Professor Claudine Stirling, Academic staff, Department of Geology, University of Otago, New Zealand

Claudine Stirling 2021 image PhD(ANU), BSc(Hons)(Well)

Tel +64 3 479 7932
Email claudine.stirling@otago.ac.nz

Research interests

My research uses trace elements and their isotope systems to track a wide range of processes on Earth in order to better understand the dynamic interactions between the oceans and atmosphere during episodes of major climate change. I investigate these processes across a wide range of timescales, from the “super-greenhouse” warming events operating in “deep-time”, to the more recent “glacial-interglacial” climate changes of the Quaternary, to the rapidly shifting modern environment that is impacted by anthropogenic change. My research spans the high-latitude regions of the Southern Ocean to the low-latitudes of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. I am especially interested in the stable isotope tracers of “bioactive” metals, such iron, zinc and cadmium, and of “redox-sensitive” metals, such as uranium and molybdenum, with an emphasis on technique development using MC-ICPMS and ultra-clean laboratory methods.

Postgraduate research opportunities

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Publications

Druce, M., Stirling, C. H., & Rolison, J. M. (2020). High-precision zinc isotopic measurement of certified reference materials relevant to the environmental, Earth, planetary and biomedical sciences. Geostandards & Geoanalytical Research, 44(4), 711-732. doi: 10.1111/ggr.12341

George, E., Stirling, C. H., Gault-Ringold, M., Ellwood, M. J., & Middag, R. (2019). Marine biogeochemical cycling of cadmium and cadmium isotopes in the extreme nutrient-depleted subtropical gyre of the South West Pacific Ocean [Short communication]. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 514, 84-95. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.02.031

Gangl, S. K., Moy, C. M., Stirling, C. H., Jenkyns, H. C., Crampton, J. S., Clarkson, M. O., Ohneiser, C., & Porcelli, D. (2019). High-resolution records of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2: Insights into the timing, duration and extent of environmental perturbations from the palaeo-South Pacific Ocean. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 518, 172-182. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.04.028

Clarkson, M. O., Stirling, C. H., Jenkyns, H. C., Dickson, A. J., Porcelli, D., Moy, C. M., … Cooke, I. R., & Lenton, T. M. (2018). Uranium isotope evidence for two episodes of deoxygenation during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. PNAS, 115(12), 2918-2923. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1715278115

Rolison, J. M., Stirling, C. H., Middag, R., Gault-Ringold, M., George, E., & Rijkenberg, M. J. A. (2018). Iron isotope fractionation during pyrite formation in a sulfidic Precambrian ocean analogue. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 488, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.02.006

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Tostevin, R., Clarkson, M. O., Gangl, S., Shields, G. A., Wood, R. A., Bowyer, F., … Stirling, C. H. (2019). Uranium isotope evidence for an expansion of anoxia in terminal Ediacaran oceans. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 506, 104-112. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.045

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Wimpenny, J., Sanborn, M. E., Koefoed, P., Cooke, I. R., Stirling, C., Amelin, Y., & Yin, Q.-Z. (2019). Reassessing the origin and chronology of the unique achondrite Asuka 881394: Implications for distribution of ²⁶Al in the early Solar System. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 244, 478-501. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2018.10.006

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Schlitzer, R., Anderson, R. F., Dodas, E. M., Lohan, M., Giebert, W., Tagliabue, A., … Gault-Ringold, M., George, E., … Rolison, J. M., … Stirling, C. H., … Zurbrick, C. (2018). The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017. Chemical Geology, 493, 210-223. doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.05.040

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Andersen, M. B., Stirling, C. H., & Weyer, S. (2017). Uranium isotope fractionation. Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry, 82(1), 799-850. doi: 10.2138/rmg.2017.82.19

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Rolison, J. M., Stirling, C. H., Middag, R., & Rijkenberg, M. J. A. (2017). Uranium stable isotope fractionation in the Black Sea: Modern calibration of the ²³⁸U/²³⁵U paleo-redox proxy. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 203, 69-88. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2016.12.014

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Hinojosa, J. L., Moy, C. M., Stirling, C. H., Wilson, G. S., & Eglinton, T. I. (2017). A New Zealand perspective on centennial-scale Southern Hemisphere westerly wind shifts during the last two millennia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 172, 32-43. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.07.016

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Salmanzadeh, M., Hartland, A., Stirling, C. H., Balks, M. R., Schipper, L. A., Joshi, C., & George, E. (2017). Isotope tracing of long-term cadmium fluxes in an agricultural soil. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(13), 7369-7377. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b00858

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Wing, S. R., Gault-Ringold, M., Stirling, C. H., Wing, L. C., Shatova, O. A., & Frew, R. D. (2017). δ⁵⁶Fe in seabird guano reveals extensive recycling of iron in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Limnology & Oceanography, 62(4), 1671-1681. doi: 10.1002/lno.10524

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Hinojosa, J. L., Stirling, C. H., Reid, M. R., Moy, C. M., & Wilson, G. S. (2016). Trace metal cycling and ²³⁸U/²³⁵U in New Zealand’s fjords: Implications for reconstructing global paleoredox conditions in organic-rich sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 179, 89-109. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2016.02.006

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Hinojosa, J. L., Moy, C. M., Prior, C. A., Eglinton, T. I., McIntyre, C. P., Stirling, C. H., & Wilson, G. S. (2015). Investigating the influence of regional climate and oceanography on marine radiocarbon reservoir ages in southwest New Zealand. Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science, 167, 526-539. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2015.11.003

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Rolison, J. M., Middag, R., Stirling, C. H., Rijkenberg, M. J. A., & de Baar, H. J. W. (2015). Zonal distribution of dissolved aluminium in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Chemistry, 177, 87-100. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2015.05.001

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Murphy, M. J., Stirling, C. H., Kaltenbach, A., Turner, S. P., & Schaefer, B. F. (2014). Fractionation of ²³⁸U/²³⁵U by reduction during low temperature uranium mineralisation processes. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 388, 306-317. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2013.11.034

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Iizuka, T., Amelin, Y., Kaltenbach, A., Koefoed, P., & Stirling, C. H. (2014). U-Pb systematics of the unique achondrite Ibitira: Precise age determination and petrogenetic implications. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 132, 259-273. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2014.02.017

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Abouchami, W., Galer, S. J. G., Horner, T. J., Rehkämper, M., Wombacher, F., Xue, Z., … Gault-Ringold, M., Stirling, C. H., … Holdship, P. F. (2013). A common reference material for cadmium isotope studies – NIST SRM 3108. Geostandards & Geoanalytical Research, 37(1), 5-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-908X.2012.00175.x

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Gault-Ringold, M., Adu, T., Stirling, C. H., Frew, R. D., & Hunter, K. A. (2012). Anomalous biogeochemical behavior of cadmium in subantarctic surface waters: Mechanistic constraints from cadmium isotopes. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 341–344, 94-103. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.06.005

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Shaw, B., Buckley, H., Summerhayes, G., Stirling, C., & Reid, M. (2011). Prehistoric migration at Nebira, South Coast of Papua New Guinea: New insights into interaction using isotope and trace element concentration analyses. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 30(3), 344-358. doi: 10.1016/j.jaa.2011.05.004

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Amelin, Y., Kaltenbach, A., Iizuka, T., Stirling, C. H., Ireland, T. R., Petaev, M., & Jacobson, S. B. (2010). U-Pb chronology of the Solar System's oldest solids with variable ²³⁸U/²³⁵U. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 300(3-4), 343-350. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.10.015

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Andersen, M. B., Stirling, C. H., Zimmermann, B., & Halliday, A. N. (2010). Precise determination of the open ocean ²³⁴U/²³⁸U composition. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 11, Q12003. doi: 10.1029/2010GC003318

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Andersen, M. B., Stirling, C. H., Potter, E.-K., Halliday, A. N., Blake, S. G., McCulloch, M. T., … O'Leary, M. (2010). The timing of sea-level high-stands during Marine Isotope Stages 7.5 and 9: Constraints from the uranium-series dating of fossil corals from Henderson Island. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 74(12), 3598-3620. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2010.03.020

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Halliday, A. N., Georg, R. B., Stirling, C. H., Freedman, P. A., Oberli, F., & Reynolds, B. C. (2010). Applications: High precision isotope ratio measurements using multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In D. Beauchemin & D. E. Matthews (Eds.), The encyclopedia of mass spectrometry (Vol. 5): Elemental and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. (pp. 242-260). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.

Chapter in Book - Research

Stirling, C. H., & Andersen, M. B. (2009). Uranium-series dating of fossil coral reefs: Extending the sea-level record beyond the last glacial cycle. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 284(3-4), 269-283. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2009.04.045

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Andersen, M. B., Stirling, C. H., Potter, E.-K., Halliday, A. N., Blake, S. G., McCulloch, M. T., … O'Leary, M. (2008). High-precision U-series measurements of more than 500,000 year old fossil corals. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 265(1-2), 229-245. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.10.010

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Gutjahr, M., Frank, M., Stirling, C. H., Keigwin, L. D., & Halliday, A. N. (2008). Tracing the Nd isotope evolution of North Atlantic Deep and Intermediate Waters in the western North Atlantic since the Last Glacial Maximum from Blake Ridge sediments. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 266, 61-77. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.10.037

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Stirling, C. H., Andersen, M. B., Potter, E.-K., & Halliday, A. N. (2007). Low-temperature isotopic fractionation of uranium. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 264, 208-225.

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Gutjahr, M., Frank, M., Stirling, C. H., Klemm, V., van de Flierdt, T., & Halliday, A. N. (2007). Reliable extraction of a deepwater trace metal isotope signal from Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide coatings of marine sediments. Chemical Geology, 242(3-4), 351-370. doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.03.021

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Andersen, M. B., Stirling, C. H., Porcelli, D., Halliday, A. N., Andersson, P. S., & Baskaran, M. (2007). The tracing of riverine U in Arctic seawater with very precise ²³⁴U/²³⁸U measurements. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 259, 171-185.

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Stirling, C. H., Halliday, A. N., Potter, E.-K. K., Andersen, M. B., & Zanda, B. (2006). A low initial abundance of ²⁴⁷Cm in the early solar system and implications for r-process nucleosynthesis. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 251, 386-397.

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Ayling, B. F., McCulloch, M. T., Gagan, M. K., Stirling, C. H., Andersen, M. B., & Blake, S. G. (2006). Sr/Ca and δ¹⁸O seasonality in a Porites coral from the MIS 9 (339-303 ka) interglacial. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 248, 447-460.

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