soil Geochemistry
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, 06/2013 08/2013
Quantified greenhouse gas production rates of vegetative soils impacted by the BP Oil
Spill in Barataria Bay, Louisiana
Wrote a comprehensive report and gave a formal presentation
Co-authored an abstract for a poster at the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem
Science Conference (2014)
Research Assistant | River Water Quality
San Gabriel River Regional Monitoring Program, 05/2012 08/2012
Collected water samples in urban and rural regions along the San Gabriel River
to ascertain water quality upstream and downstream
Measured turbidity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen content of these
samples using specialized equipment

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Research Assistant | Soil Organic Geochemistry

Masiello Research Group, 11/2011 05/2012
Separated organic material from various soils to determine the amount of protein,
lipids, lignin, and carbohydrates as part of a study for the USDA
Research Assistant | Angiogenesis
Southern California Institute for Research and Education, 06/2011 08/2011
Shadowed Dr. Amrita Ahluwalia in her analysis of impaired angiogenesis in
aged endothelial cells using the Western blot method
Analyzed the role of VEGF protein in endothelial angiogenesis
Used gel electrophoresis to sort endothelial proteins by density
Research Intern | Geochemistry
California State University Long Beach, 06/2010 08/2010
Measured concentration of analytes in groundwater at the Portuguese Bend
Landslide formation, Palos Verdes, CA
Operated the ICP-MS and compiled data into a research poster

Field Experience
06/2013 08/2013, Soil core collection in Barataria Bay, Louisiana
05/2012 08/2012, Water quality sampling in the San Gabriel River watershed
06/2010 08/2010, Ground water sampling in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Portuguese Bend Landslide

Laboratory & Computer Skills

Beginner : Gel electrophoresis, ICP-MS, Linux
Intermediate : XRD Spectrometer, Shimadzu-GC, soil density separations, HighScore Plus MatLAB
Advanced : GIS Software, YSI multimeter, Turbidimeter, Microsoft Office: Excel, Word,
PowerPoint

Publications & Presentations

The origin and fluid evolution of the Mount Mica pegmatite, Maine: Evidence from stable isotopes.
In Revision, Holk, G., Kelly, J., and Moore, T.
American Mineralogist.
Differential biogeochemical responses of Spartina alterniflora and Avicennia germinans soils
following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
In Preparation, Marton, J., Roberts, B., Bernhard, A., Giblin, A, Mack, S., Moore, T.
Louisiana salt marsh soil greenhouse gas fluxes following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.Roberts,
B., Marton, J., Marti, A., Moore, T.
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, Mobile, AL, 26-29 Jan 2014.
Differential biogeochemical responses of Spartina alterniflora and Avicennia germinans soils
following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Marton, J., Roberts, B., Bernhard A., Giblin A., Mack, S., Moore, T.
Greenhouse gas production in oiled and unoiled Spartina alterniflora and Avicennia germinans soils in
western Barataria Bay, LA marshes.
Moore, T., Roberts, B., Marton, J., Hopple, A., Rich, M., Mack, S.
Rice Undergraduate Research Symposium, Houston, TX, 16 Apr
2013
Stable isotope evidence for groundwater sources and circulation in the Portuguese Bend
Landslide complex, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Valenzuela, G., Moguel, K., Moore, T., Holk, G., Douglas,
The Geological Society of America, Denver, CO, Oct 31 Nov 3, 2010.
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