THURE CERLING's 2025 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Penrose Medal
The Geological Society of America has awarded Thure Cerling the Penrose Medal. He will accept this award on October 19th at GSA Connects 2025 in Texas.
"The Geological Society of America bestows medals and awards to recognize individuals who have, through their outstanding achievements, made significant contributions to the geosciences."
"Dr. Cerling is an exceptional, award-winning geoscientist who has advanced our understanding of Earth history through groundbreaking isotope geochemistry work in forensics, cosmogenic dating, and paleo-CO2 records of biological and geological significance. This impactful work has addressed major scientific questions and societal issues. His outstanding science, service, and mentoring make him one of the most influential, creative living scientists and fully deserving of GSA's highest honor." -- Marjorie Chan, Penrose Medal Nominator
Papers Published by Thure in 2025
1. Pedogenic carbonate as a transient soil component in a humid, temperate forest (Michigan, USA)
Kelson JR, TE Huth, K Andrews, MN Bartleson, TE Cerling, L Jun, MP Salinas, NE Levin, (2025). Quaternary Research 124: 105-120. Doi:10.1017/qua.2024.41
This study investigated unusual carbonate rinds found in a forested environment in Michigan - an environment where carbonates rarely form. The combined study of carbon and oxygen isotopes, including 17-O, clumped isotopes, and 14C, show that these carbonates are a mix of detrital and modern soil carbonates.
Photo: Soil carbonates in a Michigan forest.
2. Behavioral drive during human evolution.
Fannin LD, Seyoum CM, Venkataraman VV, Yeakel JD, Janis CM, Cerling TE, Dominy NJ (2025). Science Advances 389(6759): 488-493. doi: 10.1126/science.ado2359
Stable isotopes show that diet change occurs well before morphological change in teeth in many mammalian taxa - elephants, suids, and primates including early humans.
Photo: Fossil pig tooth from East Africa. The molar teeth evolved to be longer and more hypsodont (higher) over time.
3. Fifty years in the foothills: Ecosystem evolution in the Neogene Siwalik record of Pakistan.
This paper reviews the 50 years of work in the Siwaliks of Pakistan, a key locality for studying the evolution of primates and other mammals.
Photo: Thure Cerling in 1987 in the Pakistan Siwaliks.
4. Strontium isotope mapping of elephant enamel supports an integrated microsampling-modeling workflow to reconstruct herbivore migrations.
Strontium isotopes in modern and fossil teeth are increasingly used to study migration. This study uses an elephant with a unique migration (transfer between a zoo in California to one in Utah) to show that modeling strontium recycling from bone is necessary to properly model animal movement - it takes two years for an elephant to equilibrate to a new environment.
Photo: Deming Yang outlining a model for strontium turnover in animals.
5. Boulder armored benches in the Teasdale/Torrey lowlands, Fremont River, Utah.
