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 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.
2023 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.
2022 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), 12 pages.
Scopus1 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.
2022 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.
Scopus3 WoS22022 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.
Scopus9 WoS82022 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.
Scopus8 WoS82022 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.
Scopus9 WoS82021 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.
Scopus3 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.
Scopus1 WoS12021 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.
Scopus15 WoS142020 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.
Scopus21 WoS192020 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.
Scopus6 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.
Scopus19 WoS182019 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.
2019 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.
Scopus43 WoS392018 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.
Scopus44 WoS382018 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.
2018 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.
Scopus19 WoS182017 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.
Scopus8 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.
Scopus5 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.
Scopus38 WoS362015 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.
Scopus17 WoS16 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.
Scopus291 WoS2532015 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.
Scopus13 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.
Scopus72 WoS582014 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.
Scopus129 WoS1232014 Loehr, S., & Kennedy, M. (2014). Organomineral nanocomposite carbon burial during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Biogeosciences, 11(18), 4971-4983.
Scopus21 WoS202013 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.
Scopus12 WoS122012 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.
Scopus3 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.
Scopus33 WoS30- Baldermann, A., Banerjee, S., Czuppon, G., Dietzel, M., Farkas, J., Löhr, S., . . . Zack, T. (n.d.). Impact of green clay authigenesis on K–Mg–Fe sequestration in marine settings.
- Baldermann, A., Wasser, O., Abdullayev, E., Bernasconi, S., Löhr, S., Wemmer, K., . . . Richoz, S. (n.d.). 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)".
- Baldermann, A., Wasser, O., Abdullayev, E., Bernasconi, S., Löhr, S., Wemmer, K., . . . Richoz, S. (n.d.). Palaeo-environmental evolution of Central Asia during the Cenozoic: New insights from the continental sedimentary archive of the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia).
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Books
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2015 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. Society of Exploration Geophysicists and American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
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