About

Elizabeth Niespolo is an Assistant Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University and an affiliated faculty member at the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI). She combines field work with applications in isotope geochemistry to anchor climatic, fossil, and archaeological records to precise timescales and in relation to environmental changes. Her research emphasizes radioisotopic dating, light stable isotope geochemistry, petrology, field geology, and archaeological excavation. Niespolo's work addresses questions related to the timing and tempo of human evolution, the development of modern human behaviors, and the timing of global-scale human colonization. Additionally, her research includes using petrology and isotopes to understand crustal processes, developing new isotopic applications, and conducting in situ measurements to investigate geochemical heterogeneity in natural materials. She is establishing a laser ablation ICP-MS and U-series geochronology laboratory at Princeton to support her research activities.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Data science
• World Wide Web
• Geology
• Earth science

Selected publications

• Improved 14C and novel 230Th/U burial dating of Australian megafaunal avian eggshells: implications for the extinction of Genyornis and early human arrival to Sahul

  Quaternary Science Reviews · 2026-05-06

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Late Pleistocene human arrival to Australia may have coincided with and influenced the extinction of Australian megafauna, including the large flightless bird Genyornis newtoni . However, current geochronological tools cannot resolve the timing, tempo, and order of events, to discern whether human and/or natural environmental perturbations contributed to extinctions in Australia. Eggshells from Genyornis are widely preserved in sediments, including variably burnt eggshells indicative of human predation. Diverse preparation methods for eggshell carbonate 14 C measurements indicate that, beyond ∼45 thousand years before present (ka BP), physical and chemical preparation methods can impact the accuracy of 14 C ages. Uranium-thorium ( 230 Th/U) “burial dating” of both extinct Genyornis and extant Dromaius novaehollandiae (emu) eggshell can reliably date Genyornis and Dromaius eggshells. Precise (±1-4%, 2σ) 230 Th/U burial ages of ∼25-50 ka BP of well-preserved Dromaius eggshells agree with 14 C ages of the same sample. These results are consistent with early, rapid uptake of U upon burial followed by closed evolution of the 230 Th/U system in eggshells. Thin section petrography also informs the preservation and suitability of samples for 230 Th/U burial dating. The 14 C and 230 Th/U burial ages of the youngest, well-preserved Genyornis eggshells near the 14 C limit also agree and corroborate the youngest Genyornis eggshells are ∼46-44 ka BP. Proximal archaeological sites are contemporaneous or pre-date the youngest Genyornis within regions. Because eggshells are found in both paleontological and archaeological deposits, these dating tools provide a promising new way to date both the extinction of Genyornis and the timing of human arrival to Australia. • Improved 14 C dating of eggshells. • New method presented called “ 230 Th/U burial dating” of eggshells from Australia. • Eggshell petrography and concentration patterns of U and Th aide sample screening. • Youngest evidence of extinct Genyornis ∼45 thousand years old.

  PublisherDOI

• Tracing 430,000 Years of Explosive Volcanism in Central Italy: Tephrostratigraphy and Tephrochronology of the Fucino Basin

  2026-03-14

  articleOpen access

  The Fucino Basin in central Italy hosts a thick, continuous lacustrine sedimentary succession documenting the environmental history from the Early Pliocene to recent historical times. This distinguishes it as a unique archive within the Central Apennines and an extraordinary record within the Mediterranean region and on a global scale. Over the past decade, drilling operations have recovered several sediment successions from the Fucino Basin to ascertain the viability of the sediment archive for palaeoenvironmental, palaeoclimatic, tectonic and volcanic studies. The overarching ambition is to initiate an ICDP deep-drilling campaign (MEME project) recovering the complete basin history. The basin is located downwind of most Italian volcanic districts (< 150 km). This promotes its potential to explore the past explosive volcanic activity of the peri-Tyrrhenian volcanoes and to establish an outstanding tephrostratigraphic and tephrochronological record for the Central Mediterranean region. Here tephrostratigraphic and -chronological results from two drill sites (F1-F3, F4-F5) of the central part of the basin are presented, whose composite record comprises more than 140 tephra layers identified within the last 430 ka. The geochemical fingerprint of 116 of these tephra layers was successfully characterized by major and minor element glass compositions and extended for specific tephra layers by trace element and isotope data of glass and/or mineral phases. The geochronology of the Fucino tephra record is constrained by 47 radioisotopic ages, of which 18 represent 40Ar/39Ar ages directly obtained from tephra layers within the Fucino succession. This makes the Fucino record currently the most precisely dated Mediterranean Middle-Upper Pleistocene tephra archive. The combination of geochemical, stratigraphic and chronological data facilitates the unravelling the volcanic origin of tephra layers and the establishment of a robust tephrostratigraphic framework integrating proximal volcanic, but also other (mid)distal sedimentary tephra records. The Fucino tephra record provides unique insights into the different active phases of the respective Italian volcanic districts and centres, identifying prominent known and many previously unknown eruptions. Most tephra layers originate from the Latium volcanoes, which underwent their prime activity during the Middle Pleistocene, while, after 200 ka the main explosive activity of the Neapolitan volcanoes is also recorded.The overall resulting tephrochronological information allows the construction of a comprehensive age-depth series of the Fucino sedimentary succession. This facilitates a reassessment of existing eruption ages and provides ages for previously undated tephra layers. Based on the improved chronology and more complete knowledge of volcanic activity, volcanic recurrence rates can be refined, but also climate-volcano interactions may be investigated. Furthermore, the Fucino tephrochronology provides a robust and independent chronology for the multiproxy series, allowing the Quaternary paleoclimatic-environmental dynamics to be explored independent of any a priori assumptions on response times to climate forcing and feedback.

  PublisherDOI

• Halibee member archaeology: Middle Stone Age environment, technology, and postmortem modifications

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2026-04-13

  articleOpen access

  The Middle Awash study area of Ethiopia's Afar Rift features a composite stratigraphic thickness of >1 km. Near the top of this succession lie sediments of the lower Halibee member, comprising the Faro Daba and Chai Baro beds. The former are radioisotopically dated to ~100,000 y in age and contain abundant fossils and associated lithic artifacts representing the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Geological, paleontological, and archaeological datasets recovered from these sediments enlarge a sparse later Pleistocene record of African human evolution, a time before anatomically modern populations of our species expanded into Eurasia. The Faro Daba occurrences comprise the richest, least disturbed, and most spatially extensive of many open-air MSA-bearing localities in the study area and beyond. Protected atop a resistant underlying conglomerate, the largely horizontal outcrops of the soft, eroding fossiliferous Faro Daba sediments provide spatially extensive access to in situ assemblages of artifacts and fossils. Sedimentology, faunal composition, and combustion features are consistent with a wooded depositional environment with seasonal flooding distant from the main river channel. Archaeological and paleontological assemblages indicate minimal postdepositional disturbance of primary lithic tool manufacture and discard during ephemeral human occupations on this floodplain. Among the recovered fossils are three partial human skeletons with taphonomic evidence of different postmortem pathways.

  PublisherDOI

• Monitoring Coral Reef Metabolism Under Changing Oceans–Novel Insights From Seawater Stable Carbon Isotopes

  Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences · 2026-04-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Mounting environmental stressors are driving Caribbean reefs from coral to sponge and macroalgae dominance, necessitating a need for more nuanced metrics of reef metabolism under trophic transitions. Drawing upon four seasonally replicated field campaigns to Curaçao, we reveal highly variable net ecosystem productivity (−243 ± 69 C m −2 day −1 to 216 ± 36 mmol C m −2 day −1 ) and calcification (−143 ± 42 mmol CaCO 3 m −2 day −1 to 140 ± 21 mmol CaCO 3 m −2 day −1 ). We observe periods of intense net ecosystem dissolution that fall significantly below previously reported global averages. We offer two additional metabolic insights by integrating measurements of the stable carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ 13 C DIC ). First, Keeling plots of water column DIC and δ 13 C DIC measurements suggest that zooplankton grazing may be a significant source of respired carbon to the reef ecosystem, even during periods of net autotrophy. This suggests that heterotrophic feeding by corals or other consumers is a primary energy pathway that may provide the mixotrophic coral community with a stable food source and bolster its resilience to periods of symbiont stress. Second, by isolating photosynthetic fractionation factors, we reveal a potential carbonate chemistry dependence on algal community photosynthetic plasticity. This provides an important fingerprint of how the dominant primary producers physiologically respond to changing ocean conditions, which is essential for forecasting future shifts in the community and its metabolic function. These findings suggest that integrating stable isotopes into reef biogeochemical toolkits offers unprecedented insights into community interactions in a changing ocean.

  PublisherDOI

• Ca Isotopes in Tooth Enamel: Physiology, Trophic Level and Environmental Reconstruction

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• What Zooarchaeological Tooth Assemblages Can Tell Us About Paleoclimate: A Case Study From the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition in Mainland Southeast Asia

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The Dry River Diorite: insights into mantle contributions to the younger White Mountain Magma Series, New Hampshire, USA

  Atlantic Geoscience · 2025-11-28

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The Dry River Diorite is one of the few mafic bodies spatially associated with the White Mountain Batholith of New Hampshire, USA. However, new U–Pb zircon geochronology reveals a 119.92 ± 0.62 Ma emplacement age for the diorite, considerably younger than the ca. 200–180 Ma batholith and indicates that it is instead a member of the younger White Mountain Magma Series (ca. 130–100 Ma) of the New England–Quebec province. The diorite is mildly silica undersaturated, with chondrite-normalized REE and spider diagram patterns that indicate ocean island basalt compositions. Several tectonic discrimination diagrams indicate the magmas have within-plate basaltic compositions. Ce/Yb versus La/Ta and Sm/Yb versus La/Sm values indicate the magmas are 2–5% partial melts of garnet peridotites. ƐNd and initial 87Sr/86Sr values range between 4.27 to 3.44 and 0.7036 to 0.7040 respectively. All these geochemical characteristics are identical to those of the mafic rocks of eastern Monteregian Hills and the Ossipee complex basalts of central New Hampshire. Modeling of the Dry River Diorite as the mafic endmember of the felsic rocks of the younger White Mountain Magma Series indicates that the felsic rocks contain up to 50% crustal endmember. Previous high-precision geochronological studies indicated a relatively brief period of magmatism across this region and have argued that observed age progressions of continental magmatism are consistent with the Great Meteor Hotspot hypothesis for their formation. The age produce here for the Dry River Diorite is consistent with this trend’ however, the younger-than-predicted age is likely the result of Pb-loss or complex geological factors. Although the Cretaceous magmatic rocks in this region do not easily fit a linear age progression as a simple hotspot model might predict, the confluence of geodynamic processes that have shaped this region over 200 myr are not simple and require a high standard of verification for any one hypothesis. Whether these magmas resulted from complex hotspot dynamics, asthenospheric upwelling, or some other mechanism or combination of mechanisms requires a clear path to deconvolve the role each process had in shaping the magmatic history we can now observe. The new geochronologic data we present is consistent with other ca. 120 Ma, geographically proximal plutons in the region and therefore consistent with the age progression a hot spot model would predict for a large fraction of the Cretaceous magmatism observed across the region; however this does not preclude other models, e.g., edge-driven convection, for parsimoniously explaining magmatism in the region that does not conform to this track.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Investigating Antarctic Blue Ice Climate Archives Using Laser Ablation Impurity Imaging

  2025-03-14

  preprintOpen access

  Ice cores are indispensable archives for preserving terrestrial climate history, yet continuous Antarctic cores are limited to 1–1.5 million years due to basal melting, ice flow dynamics, and layer thinning, with the oldest continuous ice core (the EPICA Dome C core) extending to 800,000 years before present.  Recent discoveries of ice as old as 6 million years from shallow cores drilled in the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area (BIA) in Antarctica indicate that it is possible to extend the polar ice core record well beyond what is possible from continuous ice cores. However, developing robust paleoclimate archives from Antarctic BIA ice cores is challenging due to the uncertainties in the orientation and thickness of layering in such old, deformed, and often chronologically disturbed ice. Cryo-cell laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) offers a micro-destructive method to analyze spatial impurities in ice cores at a sub-millimeter scale, and preserves most of the ice material for paired, high-precision chemical analyses. This study investigates the application of LA-ICP-MS for high-resolution chemical layer analysis and orientation of Antarctic BIA cores. By imaging distribution of trace elements like Na, Mg, Ca, Al, and Sr at micrometer (µm) scales, LA-ICP-MS enables the chemical characterization of individual ice layers. To evaluate the technique’s effectiveness, we analyzed NIST 612 glass standard, Taylor Glacier ice, and an Allan Hills ice core (ALHIC 1903). Our findings reveal that LA-ICP-MS captures fine-scale spatial variations (65 µm) in elemental concentrations, highlighting the potential for annual layer identification within BIA ice cores. In the ALHIC 1903 sample, we identified a probable annual layer through a distinct peak in Na concentration across the length of a sample, demonstrating the ability of LA-ICP-MS to reveal layering within ice microstructure. The study emphasizes the importance of optimizing laser parameters and washout times to preserve microstructural details, ultimately enhancing the reconstruction of paleoclimate records from BIA ice cores. 

  PublisherDOI

• A 3-Billion-Year Lithium Isotope Record from Marine Dolostones

  2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Nondestructive geochemical characterization of fossil hominin taphonomy and burial history

  Quaternary Science Reviews · 2024-02-15 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Paul R. Renne

  Berkeley Geochronology Center

  108 shared

• Alison Pereira

  103 shared

• Sébastien Nomade

  CEA Paris-Saclay

  101 shared

• Warren D. Sharp

  39 shared

• Christian A. Tryon

  University of Connecticut

  36 shared

• Eleonora Regattieri

  26 shared

• Hervé Guillou

  22 shared

• Kathryn L. Ranhorn

  Arizona State University

  22 shared

Labs

• The Micro-Analysis and Geochronology Laboratory (IMAGE)PI