PEOPLE
John A. Higgins
Professor John Higgins' primary research interest is the evolution of the carbon cycle and the global climate system over Earth history. One focus has been on processes that control the chemical composition of seawater, and how those processes have changed on geologic timescales. Another is how on the chemistry of carbonate sediments is affected by processes that occur post-deposition. These include early diagenetic recrystallization, dolomitization and hydrothermal alteration. The tools Prof. Higgins has employed to study these include numerical models of chemical and isotopic biogeochemical cycles, as well as analysis of traditional stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon, and new isotope systems such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
Anne-Sofie Crüger Ahm
Anne-Sofie C. Ahm is a Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow working on numerical models of carbonate diagenesis and measurements of Ca, Mg, and Sr isotopes. She is intrigued by the fundamental processes that transform lithified sediments into rocks and how these processes affect the geochemical signature stored in the rock record of Earth history. In particular, she is interested in what the record of marine carbonate diagenesis - as revealed through the geochemical signature of Ca, Mg, and Sr isotopes - can tell us about ancient seawater chemistry and the origins of life on Earth.
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Research Staff
Title:Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Office: 210 Guyot Hall
Phone: 609-216-6060
Email: aahm@princeton.edu
Website: anne-sofieahm.github.io
Curriculum Vitae
Alliya A. Akhtar
An appreciation of the coevolution of the Earth and its biosphere requires a focus on the integration and application of low temperature geochemistry to the paleontological and sedimentary record. Alliya Akhtar is particularly interested in studying the chemical and climatic conditions governing times of not only proliferation, but also distress of animal life. Employing various isotope systems can aid in establishing constraints on changes in climate and ocean chemistry. Coupling this with isotopic studies in modern environments will aid in better understanding the information we derive from these proxies.
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Research Staff
Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Office: 209 Guyot Hall
Phone: 609-258-9836
Email: aakhtar@princeton.edu
Tommy Rock
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Research Staff
Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Office: A15 Guyot Hall
Phone: 609-258-0896
Email: tr6717@princeton.edu
Sarah Shackleton
Sarah Shackleton is a postdoc working with John Higgins and Michael Bender. She is interested in Earth’s climate system and how it has changed through time. Her work at Princeton is focused on extending atmospheric gas and ice records with blue ice archives. She uses measurements of air samples trapped in ice bubbles to understand the evolution of past ice, ocean, and atmosphere conditions.
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Research Staff
Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: ss77@princeton.edu
Stefania Gili
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Associate Professional Specialist
Office: 208 Guyot Hall
Phone: 732-924-0099
Email: sgili@princeton.edu
Jack Murphy
Jack Murphy came to Princeton after studying physics and philosophy at Bates College, volunteering with the Peace Corps in Southern Africa, and teaching high school for several years. Murphy's research is motivated by a fascination with the complexity and the long-term stability of Earth's climate system. Using isotope geochemistry and a range of numerical Earth system models, he studies the processes that regulate climate throughout Earth's History – in particular the silicate weathering feedback, often called “Earth's CO2-thermostat."
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Graduate Student
Office: 208 Guyot Hall
Phone: 609-937-9817
Email: jackmurphy@princeton.edu
Matthew Nadeau
Research Summary: Development and employment of alkali earth metals (Mg, Ca, Sr) as a proxy for reconstructing diagenetic effects and its influence on geochemical (trace and isotope) signatures of marine carbonates. Keywords: magnesium isotopes, dolomitization
Department/Program(s): Geosciences
Position: Graduate Student
Office:
Phone:
Email: matthew.nadeau@princeton.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Visitors and Former Students
UNDERGRADUATES
Perrin A. Hagge ’20
Polly Hochman ’20
Andrea Beale ’14
Robert Shepard ’14
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Alliya Akhtar *21
Yuzhen Yan *20
Danielle Priscilla Santiago Ramos *19
Jonathan Husson *15
Anne Gothmann *15
POSTDOCTORAL
Clara L. Blättler
Or Bialik
Blake Dyer
Elizabeth A. Lundstrom