I'm interested in developing methods for using geochronology to measure the temperature histories of rocks, with applications to the co-evolution of the crust and the land surface. In the lab this work involves technique development in methods of analysis and numerical modeling. In the field this has involved decades of work in mountain landscapes in the Himalaya, Tibet, and Mongolia. More recently I’ve worked in very different settings, examining applications of thermochronology to deep time in the supposedly stable setting of continental interiors, a location that hosts features like the Great Unconformity and sediment accumulations that record information about a pivotal period in Earth history.
Peter Zeitler
Professor
610.758.3671
pkz0@lehigh.edu
594 STEPS
Education:
A.B. (1978) Earth Sciences, Dartmouth
M.A. (1980) Geology, Dartmouth
Ph.D. (1983) Geology, Dartmouth
Research Fellow (1983-1987) Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University
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Research Areas
Additional Interests
- Geochronology and thermochronology
- Tectonics and geodynamics
- Geology of Asia
Research Statement
Biography
My path to get here meandered a bit. A first-generation college student born to German immigrants, after originally considering an English major at Dartmouth and after a first year that included much rock climbing and a gentleman's C in chemistry, I recovered to take an undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences in 1978. I then earned my Ph.D. in geology in 1983, also from Dartmouth, after which I spent five years as a research fellow in isotope geochemistry with Ian McDougall at the Research School of Earth Sciences of the Australian National University in Canberra. I’ve been at Lehigh since 1988 (do the math). Lehigh has provided a supportive home from which to explore with colleagues and students of all levels the complexities of this planet – along the way I may have learned more than I taught them. My work has also given me the chance to experience cultures and natural wonders in interesting places around the world. At Lehigh I have served as South Mountain College’s first director in 2007 and EES department chair, and I am currently chair of Lehigh’s Faculty Senate.
Honors and Awards
2019 Lehigh University, Libsch Research Award
2016 Dodson Prize in Thermochronology (International Standing Committee on Thermochronology)
2006-2016 Lehigh University, Iacocca Professorship
2013 Fellow, American Geophysical Union
Recent and Selected Publications
See my Google Scholar page for a complete list of publications.
Guo, H., Zeitler, P., and Idleman, B., 2024. Behavior of helium diffusion sinks in apatite: Evidence from continuous ramped heating analysis of borehole and well-characterized samples. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 641, 118828, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118828.
Koons, P.O., Hallet, H., Zeitler, P.K., and Meltzer, A.S., 2022. Tectonic aneurysm: a culmination of tectonic and geomorphic cooperation in mountain building. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, Elsevier, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818234-5.00179-6.
McDannell, K.T., Keller, C.B., Guenthner, W.R., Zeitler, P.K., and Shuster, D.L., 2022. Thermochronologic constraints on the origin of the Great Unconformity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (5), e2118682119, doi: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118682119.
Gautheron, C., and Zeitler, P.K., 2020. Noble gases deliver cool dates from hot rocks. Elements, 16 (5): 303–309, doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.16.5.303
McDannell, K.T., Zeitler, P.K., and Idleman, B.D., 2018. Relict topography within the Hangay Mountains in central Mongolia: Quantifying long-term exhumation and relief change in an old landscape. Tectonics, 37(8), 2531-2558, DOI: 10.1029/2017TC004682.
McDannell, K.T., Zeitler, P.K., Janes, D.G., Idleman, B.D., and Fayon, A.K., 2018. Screening apatites for (U-Th)/He thermochronometry via continuous ramped heating: He age components and implications for age dispersion. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 223, 90-106, 10.1016/j.gca.2017.11.031.
Zeitler, P.K., Meltzer, A.S., Brown, L., Kidd, W.S.F., Lim, C., and Enkelmann, E., 2014. Tectonics and topographic evolution of Namche Barwa and the easternmost Lhasa Block, in Nie, J., Hoke, G.D., and Horton, B., eds., Towards an improved understanding of uplift mechanisms and the elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau. Geological Society of America Special Paper, 507, 23-58, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/2014.2507(02).
Stewart, R.J., Hallet, B., Zeitler, P.K., Malloy, M.A., Allen, C.M., and Trippett, D., 2008. Brahmaputra sediment flux dominated by highly localized rapid erosion from the easternmost Himalaya. Geology, 36(9), 711-714, DOI: 10.1130/G24890A.1.
Zeitler, P.K., Meltzer, A.S., Koons, P.O., Craw, D., Hallet, B., Chamberlain, C.P., Kidd, W.S.F., Park, S., Seeber, L., Bishop, M. L., Shroder, J., 2001. Erosion, Himalayan geodynamics, and the geology of metamorphism. GSA Today, 11, 4-8.
Zeitler, P.K., Herczeg, A., McDougall, I., and Honda, M., 1987. U-Th-He dating of Durango fluorapatite: a potential thermochronometer. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 51, 2865-2868.
Zeitler, P.K., Johnson, N.M., Naeser C.W., and Tahirkheli, R.A.K., 1982. Fission-track evidence for the Quaternary uplift of the Nanga Parbat region, Pakistan. Nature, 298, 255-257.
Teaching
ECK 081 Eckardt Seminar
EES 80 (Introduction to the Earth System)
EES 426 (Tectonic Processes)
EES 429 (Methods and Applications of Geochronology)