Yige Zhang
Assistant Professor
Chemical and Geological Oceanography: Paleoclimate Change; Organic and Isotope Geochemistry
Research
- Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology: Cenozoic climate change; Greenhouse gases; Earth system climate sensitivity; Ocean temperature and temperature gradients; Ocean currents; Upwelling
- Geochemistry: organic geochemistry; stable isotope geochemistry (clumped isotopes; compound-specific isotopes); global biogeochemical cycles
- Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry: Archaea evolution
I'm a paleoceanographer interested in using geochemistry as tools to study past changes in climate and global biogeochemical cycles, with the goal of learning lessons for our future. Specific research topics of my group include ocean temperature and atmospheric CO2 reconstructions, surface and bottom water circulations, upwelling, and Earth system climate sensitivity in the Cenozoic era (65 million years ago to the present). We run an organic geochemistry lab equipped with gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and isotope ratio mass spectrometry that are specialized at measuring the composition and stable isotopes of lipid biomarkers or “molecular fossils”.
Selected Publications
2019
- Da, J., Zhang, Y.G., X., Meng, G. Li., and J. Ji, 2019: Low CO2 levels of the entire Pleistocene Epoch, Nature Commun., 10, 1-9.
- Zhang, Y.G., Pearson, A., Benthien, A., Dong, L., Huybers, P., Liu, X.* and Pagani, M., 2019: Refining the alkenone-pCO2 method I: Lessons from the Quaternary glacial cycles, Geochimi. Cosmochimi. Acta, 260, 177-191.
- Zhuang, G., Zhang, Y.G., Hourigan, J., Ritts, B., Hren, M., Hou, M., Wu, M. and Kim, B.-S.*, 2019: Microbial and geochronologic constraints on the Neogene paleotopography of Northern Tibetan Plateau, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 1312-1319.
- Hollis, C. J., Dunkley Jones, T., Anagnostou, E., Bijl, P. K., Cramwinckel, M. J., Cui, Y., Dickens, G. R., Edgar, K. M., Eley, Y., Evans, D., Foster, G. L., Frieling, J., Inglis, G. N., Kennedy, E. M., Kozdon, R., Lauretano, V., Lear, C. H., Littler, K., Meckler, N., Naafs, B. D. A., Pälike, H., Pancost, R. D., Pearson, P., Royer, D. L., Salzmann, U., Schubert, B., Seebeck, H., Sluijs, A., Speijer, R., Stassen, P., Tierney, J., Tripati, A., Wade, B., Westerhold, T., Witkowski, C., Zachos, J. C., Zhang, Y. G., Huber, M., and Lunt, D. J., 2019: The DeepMIP contribution to PMIP4: methodologies for selection, compilation and analysis of latest Paleocene and early Eocene climate proxy data, incorporating version 0.1 of the DeepMIP database, Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3149-3206.
2018
- Zhang, Y.G., and Liu, X.*, 2018,: Export depth of the TEX86 signal, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 33, 666-671.
- Shen, J., Pearson, A., Henkes, G., Zhang, Y.G., Chen, K., Li, D., Wankel, S.D., Finney, S.C., and Shen, Y., 2018: Improved efficiency of the biological pump as a trigger for the late Ordovician glaciation, Nature Geosci., 11, 510-514
- Pearson, P. and IODP Expedition 363 Scientific Party, 2018: A deep-sea agglutinated foraminifer tube constructed with planktonic foraminifer shells of a single species, Journal of Micropaleontology, 37, 97-104
2017
- Zhang, Y.G., Pagani, M., Henderiks, J., and Ren, H.,: A long history of equatorial deep-water upwelling in the Pacific Ocean: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 467, 1-9.
- Zhuang, G., Pagani, M. and Zhang, Y.G.,: Monsoonal upwelling in the western Arabian Sea since the middle-late Miocene, Geology, 45, 655-658.
- Zhang, Y.G., Compound-specific isotope analysis: Encyclopedia of Geochemistry, W. White edited, Springer, 1-4.
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Wang, J.-X., Xie, W., Zhang, Y.G., Meador, T.B., Zhang, C.L., Evaluating production of cyclopentyl tetraethers by Marine Group II Euryarchaeota in the Pearl River estuary and coastal South China Sea: Potential impact on the TEX86 paleothermometer, Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 2077.
2016
- Pearson, A., Hurley, S.J., Shah Walter, S.R., Kusch, S., Lichtin, S., and Zhang, Y.G., 2016: Stable carbon isotope ratios of intact GDGTs indicate heterogeneous sources to marine sediments. Geochimi. Cosmochimi. Acta, 181, 18-35.
- Zhang, Y.G., Pagani, M., and Wang, Z., 2016: Ring Index: A new strategy to evaluate the integrity of TEX86 paleothermometry: Paleoceanography, 31, 220-232.
2015
- Da, J.W., Zhang, Y.G., Wang, H.T., Balsam, W., and Ji, J.F., 2015: An early Pleistocene atmospheric CO2 record based on pedogenic carbonate from the Chinese loess deposits: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 426, 69-75.
2014
- Zhang, Y.G., Pagani, M., and Liu, Z., 2014: Response to comment on “A 12-million-year temperature history of the tropical Pacific Ocean”: Science, 346, 1467-b.
- Zhang, Y.G., Pagani, M., and Liu, Z., 2014: A 12-million-year temperature history of the tropical Pacific Ocean: Science, 343, 84-86.
- Kluge, T., Affek, H., Zhang, Y.G., Dublyansky, Y., Spötl, C., Immenhauser, A., and Richter, D.K., 2014: Clumped isotope thermometry of cryogenic cave carbonates: Geochimi. Cosmochimi. Acta, 126, 541-554.
2013
- Schouten, S. et al., (69 coauthors including Zhang, Y.G.), 2013: An interlaboratory study of TEX86 and BIT analysis of sediments, extracts and standard mixtures, Geophys. Geochem. Geosyst., 14, 5263-5285.
- Zhang, Y.G., Pagani, M., Liu, Z., Bohaty, S., and DeConto, R., 2013: A 40-million-year history of atmospheric CO2: Phil. Trans. Royal. Soc. A, 371, 20130096.
2011 and Earlier
- Zhang, Y.G., Zhang, C.L., Liu, X.-L., Li, L., Hinrichs, K.-U., and Noakes,J.E., 2011: Methane Index: A tetraether archaeal lipid biomarker indicator for detecting the instability of marine gas hydrates: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 307, 525-534.
- Boyd, E.S., Pearson, A., Pi, Y.D., Li, W.-J., Zhang, Y.G., He, L., Zhang, C.L., and Geesey, G.G., 2011: Temperature and pH controls on glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether lipid composition in the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeote Acidilobus sulfurireducens: Extremophiles, 15, 59-65.
- Zhang, Y.G., Ji, J.F., Balsam, W.L., Liu, L.W. and Chen J., 2009: Mid-Pliocene Asian monsoon intensification and the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation: Geology, 37, 599-602.
- Zhang Y.G., Ji, J.F., Balsam, W.L. Liu, L.W. and Chen, J., 2007: High-resolution hematite and goethite record from ODP 1143, South China Sea: Co-evolution of monsoonal precipitation and El Niño over the last 600,000 years: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 264, 136-150.
Education
Ph.D. Yale University, 2014
M.Phil. Yale University, 2012
M.S. University of Georgia, 2009
B.S. Nanjing University, 2007
Awards
Philip Orville Prize, Yale University, 2015
Karl Turekian Prize, Yale University, 2014
Ziff Environmental Fellowship, Harvard University, 2014-2016
Outstanding Overseas Grad Student, Chinese Scholarship Council, 2014
Schalnger Fellowship, U.S. Science Support Program for Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, 2012-2014