Thure E. Cerling

Thure E. Cerling (born 1949) is a Distinguished Professor of Geology and Geophysics and a Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Utah. Cerling is a leading expert in the evolution of modern landscapes including modern mammals and their associated grassland ecologies and stable isotope analyses of the atmosphere. Cerling lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

:''"A single hair can determine a person's location during the past weeks or even years"'' – Thure E. Cerling

Cerling's research interests are primarily focused on Earth surface geochemistry processes and on the geological record of ecological change. Particularly, working on conservation biology, Cerling has analyzed the modern animal diet and physiology by using stable isotopes as natural tracers as well as studying dietary changes of different mammalian lineages extending over millions of years.

Emphasizing continental ecologies of lakes and modern soils and ecosystems, Cerling has written extensievely about the evolution of ecosystems, the inception and strengthening of monsoons, and the atmosphere over geological time scales through evidence gathered about the fractionation of stable isotopes in these systems.

Current research work includes a focus on the development of landforms in semi-arid regions, the geology of Old World paleo-anthropologic sites and on contaminant migration in surface and ground waters, including the use of tritium and helium as hydrological tracers.

Together with James Ehleringer, he established the Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry and Ecology ([https://stableisotopes.utah.edu/isocamp.html IsoCamp]) summer course at the University of Utah, which "trains students in the fundamental environmental and biological theory underlying isotope fractionation processes across a broad spectrum of ecological and environmental applications". Provided by Wikipedia