Nicholas B. Sullivan, Ph.D.

I am a post-doctoral scholar in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State University. My active research focuses on characterizing the distribution of critical mineral resources, specifically examining Li enrichment in Pennsylvanian paleosols, particularly the Mercer - a claystone historically used to make kiln bricks in iron furnaces across central PA.

We utilize a variety of stratigraphic, geochemical, and mineralogical methods to understand the specific mineral hosts and sourcing mechanisms for critical elements within the cyclic Carboniferous strata of the Northern Appalachian Basin. This work helps inform extraction strategies and economic assessments.

During my doctorate, advised by Dr. Steve Meyers, I cultivated a range of quantitative techniques for digging deeper into stratigraphic data to reconstruct Earth history and paleoclimate, working primarily on deep sea Miocene sediments from the Southern Ocean.

My work applied time-series analysis, cyclostratigraphy, and astrochronology to develop high-resolution age models for important sites, and helped clarify the ways that ice sheets and oceans respond to external forcing in surprising ways. My work also utilized optimization approaches to stratigraphic problems. In particular I used constrained optimization software, such as CONOP9, developed by Dr. Pete Sadler to help synthesize and integrate stratigraphic data from sites across the southern ocean.

Starting with my undergraduate education and continuing during my master’s degree and post-graduate work I have been involved with problems of biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphy. Although this work has focused mainly on Paleozoic rocks from the eastern United States, I have also been involved with projects around the world.

Sedimentary rocks from the craton offer an invaluable window to ancient worlds and the history of our planet, and I’m always excited for opportunities to connect my research with the local landscapes.