My research interests apply a wide range of methods to better understand past climatic changes on a range of timescales. Some of the highlights include:
IRES: TransArctic Connections: Linking students with Finnish scientists for research in the rapidly changing arctic. NSF, IRES Program. OISE-2246405. In collaboration with University of Alaska Anchorage. Active through 2026.
Collaborative Research: Transient Forcing of the Local Last Glacial Maximum in the Tropical Peruvian Andes. NSF. EAR-2002541. In collaboration with University of New Hampshire, Ohio State University, and University of Minnesota-Duluth. Active through 2025.
IRES: US-Estonia research partnership in reconstructing past climate dynamics. NSF, IRES Program. OISE-1827135. Active through 2024.
* Denotes a student author
Stansell, N.D., Steinman, B.A., Vuille, M., Shutkin, T., Liu, Z., Mark, B.G., Abbott, M.B., Licciardi, J., Rodbell, D., Sharma, D., Turner, S., (2026). . 41, e2025PA005354.
*Eensalu, M., Stansell, N.D., Luoto, T., Buczynska, A., Poska, A., Terasmaa, J., Vaasma, T., Vandel, E., Klein, E.S., Blaus, A., Veski, S., Nelson, D.B.. (2026). . Quaternary Science Reviews. v. 373-109750.
Shutkin, T., Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D., Cruz, R., Schoessow, F.S., Liu, Z. (2025), Temperature-Driven Retreat of a Tropical Glacier Exacerbated by Proglacial Lake Feedbacks. The Cryosphere. EGUsphere, 2025, 1-20.
LaDue, N., Manning, C.B., Stansell, N.D. (2025). . Geological Society of America Today. v. 35, p. 22–24.
Wagner, Z.C., Steinman, B.A., Finkenbinder, M.S., Abbott, M.B., Stansell, N.D. (2025). A 10,000-year lake-sediment based reconstruction of precipitation isotope values in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (Invited). Quaternary Science Reviews 356:109255.
Stansell, N.D., Turner, S., Steinman, B.A., Shutkin, T., Liu, Z., Mark, B.G., Abbott, M.B., Licciardi, J., Rodbell, D., Sharma, D. (In review). Simulating high-latitude connections to an early local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the southern tropical Andes using the Community Earth System Model (CESM).
Shutkin, T., Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D., Cruz, R., Schoessow, F.S., Zhengyu, L. (In review). Temperature-driven retreat of a tropical glacier exacerbated by proglacial lake feedbacks. The Cryosphere.
LaDue, N., Manning, C.B., Stansell, N.D. (In review). Leveraging the UFERN model to improve undergraduate field research experiences. Geological Society of America Today.
*Eensalu, M., Stansell, N.D., Luoto, T., Buczynska, A., Poska, A., Palusalu, M., Terasmaa, J., Vaasma, T., Vandel, E., Klein, E.S., Blaus, A., Veski, S., Nelson, D.B. (2024). Holocene hydroclimate variability reconstructed from Lake Pangodi sediments in Estonia. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 655: 112531.
*Eensalu, M., Nelson, D.B., Buczynska, A., Luoto, T., Rach, O., Poska, A., Klein, E.S., Dodd, J., Terasmaa, J., Veski, S., Stansell, N.D. (2024). Holocene hydroclimate variability of the Baltic region inferred from stable isotopes, d-excess, and multi-proxy data at Lake Nuudsaku, Estonia (NE Europe). Quaternary Science Reviews 334: 108736.
Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D., Shutkin, T., Schoessow, F.S. (2024). Glaciations and the environments of the Cordillera Blanca. Book chapter. In Geoenvironmental Change. Springer International Publishing, 2024, 95–115.
Obrist-Farner, J., Steinman, B.A., Stansell, N.D., Maurer, J. (2023). .
*Palusalu, M., Poska, A., Väli, V., Vassiljev, J., Eensalu, M., Stansell, N.D. (2023).
Stansell, N.D., Abbott, M.B., Bezada, M., Licciardi, J., Mark, B.G., Rodbell, D.T., Shutkin, T. (2023).
*Eensalu, M., Nelson, D.B., Buczynska, A., Rach, O., Klein, E.S., Dodd, J., Poska, A., Stansell, N.D. (2023). Hydrogen isotope biogeochemistry of plant waxes in paired lake catchments. Organic Geochemistry.
*Shutkin, T., Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D., Cruz, R., Schoessow, F.S., Zhengyu, L. (In review). Temperature-driven retreat of a tropical glacier exacerbated by proglacial lake feedbacks. Journal of Glaciology.
Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D., Shutkin, T., Schoessow, F.S. (In review). Glaciations and the environments of the Cordillera Blanca. Book chapter. In Geoenvironmental Change. Springer.
Obrist-Farner, J., Steinman, B.A., Stansell, N.D., Maurer, J.. (In Revision). Spatiotemporally variable hydroclimate in western Central American during the last millennium. Submitted to Nature Communications Earth and Environment in November 2021.
*Milton, E. Stansell, N.D., Bocherens, H., Brownlee, A., Chala-Aldana, D., Rademaker, K. (2022) . Journal of Archaeological Science: 146
*Price, B.N., Stansell, N.D., Fernández, A., Licciardi, J.M., Lesnek, A.J., Sorensen, M.K., Jaque Castillo, E., Muñoz, A., Shutkin, T., Ciocca, I., Galilea, I.. (2022). . Frontiers in Earth Science. 10: 848652. This is part of a special volume on Glaciation in the Andes.
Steinman, B.A., Stansell, N.D., Mann, M.E., Cooke, C.A., Abbott, M.B., Lachniet, M.S., Vuille, M., Bird, B. W., Fernandez, A. (2022). . PNAS 119 (17) e2120015119.
Stansell, N.D., Klein, E.S, Hill, K., Terasmaa, J., Dodd, J.P., Boes, M., Eensalu, M., Fortney, C., Fritts, A., Garcia, R., Price, B., Swanson, B.. (2022). A late Holocene stable isotope and carbon accumulation record from Teringi Bog in southern Estonia. Quaternary 5:8. Data available for download.
Stansell, N.D., Mark, B.G., Licciardi, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., Fairman, J. G., Schoessow, F.S., Shutkin, T. Y., Sorensen, M.. (2022). . Quaternary Science Reviews 281: 107414
Finkenbinder, M., Steinman, B.A., Bird, B., Heilman, E, Aspey, A., Mark, S., Stansell, N.D., Fernandez, A., Halsor, S., Abbott, M.B. (2022). . Quaternary Science Reviews: 278, 107376
*Harvey, W.J., Petrokofsky, G., Stansell, N.D., Nogué, S., Petrokofsky, L., Willis, K.J. F. Forests 2021, 12, 1057. doi: 10.3390/f12081057
*Neuhaus, S.U., Tulaczyk, S.M., Stansell, N.D., Coenen, J., Scherer, R. P., Mikucki, J.A., Powell, R.D.. Mid-Holocene Retreat and Late Holocene Re-advance of the Grounding Line in the Ross Sea Sector. The Cryosphere: 15:10 DOI: 10.5194/tc-15-4655-2021
*Harvey, W.J., Nogué, S., Stansell, N.D., Adolf, C., Long, P., Willis, K. (2020). A Palynological Perspective on the Impacts of European Contact: Historic Deforestation, Ranching and Agriculture Surrounding the Cuchumatanes Highlands, Guatemala. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany: 1-14
Stansell, N.D., Steinman, B.A., Lachniet, M.L., Feller, J.R., Harvey, W., Fernandez, A., Shea, C.J., Price, B., Boes, M., Perdziola, S. (2020). Lake sediment stable isotope record of middle-to-late Holocene hydroclimate variability in the western Guatemala highlands. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 542: 116327.
Palacios, D., Stokes, C.R., Phillips, F.M., Clague, J.J., Alcalá, J., Andres, N., Angel, I., Blard, P.H., Briner, J., Hall, B.L., Dahms, D., Hein, A.S., Jomelli, V., Mark, B., Martini, M.A., Moreno, P., Riedel, J., Sagredo, E.A., Stansell, N.D., Vazquez-Selem, L., Vuille, M., Ward, D. (2020). . Earth Science Reviews 203: 103113.
Schnieder, L., Cooke, C.A., Stansell, N.D., Haberle, S. (2020). Effects of climate variability on mercury deposition in sediments of the Venezuelan Andes. Journal of Paleolimnology 63: 211-224
*Harvey, W.J., Stansell, N.D., Nogué, S., Willis, K.J. (2019). The Apparent Resilience of the Dry Tropical Forests of the Nicaraguan Region of the Central American Dry Corridor to Variations in Climate Over the Last C.1200 Years. Quaternary 2:25
*Harvey, W.J., Nogué, S., Stansell, N.D., Petrokofsky, G., Steinman, B.S., Willis, K.J. (2019). The legacy of Pre-Columbian fire on the Pine-Oak forests of upland Guatemala. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 2:34.
Steinman, B.A., Nelson, D.B., Abbott, M.B., Stansell, N.D., Finkenbinder, M.S., Finney, B. (2019). Lake sediment records of Holocene hydroclimate and impacts of the Mount Mazama eruption, north-central Washington, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 204: 17-36.
Kingslake, J., Scherer, R., Albrecht, T., Coenen, J., Powell, R., Reese, R., Stansell, N., Tulaczyk, S., Whitehouse, P. (2018). Extensive Holocene grounding line retreat and uplift-driven readvance in West Antarctica. Nature 558: 430-434
Finkenbinder, M.S., Abbott, M.B., Stoner, J.S., Ortiz, J.D., Finney, B.P., Dorfman, J.M., Stansell, N.D. (2018). Millennial-scale variability in Holocene climate from Burial Lake, Arctic Alaska. Quaternary Science Reviews 187: 220-234
Stansell, N.D., Klein, E.S., Fortney, C., Dodd, J., Finkenbinder, M.S., Terasmaa, J., Nelson, D.B. (2017). A stable isotope records of Holocene precipitation dynamics from Lake Nuudsaku, Estonia. Quaternary Science Reviews 175(C) 73-84. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Stansell, N.D., Licciardi, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., Mark, B.G. (2017). Late Glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Cordillera Blanca, Peruvian Andes. Geophysical Research Letters 44:9: 4176-4185. DOI:10.1002/2016GL072408. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D., Zeballos, G. (2017). The last deglaciation of Peru and Bolivia. Special Volume: Last Deglaciation of America. Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica (D. Palacios, editor)
Steinman, B.A., Pompeani, D., Abbott, M.B., Ortiz, J., Stansell, N.D., Mihindukalasooriya, L., Hillman, A., Finkenbinder, M. (2016). . Quaternary Science Reviews 142: 40-60. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.04.012
Stansell, N.D., Rodbell, D.T., Licciardi, J.M., Sedlak, C.M., Schweinsberg, A.D., Huss, E.G., Finkel, R.C., Zimmerman, S.R. (2015). Late Glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations at Nevado Huaguruncho in the Eastern Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes. Geology 43:8: 747-750. DOI:10.1130/G36735.1. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Steinman, B.A., Abbott, M.B., Mann, M.E., Ortiz, J., Feng, S., Pompeani, D., Stansell, N.D., Anderson, L.A., Finney, B.P., Bird, B.W.. (2014). Ocean-atmosphere forcing of centennial hydroclimate variability in the Pacific Northwest. Geophysical Research Letters 41: 7: 2553-2560. DOI: 10.1002/2014GL059499
Stansell, N.D., Polissar, P.J., Abbott, M.B., Bezada, M., Steinman, B.A., Braun, C. (2014). Proglacial lake sediment records reveal Holocene climate changes in the Venezuelan Andes. Quaternary Science Reviews 89: 44-55. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Stansell, N.D., Rodbell, D.T., Abbott, M.B., Mark, B.G. (2013). Proglacial lake sediment records of Holocene climate change in the western Cordillera of Peru (Invited Review). Quaternary Science Reviews 13: 1-14. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Stansell, N.D., Steinman, B.A., Abbott, M.B., Rubinov, M., Roman-Lacayo, M. (2013). Lacustrine stable isotope record of climate change in Nicaragua during the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly. Geology 41: 151-154. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Stansell, N.D. (2013). Radiocarbon ages for the timing of debris avalanches at Mombacho Volcano, Nicaragua. Bulletin of Volcanology 75: 1: 1-4
Klein, E.S., Booth, R.K.,Yu, Z, Mark, B.G., Stansell, N.D. (2013). Surficial geology influences the response of peatland carbon accumulation to climate variability: a comparative study of two peatlands in a glaciated valley in Southcentral Alaska. Quaternary Science Reviews 64: 61-75
Steinman, B.A., Abbott, M.B., Stansell, N.D., Nelson, D.B., Finney, B.P., Rosenmeier, M.F. (2013). Isotopic and hydrologic responses of small closed basin lakes to climate variability: Comparison of measured and modeled lake level and sediment core oxygen isotope records. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 105: 455-471
Steinman, B.A., Abbott, M.B., Mann, M.E., Stansell, N.D., Finney, B.P. (2012) 1500-year quantitative reconstruction of precipitation from the Pacific Northwest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1201083109
Bird, B.W., Abbott, M.B., Vuille, M., Rodbell, D.T., Stansell, N.D., Rosenmeier, M.F. (2011). A 2,300-year-long annually resolved record of the South American summer monsoon from the Peruvian Andes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1003719108
Nelson, D.B., Abbott, M.B., Steinman, B.A., Polissar, P.J., Stansell, N.D., Ortiz, J. D., Rosenmeier, M.F., Finney, B., Riedel, J. (2011). A 6,000-yr Lake Record of Drought from the Pacific Northwest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1009194108
Montoya, E., Rull, V., Stansell, N.D., Bird, B., Nogue, S., Vegas-Vilarrubia, T., Abbott, M., Diaz, W. (2011). Vegetation changes in the Neotropical Gran Sabana (Venezuela) around the Younger Dryas Chron. Journal of Quaternary Science 26: 207-218
Montoya, E., Rull, V., Stansell, N.D., Abbott, M.B., Nogue, S., Bird, B.W., Diaz, W.A.. (2011). Forest-savanna-morichal dynamics in relation to fire and human occupation during the last millennia. Quaternary Research 76: 335-344
Stansell, N.D., Abbott, M.B., Rull, V., Rodbell, D., Bezada, M., Montoya, E. (2010). Abrupt Younger Dryas Cooling in the Northern Tropics Recorded in Lake Sediments from the Venezuelan Andes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 293: 154-162. Data available through NOAA-NCDC
Rull, V., Stansell, N.D., Montoya, E., Bezada, M., Abbott, M.B. (2010). Palynological Signal of the Younger Dryas in the tropical Venezuelan Andes. Quaternary Science Reviews 29: 3045-3056
Stansell, N.D., Polissar, P.J., and Abbott, M.B. (2007a). Last Glacial Maximum Equilibrium-Line Altitude and Paleo-Temperature Reconstructions for the Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuelan Andes. Quaternary Research 67: 115-127.
Stansell, N.D., Abbott, M. B., Polissar, P. J., Wolfe, A. P., Bezada, M., Rull, V. (2007b). Reply: Late Quaternary Deglacial History of the Mérida Andes, Venezuela: response to comment. Journal of Quaternary Science, 22(8) 823-825. DOI: 10.1002/jqs.1109.
Stansell, N.D., Abbott, M. B., Polissar, P. J., Wolfe, A. P., Bezada, M., Rull, V. (2005). Late Quaternary Deglacial History of the Mérida Andes, Venezuela. Journal of Quaternary Science, Special Issue: Paleoclimate records from the Americas, in Memory of Geoffrey Owen Seltzer. 40(7-8), 801-812.

Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Paleoclimatology, Glacial Geology, Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Paleolimnology, Quaternary Stratigraphy, Radiometric Dating Methods
Davis Hall 402
815-753-1943
nstansell@niu.edu
Paleoclimatology Lab
Postdoctoral Researcher, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University
Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
M.S. University of Pittsburgh
B.S., Geology, University of Idaho
B.S., Anthropology, University of Idaho
815-753-1943
815-753-1945 (fax)
askeae@niu.edu