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Dr Christina Riesselman

Christina RiesselmanBA (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
PhD (Stanford University)

Geology
Office – Room Gn1, 360 Leith Walk
Tel +64 3 479 7505

Marine Science
Office – Room 105, 310 Castle Street
Tel +64 3 479 5732

Email christina.riesselman@otago.ac.nz
Google Scholar: Christina Riesselman
ORCID orcid.org/0000-0002-2436-4306

PhD opportunity in paleoceanography and geochemistry

Sea ice, nutrient utilization, and primary production on the Wilkes Land Margin

Primary supervisor: Dr. Christina Riesselman, Departments of Geology and Marine Science, University of Otago, New Zealand

Co-advisors: Assoc. Prof. Rebecca Robinson, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island Dr. Robert Van Hale, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago

Research Interests

Examining the sediment-water interface aboard the RVIB Nathanial B. Palmer. Credit: R. Stevens .Examining the sediment-water interface aboard the RVIB Nathanial B. Palmer. Credit: R. Stevens

I am a paleoceanographer with a focus on Southern Ocean response to changing climate.  My research uses stable isotope geochemistry and diatom micropaleontology in marine sediments to examine the evolution of the Antarctic cryosphere through the Cenozoic.  In support of these aims, I also participate in collaborative investigations into the modern controls on phytoplankton community structure.  This modern-process research underscores the role of biogenic marine sedimentation as a uniquely sensitive recorder of past conditions, both geochemically and from an assemblage-based perspective.

Postgraduate student supervision

Current

  • Jacob Anderson (PhD) – Determining Antarctica’s terrestrial climate history from microbial populations in permafrost
  • Meghan Duffy (PhD) – Linking East Antarctic temperature with Southern Ocean productivity
  • Josie Frazer (MSc) – Reconstructing Pleistocene oceanic front positions using diatom species assemblages and organic geochemistry from Southern Ocean sediment cores
  • Holly Meyer (MSc) – Using Offshore NZ Seismic Data to Conduct Sequence Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Analysis in the Great South Basin
  • Amelia Morris (MSc) – Using sediment cores to provide a Southern Ocean reference section for key intervals of the geologic timescale between 4-8 Ma
  • Jordan Riddell (MSc) – Paleoclimatology in Central Otago, New Zealand
  • Aleisha Savage (MSc) – Construction of a Holocene-Pleistocene paleoceanographic record in the Adare Trough, Ross Sea, Antarctica
  • Luke Whibley (MSc) – Carbon cycling and burial in the waters and surface sediments of Fiordland

Recent

  • Noel Bates (MSc, 2018) – Short-term climate variability in the mid-Miocene: A Micropalaeontological and sedimentological investigation of a high-resolution maar lake sediment near Hindon, East Otago, New Zealand
  • Michael Bollen (MSc, 2019) – Holocene-Pleistocene paleoceanography in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
  • Grace Duke (PhD, 2022) – Characterising Antarctic primary productivity during the Pliocene using nitrogen bound in frustules
  • Patrick Fletcher (BSc(Hons), 2016) – Geological and geophysical evolution of Otago Harbour
  • Greer Gilmer (PhD, 2020) – Climate records from Auckland Islands, Antarctica and Lake Ohau
  • Anannya Mazumder (BSc(Hons), 2014) – Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials
  • Rebecca Parker (MSc, 2017) – Holocene paleoclimates and paleoceanography within the Ross Sea, Antarctica using marine sediment cores
  • Laura Penrose (BSc(Hons), 2018) – A geochemical and diatom-based Holocene paleoclimate and paleoceanographic record from the eastern Ross Embayment, Antarctica
  • Oliver Rees (MSc, 2020) – Seismic characterisation of sediments in Otago Harbour, (BSc(Hons), 2018) – Seismic characterisation of sediments in Otago Harbour
  • Aleisha Savage (PGDipSci, 2020) – Holocene paleoclimate record in the Adare Trough, Antarctica
  • Briar Taylor-Silva (BSc(Hons), 2015) – Reconstructing sea ice conditions and migration of the polar frontal zone in the warm late Pliocene, Wilkes Land margin, East Antarctica
  • Olivia Truax (PhD, 2023) – Integrating proxy and model estimates of Holocene climate variability in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, (MSc, 2018) – Holocene paleoceanographic evolution at the Ross Sea-Southern Ocean interface, Antarctica

Teaching

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Publications

Perkins, E. J., Gorman, A. R., Tidey, E. J., Wilson, G. S., Ohneiser, C., Moy, C. M., Riesselman, C. R., Gilmer, G., & Ross, B. S. (2020). High-resolution seismic imaging reveals infill history of a submerged Quaternary fjord system in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, New Zealand. Quaternary Research, 93(1), 255-266. doi: 10.1017/qua.2019.58

Ohneiser, C., Yoo, K.-C., Albot, O. B., Cortese, G., Riesselman, C., Lee, J. I., … Bollen, M., … Beltran, C., … Wilson, G. S. (2019). Magneto-biostratigraphic age models for Pleistocene sedimentary records from the Ross Sea. Global & Planetary Change, 176, 36-49. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.02.013

Wilson, D. J., Bertram, R. A., Needham, E. F., van der Flierdt, T., Welsh, K. J., McKay, R. M., … Riesselman, C. R., … Escutia, C. (2018). Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials. Nature, 561, 383-386. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0501-8

Taylor-Silva, B. I., & Riesselman, C. R. (2018). Polar frontal migration in the warm late Pliocene: Diatom evidence from the Wilkes Land margin, East Antarctica. Paleoceanography & Paleoclimatology, 33(1), 76-92. doi: 10.1002/2017PA003225

Bertram, R. A., Wilson, D. J., van de Flierdt, T., McKay, R. M., Patterson, M. O., Jimenez-Espejo, F. J., … Duke, G. C., Taylor-Silva, B. I., & Riesselman, C. R. (2018). Pliocene deglacial event timelines and the biogeochemical response offshore Wilkes Subglacial Basin, East Antarctica. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 494, 109-116. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.054

Perkins, E. J., Gorman, A. R., Tidey, E. J., Wilson, G. S., Ohneiser, C., Moy, C. M., Riesselman, C. R., Gilmer, G., & Ross, B. S. (2020). High-resolution seismic imaging reveals infill history of a submerged Quaternary fjord system in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, New Zealand. Quaternary Research, 93(1), 255-266. doi: 10.1017/qua.2019.58

Journal - Research Article

Ohneiser, C., Yoo, K.-C., Albot, O. B., Cortese, G., Riesselman, C., Lee, J. I., … Bollen, M., … Beltran, C., … Wilson, G. S. (2019). Magneto-biostratigraphic age models for Pleistocene sedimentary records from the Ross Sea. Global & Planetary Change, 176, 36-49. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.02.013

Journal - Research Article

Wilson, D. J., Bertram, R. A., Needham, E. F., van der Flierdt, T., Welsh, K. J., McKay, R. M., … Riesselman, C. R., … Escutia, C. (2018). Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials. Nature, 561, 383-386. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0501-8

Journal - Research Article

Taylor-Silva, B. I., & Riesselman, C. R. (2018). Polar frontal migration in the warm late Pliocene: Diatom evidence from the Wilkes Land margin, East Antarctica. Paleoceanography & Paleoclimatology, 33(1), 76-92. doi: 10.1002/2017PA003225

Journal - Research Article

Bertram, R. A., Wilson, D. J., van de Flierdt, T., McKay, R. M., Patterson, M. O., Jimenez-Espejo, F. J., … Duke, G. C., Taylor-Silva, B. I., & Riesselman, C. R. (2018). Pliocene deglacial event timelines and the biogeochemical response offshore Wilkes Subglacial Basin, East Antarctica. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 494, 109-116. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.054

Journal - Research Article

Anderson, H. J., Moy, C. M., Vandergoes, M. J., Nichols, J. E., Riesselman, C. R., & Van Hale, R. (2018). Southern Hemisphere westerly wind influence on southern New Zealand hydrology during the Lateglacial and Holocene. Journal of Quaternary Science, 33(6), 689-701. doi: 10.1002/jqs.3045

Journal - Research Article

Pettinger, V., Martin, C. E., & Riesselman, C. R. (2018). Sources and downstream variation of surface water chemistry in the dammed Waitaki catchment, South Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics, 61(2), 207-218. doi: 10.1080/00288306.2018.1465985

Journal - Research Article

Browne, I. M., Moy, C. M., Riesselman, C. R., Neil, H. L., Curtin, L. G., Gorman, A. R., & Wilson, G. S. (2017). Late Holocene intensification of the westerly winds at the subantarctic Auckland Islands (51° S), New Zealand. Climate of the Past, 13(10), 1301-1322. doi: 10.5194/cp-13-1301-2017

Journal - Research Article

Levy, R., Harwood, D., Florindo, F., Sangiorgi, F., Tripati, R., von Eynatten, H., … and SMS Science Team, including Ohneiser, C., Riesselman, C., & Wilson, G. (2016). Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene. PNAS, 113(13), 3453-3458. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1516030113

Journal - Research Article

Dlabola, E. K., Wilson, G. S., Gorman, A. R., Riesselman, C. R., & Moy, C. M. (2015). A post-glacial relative sea-level curve from Fiordland, New Zealand. Global & Planetary Change, 131, 104-114. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.05.010

Journal - Research Article

Patterson, M. O., McKay, R., Naish, T., Escutia, C., Jimenez-Espejo, F. J., Raymo, M. E., … and IODP Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. R. (2014). Orbital forcing of the East Antarctic ice sheet during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Nature Geoscience, 7(11), 841-847. doi: 10.1038/ngeo2273

Journal - Research Article

Riesselman, C. R., & Dunbar, R. B. (2013). Diatom evidence for the onset of Pliocene cooling from AND-1B, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 369, 136-153. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.10.014

Journal - Research Article

Cook, C. P., van de Flierdt, T., Williams, T., Hemming, S. R., Iwai, M., Kobayashi, M., … Riesselman, C., … and IODP Expedition 318 Scientists. (2013). Dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet during Pliocene warmth. Nature Geoscience, 6(9), 765-769. doi: 10.1038/ngeo1889

Journal - Research Article

Dowsett, H. J., Foley, K. M., Stoll, D. K., Chandler, M. A., Sohl, L. E., Bentsen, M., … Riesselman, C., … Zhang, Z. (2013). Sea surface temperature of the mid-piacenzian ocean: A data-model comparison. Scientific Reports, 3. doi: 10.1038/srep02013

Journal - Research Article

Dowsett, H. J., Robinson, M. M., Stoll, D. K., Foley, K. M., Johnson, A. L. A., Williams, M., & Riesselman, C. (2013). The PRISM (Pliocene palaeoclimate) reconstruction: Time for a paradigm shift. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 371(2001), 20120524. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2012.0524

Journal - Research Other

Stocchi, P., Escutia, C., Houben, A. J. P., Vermeersen, B. L. A., Bijl, P. K., Brinkhuis, H., … and IODP Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. (2013). Relative sea-level rise around East Antarctica during Oligocene glaciation. Nature Geoscience, 6(5), 380-384. doi: 10.1038/NGEO1783

Journal - Research Article

Bijl, P. K., Bendle, J. A. P., Bohaty, S. M., Pross, J., Schouten, S., Tauxe, L., … Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. (2013). Eocene cooling linked to early flow across the Tasmanian Gateway. PNAS, 110(24), 9645-9650. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1220872110

Journal - Research Article

Houben, A. J. P., Bijl, P. K., Pross, J., Bohaty, S. M., Passchier, S., Stickley, C. E., … Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. (2013). Reorganization of Southern Ocean plankton ecosystem at the onset of Antarctic glaciation. Science, 340(6130), 341-344. doi: 10.1126/science.1223646

Journal - Research Article

Dowsett, H. J., Robinson, M. M., Haywood, A. M., Hill, D. J., Dolan, A. M., Stoll, D. K., … Riesselman, C. R. (2012). Assessing confidence in Pliocene sea surface temperatures to evaluate predictive models. Nature Climate Change, 2(5), 365-371. doi: 10.1038/nclimate1455

Journal - Research Article

McKay, R., Naish, T., Carter, L., Riesselman, C., Dunbar, R., Sjunneskog, C., … Powell, R. D. (2012). Antarctic and Southern Ocean influences on Late Pliocene global cooling. PNAS, 109(17), 6423-6428. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1112248109

Journal - Research Article

Riesselman, C. R. (2012). Fragilariopsis tigris sp. nov.: A new late Pliocene Antarctic continental shelf diatom with biostratigraphic promise. Micropaleontology, 58(4), 367-376.

Journal - Research Article

Tauxe, L., Stickley, C. E., Sugisaki, S., Bijl, P. K., Bohaty, S. M., Brinkhuis, H., … Riesselman, C. R., … Yamane, M. (2012). Chronostratigraphic framework for the IODP Expedition 318 cores from the Wilkes Land Margin: Constraints for paleoceanographic reconstruction. Paleoceanography, 27(2), PA2214. doi: 10.1029/2012PA002308

Journal - Research Article

Sjunneskog, C., Riesselman, C., Winter, D., & Scherer, R. (2012). Fragilariopsis diatom evolution in Pliocene and Pleistocene Antarctic shelf sediments. Micropaleontology, 58(3), 273-289.

Journal - Research Article

Winter, D., Sjunneskog, C., Scherer, R., Maffioli, P., Riesselman, C., & Harwood, D. (2012). Pliocene-Pleistocene diatom biostratigraphy of nearshore Antarctica from the AND-1B drillcore, McMurdo Sound. Global & Planetary Change, 96-97, 59-74. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.04.004

Journal - Research Article

Wilson, G. S., Levy, R. H., Naish, T. R., Powell, R. D., Florindo, F., Ohneiser, C., … Riesselman, C., … Wise, S. (2012). Neogene tectonic and climatic evolution of the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica: Chronology of events from the AND-1B drill hole. Global & Planetary Change, 96-97, 189-203. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.05.019

Journal - Research Article

Pross, J., Contreras, L., Bijl, P. K., Greenwood, D. R., Bohaty, S. M., Schouten, S., … and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. R. (2012). Persistent near-tropical warmth on the Antarctic continent during the early Eocene epoch. Nature, 487(7409), 73-77. doi: 10.1038/nature11300

Journal - Research Article

Escutia, C., Brinkhuis, H., Klaus, A., and the IODP Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. (2011). IODP Expedition 318: From greenhouse to icehouse at the Wilkes Land Antarctic margin. Scientific Drilling, (12), 15-23. doi: 10.2204/iodp.sd.12.02.2011

Journal - Research Article

Passchier, S., Browne, G., Field, B., Fielding, C. R., Krissek, L. A., Panter, K., … and ANDRILL-SMS Science Team, including Ohneiser, C., Palin, M., Riesselman, C., & Wilson, G. (2011). Early and middle Miocene Antarctic glacial history from the sedimentary facies distribution in the AND-2A drill hole, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 123(11-12), 2352-2365. doi: 10.1130/B30334.1

Journal - Research Article

Peck, V. L., Yu, J., Kender, S., & Riesselman, C. R. (2010). Shifting ocean carbonate chemistry during the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition: Implications for deep-ocean Mg/Ca paleothermometry. Paleoceanography, 25(4), PA4219. doi: 10.1029/2009PA001906

Journal - Research Article

Expedition 318 Scientists, including Riesselman, C. (2010). Wilkes Land glacial history: Cenozoic east Antarctic ice sheet evolution from Wilkes Land margin sediments [Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 318 Preliminary Report]. Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International. 101p. doi: 10.2204/iodp.pr.318.2010

Working Paper; Discussion Paper; Technical Report

Frank, T. D., Gui, Z., and the ANDRILL SMS Science Team, including Ohneiser, C., Palin, M., Riesselman, C., & Wilson, G. (2010). Cryogenic origin for brine in the subsurface of southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Geology, 38(7), 587-590. doi: 10.1130/G30849.1

Journal - Research Article

Naish, T., Powell, R., Levy, R., Wilson, G., Scherer, R., Talarico, F., … Ohneiser, C., … Riesselman, C., … Williams, T. (2009). Obliquity-paced pliocene west antarctic ice sheet oscillations. Nature, 458(7236), 322-328. doi: 10.1038/nature07867

Journal - Research Article

Tortell, P. D., Payne, C. D., Li, Y., Trimborn, S., Rost, B., Smith, W. O., Riesselman, C., … DiTullio, G. R. (2008). CO2 sensitivity of Southern Ocean phytoplankton. Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L04605. doi: 10.1029/2007GL032583

Journal - Research Article

Taviani, M., Hannah, M., Harwood, D. M., Ishman, S. E., Johnson, K., Olney, M., Riesselman, C., … and the ANDRILL-SMS Science Team. (2008-2009). Palaeontological characterisation and analysis of the AND-2A core, ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, 15(1-2), 113-146.

Journal - Research Article

Acton, G., Crampton, J., Di Vincenzo, G., Fielding, C. R., Florindo, F., Hannah, M., … Ohneiser, C., … Riesselman, C., … Wilson, G. S., … and the ANDRILL-SMS Science Team. (2008-2009). Preliminary integrated chronostratigraphy of the AND-2A core, ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, 15(1-2), 211-220.

Journal - Research Article

Riesselman, C. R., Dunbar, R. B., Mucciarone, D. A., & Kitasei, S. S. (2007). High resolution stable isotope and carbonate variability during the early Oligocene climate transition: Walvis Ridge (ODP Site 1263). In A. K. Cooper, P. Barrett, H. Staff, B. Storey, E. Stump, W. Wise & the 10th ISAES Editorial Team (Eds.), Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World: Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. doi: 10.3133/of2007-1047.srp095

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper

Bertrand, E. M., Saito, M. A., Rose, J. M., Riesselman, C. R., Lohan, M. C., Noble, A. E., … DiTullio, G. R. (2007). Vitamin B12 and iron colimitation of phytoplankton growth in the Ross Sea. Limnology & Oceanography, 52(3), 1079-1093. doi: 10.4319/lo.2007.52.3.1079

Journal - Research Article

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