Stefan Loehr
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
I am an Earth Scientist with expertise in geochemistry, sedimentary geology and (palaeo)oceanography, as well as a strong background in soil and environmental science. In order to advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of environmental change, my research focusses on extracting records of palaeoenvironmental/climatic change from marine and lacustrine sedimentary rocks. I utilise a combination of fieldwork, analytical (esp. microbeam), experimental and modelling approaches to extract, validate, and interpret this information, working with a diverse group of national and international collaborators.
Current research interests include:
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high resolution palaeorecords across time-periods of significant environmental change (Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition, Mesozoic Greenhouse World and Ocean Anoxic Events, Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition);
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secondary mineral formation and alteration in terrestrial and marine settings – implications for biospheric evolution, climate, element cycling (e.g. REEs), geochronology and the interpretation of isotope proxy records;
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wildfires as agents of mineral alteration and geochemical differentiation at the Earth’s surface;
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development of novel applications combining high resolution, quantitative electron-based sedimentary petrography with microbeam geochemical and isotopic (incl. geochronological) analysis to inform studies of palaeoenvironmental change.
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more recently, I have also become interested in combining my expertise in clay mineralogy, (isotope) geochemistry and high resolution sedimentary petrography to identify the mechanisms of 'clay-hosted' REE enrichment in soils and weathering profiles.
PhD students supervised (* denotes primary supervision):
Current: Jack Jones - 'A chronostratigraphic framework for the Cambrian Stansbury Basin, South Australia' (at Macquarie University)
Current: Elizabeth Baruch - 'Burial evolution of porosity in unconventional reservoirs' (at University of Adelaide)
*Current: Shujun Han - 'Diagnostic criteria for identifying authigenic clay minerals and implications for the earliest record of animal life in the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation' (at Macquarie University)
*Current: Hafiz Shahid Hussain - 'New insights into the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum from a basinal transect of the Indus Basin' (at Macquarie University)
*2018 - 2021: Mehrnoush Rafiei – 'Novel sedimentary petrography applied to the shale record of continental weathering in the Precambrian' (at Macquarie University)
2017 - 2021: Kristy Guerin – ‘Wildfires as an agent of high temperature geochemical and mineralogical differentiation at the Earth’s surface’ – with Drs David Murphy & Luke Nothdurft (at Queensland University of Technology)
2016 – 2019: Huiyuan Xu – ‘Source rock development and organic matter inputs in the Dongying Depression of the Bohai Bay Basin’ (at Macquarie University)
2013 – 2018: Md Habibur Rahman – ‘Clay mineral catalytic influence on hydrocarbon generation in black shales’ (at Macquarie University)
MRes & BSc (Hons) students supervised (* denotes primary supervision):
*2021-2022: Cassandra Wheeler - "Mesoproterozoic lacustrine clay-mineral record of weathering prior to greening of the continents"
*2021-2022: Ananyaa Deepak - "A Proterozoic shale record of marine clay authigenesis"
*2021-2022: Hannah Wilson - "Biomarker-based Holocene wildfire history of Kangaroo Island and links to human occupation" (with Prof Simon George)
*2019-2020: Kaycee Handley - 'Massive subaerial volcanism trigger for Oceanic Anoxic Event 2' - joint supervision with Dr April Abbott
2018: Angela Mabee – ‘Eocene deepening of the Tasman Gateway & commencement of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current’
2015: Natalie Debenham – ‘An exotic source rock: drivers of organic carbon enrichment in the Permian Arckaringa Basin’
*2013: Robyn Williamson – ‘Organic carbon in Mediterranean sapropels: The interplay between anoxia, productivity and clay mineral association’ (BSc Hons, University of Adelaide)
2012: Samuel Fraser – 'Nanoscale imaging of the Woodford Shale, Oklahoma, USA: Organic matter preservation as clay-organic nanocomposites' (BSc Hons, University of Adelaide)
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2022 - ongoing Research Associate University of Adelaide 2021 - 2022 Senior Lecturer Macquarie University 2015 - 2020 Lecturer Macquarie University 2011 - 2015 Research Associate University of Adelaide -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2011 Queensland University of Technology Australia PhD in Geochemistry 2007 Macquarie University Australia BSc (Hons I)
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 Lan, Z., Glorie, S., Löhr, S. C., Wang, R., & Shen, B. (2025). Apatite Lu–Hf dating of late Archean banded iron formations. Geology, 53(4), 338-342.
2025 Baldermann, A., Banerjee, S., Löhr, S. C., Rudmin, M., Warr, L. N., & Chakraborty, A. (2025). Exploring reverse silicate weathering across geological time: A review. Clay Minerals, 27 pages.
Scopus12024 Duxbury, L. C., Johns-Mead, L. Y., Cadd, H., Francke, A., Löhr, S. C., Law, W. B., . . . Tyler, J. J. (2024). Holocene climate and catchment change inferred from the geochemistry of Lashmars Lagoon, Kangaroo Island (Karti/Karta), southern Australia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 634, 111928-1-111928-15.
Scopus12024 Han, S., Löhr, S. C., Abbott, A. N., Baldermann, A., Shields, G. A., Cui, H., . . . Yu, B. (2024). Authigenic clay mineral constraints on spatiotemporal evolution of restricted, evaporitic conditions during deposition of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 626, 118524.
Scopus32024 Löhr, S. C., Spandler, C., & Baldermann, A. (2024). Controls on rapid rare earth element enrichment in sediments deposited by a continental-scale river system. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 366, 48-64.
Scopus72024 Baldermann, A., Stamm, F. M., Farkaš, J., Löhr, S., Ratz, B., Letofsky-Papst, I., & Dietzel, M. (2024). Precipitation of short-range order hydroxy aluminosilicate (HAS) and hydrous ferric silicate (HFS) at ambient temperature: Insights into mineral formation pathways, crystal chemistry and solubility-stability relationships. Chemical Geology, 646, 121911-1-121911-16.
Scopus22024 Ward, M., Rout, T. M., Possingham, H. P., Stewart, R., McDonald-Madden, E., Clark, T. G., . . . Watson, J. E. M. (2024). A report card to effectively communicate threatened species recovery. One Earth, 7(2), 186-198.
2024 Abdul Halim, A., Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Allekotte, I., Almeida Cheminant, K., Almela, A., . . . D'Olivo, J. C. (2024). Constraints on metastable superheavy dark matter coupled to sterile neutrinos with the Pierre Auger Observatory. Physical Review D, 109(8), L081101-1-L081101-11.
Scopus22024 Liu, X., Li, G., Qi, Y., Han, Z., Hengel, A. V. D., Sebe, N., . . . Huang, Q. (2024). Consistency-Aware Anchor Pyramid Network for Crowd Localization. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 1-15.
Scopus22024 Clark, J., Bolognese, M., & Collins, C. (2024). Exhibiting Holden: Best practice and practical problems in a national motor museum. Journal of Transport History, 45(2), 384-404.
2024 Geilert, S., Frick, D. A., Abbott, A. N., & Löhr, S. C. (2024). Marine clay maturation induces systematic silicon isotope decrease in authigenic clays and pore fluids. Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1), 573-1-573-8.
Scopus22024 Guerin, K., Murphy, D., Löhr, S. C., & Nothdurft, L. (2024). Experimental constraints on the role of temperature and pyrogenic mineral assemblage in wildfire-induced major and trace element mobilisation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 386, 18-32.
2024 Löhr, S. C., Khazaie, E., Farkas, J., Baldermann, A., Gilbert, S., Maas, R., . . . Collins, A. S. (2024). Origin and Significance of Age Variability in the Glauconite Reference Material GL-O: Implications for In Situ Rb-Sr Geochronology. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 49(1), 197-216.
Scopus12023 Baruch, E. T., Löhr, S. C., Han, S., Dewhurst, D. N., & Collins, A. S. (2023). Comparing “apples” and “oranges” in the Woodford Shale: Pitfalls of the thermal maturity gradient approach for constraining evolution of mudrock porosity. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 150, 106161-1-106161-19.
2023 Xu, H., Hou, D., Löhr, S. C., Liu, Q., Jin, Z., Shi, J., . . . George, S. C. (2023). Millimetre-scale biomarker heterogeneity in lacustrine shale identifies the nature of signal-averaging and demonstrates anaerobic respiration control on organic matter preservation and dolomitization. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 348, 107-121.
Scopus72023 Rafiei, M., Lӧhr, S. C., Alard, O., Baldermann, A., Farkaš, J., & Brock, G. A. (2023). Microscale Petrographic, Trace Element, and Isotopic Constraints on Glauconite Diagenesis in Altered Sedimentary Sequences: Implications for Glauconite Geochronology. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 24(4), e2022GC010795-1-e2022GC010795-24.
Scopus52023 Li, L., He, W., Liu, Z., Song, Y., Li, Y., Belousova, E., . . . George, S. C. (2023). Volcanic activity drives lacustrine carbon sequestration after Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 621, 111595.
Scopus6 WoS12023 Duxbury, L. C., Johns-Mead, L. Y., Cadd, H., Francke, A., Löhr, S. C., Law, W. B., . . . Tyler, J. J. (2023). Holocene Climate and Catchment Change Inferred from the Geochemistry of Lashmars Lagoon, Kangaroo Island (Karti), Southern Australia.
2023 Redaa, A., Farkaš, J., Gilbert, S., Collins, A. S., Löhr, S., Vasegh, D., . . . Garbe‐Schönberg, D. (2023). Testing Nano‐Powder and Fused‐Glass Mineral Reference Materials for
In Situ Rb‐Sr Dating of Glauconite, Phlogopite, Biotite and Feldspar via
LA‐ICP‐MS/MS. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 47(1), 23-48.
Scopus27 WoS22022 Scheiblhofer, E., Moser, U., Lӧhr, S., Wilmsen, M., Farkaš, J., Gallhofer, D., . . . Baldermann, A. (2022). Revisiting Glauconite Geochronology: Lessons Learned from In Situ Radiometric Dating of a Glauconite-Rich Cretaceous Shelfal Sequence. Minerals, 12(7), 818-1-818-19.
Scopus23 WoS42022 Han, S., Lӧhr, S. C., Abbott, A. N., Baldermann, A., Voigt, M., & Yu, B. (2022). Authigenic clay mineral evidence for restricted, evaporitic conditions during the emergence of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Biota. Communications Earth and Environment, 3(1), 1-12.
Scopus13 WoS12022 Han, S., Lӧhr, S. C., Abbott, A. N., Baldermann, A., Farkaš, J., McMahon, W., . . . Owen, M. (2022). Earth system science applications of next-generation SEM-EDS automated mineral mapping. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10, 22 pages.
Scopus28 WoS42022 Redaa, A., Farkaš, J., Hassan, A., Collins, A. S., Gilbert, S., & Löhr, S. C. (2022). Constraints from in-situ Rb-Sr dating on the timing of tectono-thermal events in the Umm Farwah shear zone and associated Cu-Au mineralisation in the Southern Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 224, 11 pages.
Scopus18 WoS52022 Abbott, A. N., Löhr, S. C., Payne, A., Kumar, H., & Du, J. (2022). Widespread lithogenic control of marine authigenic neodymium isotope records? Implications for paleoceanographic reconstructions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 319, 318-336.
Scopus29 WoS132022 Baldermann, A., Banerjee, S., Czuppon, G., Dietzel, M., Farkaš, J., Lӧhr, S., . . . Zack, T. (2022). Impact of green clay authigenesis on element sequestration in marine settings.. Nature communications, 13(1), 11 pages.
Scopus50 WoS16 Europe PMC52022 Subarkah, D., Blades, M. L., Collins, A. S., Farkaš, J., Gilbert, S., Löhr, S. C., . . . Zack, T. (2022). Unraveling the histories of Proterozoic shales through in situ Rb-Sr dating and trace element laser ablation analysis. Geology, 50(1), 66-70.
Scopus27 WoS112021 Han, S., Yu, B., Ruan, Z., Bai, C., Shen, Z., & Löhr, S. C. (2021). Diagenesis and fluid evolution in the third member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation, Bonan Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 128, 14 pages.
Scopus9 WoS22021 Baldermann, A., Wasser, O., Abdullayev, E., Bernasconi, S., Löhr, S., Wemmer, K., . . . Richoz, S. (2021). Palaeo-environmental evolution of Central Asia during the Cenozoic: New insights from the continental sedimentary archive of the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia). Climate of the Past, 17(5), 1955-1972.
Scopus11 WoS42021 Baldermann, A., Wasser, O., Abdullayev, E., Bernasconi, S., Löhr, S., Wemmer, K., . . . Richoz, S. (2021). Palaeo-environmental evolution of Central Asia during the Cenozoic: New insights from the continental sedimentary archive of the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia).
2021 Baldermann, A., Wasser, O., Abdullayev, E., Bernasconi, S., Löhr, S., Wemmer, K., . . . Richoz, S. (2021). Supplementary material to "Palaeo-environmental evolution of Central Asia during the Cenozoic: New insights from the continental sedimentary archive of the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia)".
2021 Redaa, A., Farkas, J., Gilbert, S., Collins, A., Wade, B., Lohr, S., . . . Grabe-Schonberg, D. (2021). Assessment of elemental fractionation and matrix effects during in-situ Rb–Sr dating of phlogopite by LA-ICP-MS/MS: Implications for the accuracy and precision of mineral ages. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 36(2), 322-344.
Scopus58 WoS232021 Baldermann, A., Banerjee, S., Czuppon, G., Dietzel, M., Farkas, J., Löhr, S., . . . Zack, T. (2021). Impact of green clay authigenesis on K–Mg–Fe sequestration in marine settings.
2020 Rafiei, M., Lӧhr, S., Baldermann, A., Webster, R., & Kong, C. (2020). Quantitative petrographic differentiation of detrital vs diagenetic clay minerals in marine sedimentary sequences: Implications for the rise of biotic soils. Precambrian Research, 350, 16 pages.
Scopus44 WoS262020 Xu, H., Hou, D., Löhr, S. C., Liu, Q., & George, S. C. (2020). Early diagenetic pyrite cementation influences molecular composition of sedimentary organic matter in the Dongying Depression, China. Organic Geochemistry, 144, 104019-1-104019-16.
Scopus14 WoS32020 Frank, A. B., Klaebe, R. M., Löhr, S., Xu, L., & Frei, R. (2020). Chromium isotope composition of organic-rich marine sediments and their mineral phases and implications for using black shales as a paleoredox archive. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 270, 338-359.
Scopus30 WoS222019 Hansberry, R. L., Collins, A. S., King, R. C., Morley, C. K., & Löhr, S. C. (2019). Combining finite strain analysis and illite crystallinity to examine strain variation in a shale detachment zone. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 174, 283-293.
Scopus12019 Abbott, A. N., Löhr, S., & Trethewy, M. (2019). Are clay minerals the primary control on the oceanic rare earth element budget?. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6(AUG), 1-19.
Scopus82 WoS512018 Rahman, H. M., Kennedy, M., Löhr, S., Dewhurst, D. N., Sherwood, N., Yang, S., & Horsfield, B. (2018). The influence of shale depositional fabric on the kinetics of hydrocarbon generation through control of mineral surface contact area on clay catalysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 220, 429-448.
Scopus68 WoS462018 Löhr, S. C., Kennedy, M. J., George, S. C., Williamson, R. J., & Xu, H. (2018). Sediment microfabric records mass sedimentation of colonial cyanobacteria and extensive syndepositional metazoan reworking in Pliocene sapropels. The Depositional Record, 4(2), 293-317.
WoS62018 Falster, G. M., Tyler, J., Grant, K., Tibby, J., Turney, C., Lohr, S., . . . Kershaw, A. P. (2018). Millennial-scale variability in south-east Australian hydroclimate between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago. Quaternary Science Reviews, 192, 106-122.
Scopus22 WoS202017 Löhr, S. C., Murphy, D. T., Nothdurft, L. D., Bolhar, R., Piazolo, S., & Siegel, C. (2017). Maghemite soil nodules reveal the impact of fire on mineralogical and geochemical differentiation at the Earth's surface. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 200, 25-41.
Scopus10 WoS72017 Hansberry, R., Zwingmann, H., Loehr, S., Collins, A., King, R., Morley, C., & Drysdale, R. (2017). Constraining the timing of shale detachment faulting: a geochemical approach. Lithosphere, 9(3), 431-440.
Scopus6 WoS52017 Rahman, H. M., Kennedy, M., Löhr, S., & Dewhurst, D. N. (2017). Clay-organic association as a control on hydrocarbon generation in shale. Organic Geochemistry, 105, 42-55.
Scopus64 WoS422015 Löhr, S., & Kennedy, M. (2015). Micro-trace fossils reveal pervasive reworking of Pliocene sapropels by low-oxygen-adapted benthic meiofauna. Nature Communications, 6(1), 6589-1-6589-8.
Scopus22 WoS18 Europe PMC42015 Löhr, S., Baruch, E., Hall, P., & Kennedy, M. (2015). Is organic pore development in gas shales influenced by the primary porosity and structure of thermally immature organic matter?. Organic Geochemistry, 87, 119-132.
Scopus371 WoS2792015 Hansberry, R., Collins, A., King, R., Morley, C., Gize, A., Warren, J., . . . Hall, P. (2015). Syn-deformation temperature and fossil fluid pathways along an exhumed detachment zone, khao khwang fold-thrust belt, Thailand. Tectonophysics, 655, 73-87.
Scopus15 WoS112015 Baruch, E., Kennedy, M., Löhr, S., & Dewhurst, D. (2015). Feldspar dissolution-enhanced porosity in Paleoproterozoic shale reservoir facies from the Barney Creek Formation (McArthur Basin, Australia). AAPG Bulletin, 99(9), 1745-1770.
Scopus118 WoS732014 Kennedy, M., Löhr, S., Fraser, S., & Baruch, E. (2014). Direct evidence for organic carbon preservation as clay-organic nanocomposites in a Devonian black shale; from deposition to diagenesis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 388, 59-70.
Scopus180 WoS1352014 Loehr, S., & Kennedy, M. (2014). Organomineral nanocomposite carbon burial during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Biogeosciences, 11(18), 4971-4983.
Scopus30 WoS202014 Lu, M., Zhang, Z. Z., Wang, J. X., Zhang, M., Xu, Y. X., & Wu, X. J. (2014). Interaction of heavy metals and pyrene on their fates in soil and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). Environmental Science and Technology, 48(2), 1158-1165.
Scopus132 Europe PMC352014 Munday, J., Hines, S., Wallace, K., Chang, A. M., Gibbons, K., & Yates, P. (2014). A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Warming Interventions for Women Undergoing Cesarean Section. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 11(6), 383-393.
Scopus33 Europe PMC142013 Löhr, S., Grigorescu, M., & Cox, M. (2013). Iron nodules in ferric soils of the Fraser Coast, Australia: relicts of laterisation or features of contemporary weathering and pedogenesis?. Soil Research, 51(2), 77-93.
Scopus17 WoS132012 Löhr, S., & Cox, M. (2012). The influence of vegetation and soil type on the speciation of iron in soil water. European Journal of Soil Science, 63(3), 377-388.
Scopus4 WoS32010 Löhr, S., Grigorescu, M., Hodgkinson, J., Cox, M., & Fraser, S. (2010). Iron occurrence in soils and sediments of a coastal catchment. A multivariate approach using self organising maps. Geoderma, 156(3-4), 253-266.
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Books
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2023 Xu, H., Hou, D., Löhr, S. C., Liu, Q., Jin, Z., Shi, J., . . . George, S. C. (2023). MILLIMETRE-SCALE BIOMARKER HETEROGENEITY IN LACUSTRINE SHALE IDENTIFIES THE NATURE OF SIGNAL-AVERAGING AND PERIODIC EUXINIA. In 31st International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry, IMOG 2023 (pp. 1-2). European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers.
DOI2015 Haberlah*, D., Loehr, S., Kennedy, M., Debenham, N., & Lattanzi, D. (2015). Innovative Sub-Micron SEM-EDS Mineral Mapping and Analysis Applied to Australian Shale Samples. In International Conference and Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia 13-16 September 2015 (pp. 419). Society of Exploration Geophysicists and American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
DOI- Farkas, J., Collins, A., Löhr, S., Verdel, C., Blades, M., Holmden, C., . . . Yardley, S. (n.d.). New metal isotope techniques to explore past depositional environments of the Centralian Superbasin, Australia. In Exploring Australia’s Resource Frontier. etroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA).
DOI -
Preprint
Year Citation 2024 Hussain, H. S., Abbott, A., Löhr, S., Hanif, M., Murray, S., Mohibullah, M., & Ghani, M. (2024). Expression of the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in shallow-water carbonates of central eastern Tethys (Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan).
DOI
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