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	Dr. Nathaniel A. Lifton
	Assistant Professor
	E-mail: nlifton@purdue.edu
	Curriculum Vitae <pdf>

 

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Education

1997 Ph.D., Geosciences, University of Arizona

1985 B.S., Geological Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara

Research Interests

My research interests focus on developing methods for using in situ cosmogenic nuclides (CNs) to derive surface exposure ages and/or erosion rates for process-oriented geomorphic studies. I have developed reliable methods for extracting in situ cosmogenic 14C (in situ 14C) from quartz, and continue to advance those techniques. Recently, I have been using in situ 14C to calibrate variations of in situ CN production rates with altitude and latitude. As an outgrowth of that work, I am also investigating the effects of millennial-scale geomagnetic variability on CN production rates in time and space. I am also applying in situ 14C in concert with long-lived CNs such as 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl to investigate complex exposure scenarios, particularly involving glacial advance and retreat.

Awards and Honors

• 1989 Chevron USA Graduate Student Fellowship

• 1985 Charles W. Woodhouse Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Geology Student, University of California, Santa Barbara

• 1983 Edwin V. Van Amringe Award for Outstanding Geology Student, Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA

Professional Experience

• 2010 - present: Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University

• 2002 - 2010: Associate Research Scientist, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, and NSF-Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility

• 1997 - 2002: Research Associate, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, and NSF-Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility

• 1990 - 1997: Research Assistant, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona

• 1985 - 1990: Geologist, Dames & Moore, Santa Barbara, CA, Irvine, CA, and Tucson, AZ

• 1984 - 1985: Laboratory Assistant, Department of Geological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara: Cathy Busby, Supervisor

• 1984 Surveying Field Assistant, Department of Geological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara: Arthur Sylvester, Supervisor

Selected Publications

Lifton, N., Smart, D. F., and Shea, M. A., 2008. Scaling time-integrated in situ cosmogenic nuclide production rates using a continuous geomagnetic model. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 268, 190-201.

Balco, G., Stone, J.O., Lifton, N., and Dunai, T.J., 2008. A complete and easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from 10Be and 26Al measurements. Quat. Geochron. 3, 174-195.

Anderson, R.K., Miller, G.H., Briner, J.P., Lifton, N.A., DeVogel, S.B., 2008, A millennial perspective on Arctic warming from 14C in quartz and plants emerging beneath ice caps, Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L01502, doi: 10.1029/2007GL032057.

Schaefer, J. M. and Lifton, N., 2007. Cosmogenic Nuclide Dating | Methods, Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Elsevier, Oxford, pp. 412-419..

Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Wilson, J., Jull, A.J.T., and Lifton, N., 2007, Development of low-background vacuum extraction and graphitization systems for 14C dating of old (40-60 ka) samples: Quaternary International, v. 166, p. 4-14.

Miller, G.H., Briner, J.P., Lifton, N.A., and Finkel, R.C., 2006, Limited ice-sheet erosion and complex exposure histories derived from in situ cosmogenic 10Be, 26Al, and 14C on Baffin Island, Arctic Canada: Quaternary Geochronology, 1, p. 74-85.

Lifton, N.A., Bieber, J.W., Clem, J.M., Duldig, M.L., Evenson, P., Humble, J.E., and Pyle, R., 2005, Addressing solar modulation and long-term uncertainties in scaling in situ cosmogenic nuclide production rates: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 239(1-2), p. 140-161.

Matmon, A., Shaked, Y., Porat, N., Enzel, Y., Finkel, R., Lifton, N., Boarretto, E., and Agnon, A., 2005, Landscape development in a hyperarid sandstone environment along the margins of the Dead Sea fault: Implications from dated rock falls: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 240, p. 803-817.