{"id":6119,"date":"2024-08-01T04:05:09","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T08:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/profile\/nick-balascio\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T08:06:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T12:06:32","slug":"nick-balascio","status":"publish","type":"faculty-profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/profile\/nick-balascio\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Balascio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nick is a paleoclimatologist and his research examines how recent climate changes due to global warming compare to past centuries and millennia by interpreting clues in geologic archives. He primarily works in the Arctic and reconstructs past environmental conditions by analyzing physical and geochemical properties of lake sediment records. Nick holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an M.S. from Northern Arizona University, and a B.S. from Union College. He was a Lamont Postdoctoral Fellow at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and most recently was a faculty member in the Geology Department at William &amp; Mary prior to arriving at Bates College in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h6><strong>Current Projects<\/strong><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>Investigating the climate context for prehistoric human habitation of Peary Land, northern Greenland (<a href=\"http:\/\/WandelDal.org\">WandelDal.org<\/a>)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Resolving past fire-climate relationships to understand future fire potential in the eastern United States<\/li>\n<li>Reconstructing patterns of past sea-level change in former ice sheet margin environments<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h6><strong>Recent Publications<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">*denotes undergraduate author<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bakke, J., Perren, B., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., *Diaz, E., Lapointe, F., Bradley, R.S., Stein, R., *Van Dusen, Z., Larsen, F.F., Madsen, C.K. (2026) Midsommers\u00f8 records the Holocene climate history of Wandel Dal, Inutoqqat Nunaat (Peary Land), northern Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews 378: 109874. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2026.109874\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2026.109874<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stein, R., Curtin, L., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bradley, R.S., Peteet, D.M., Seelenfreund, A., Rapu, R., Rull, V., D\u2019Andrea, W.J. (2025) Prolonged drought on Rapa Nui during the decline of megalithic monument construction. <em>Communications Earth &amp; Environment<\/em> 6: 865. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s43247-025-02801-4\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s43247-025-02801-4<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tsalickis, A., Vachula, R.S., Karmalkar, A., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Waters, M.N. (2025) Distinct latitudinal gradients define Holocene fire trends across the southeastern USA. <em>Quaternary Science Reviews <\/em>350: 109161. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2024.109161\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2024.109161<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vachula, R.S., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Karmalkar, A., *Stockton, J., *Landolt, B. (2024) Central Appalachian paleofire reconstruction reveals fire-vegetation dynamics across the last glacial-interglacial transition.<em> Quaternary Science Reviews<\/em> 338: 108805. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2024.108805\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2024.108805<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Creel, R.C., *Marshall, L., *Dia, M., Wickler, S., Anderson, R.S., Austermann, J., Vasskog, K., Nielson, P.R., Dahl, S.O. (2024) Refining Holocene sea-level dynamics for the Lofoten and Vester\u00e5len archipelagos, northern Norway: Implications for prehistoric human-environment interactions. <em>Journal of Quaternary Science<\/em>: 39: 566-584. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jqs.3604\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jqs.3604<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"btn-wrap\">\n\t<div class=\"btn-action\" id=\"full-list-of-publications\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"btn-title\">Full list of publications<\/h3>\n\t\t<div class=\"btn-arrow\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"btn-content\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">*Topness, R., Vachula, R.S, <strong>Balascio, N.L., <\/strong>D\u2019Andrea, W.J., *Puglsey, G., *Dia, M., Curtin, L., Wickler, S., Anderson, R.S. (2023) Northern Norway paleofire records reveal two distinct phases of early human impacts on fire activity. <em>The Holocene <\/em>33: 1304-1316. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/09596836231185826\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/09596836231185826<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">*Frank-DePue, L., Vachula, R.S., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, *Cahoon, K., Kaste, J.M., (2023) Trends in sedimentary charcoal shapes correspond with broad-scale land use changes: insights gained from a 300-year lake sediment record from eastern Virginia, USA. <em>Journal of Paleolimnology<\/em> 69: 21-36. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10933-022-00260-x\">https:\/\/doi. org\/10.1007\/s10933-022-00260-x<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><sup>\u00a0<\/sup>Vachula, R.S., Karp, A.T., Denis, E.H, <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Canuel, E.A., Huang, Y. (2022) Spatially calibrating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as proxies of area burned by vegetation fires: insights from comparisons of historical data and sedimentary PAH fluxes. <em>Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology <\/em>596: 110995. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.palaeo.2022.110995\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.palaeo.2022.110995<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Creel, R.C., Austermann, J., Khan, N.S., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.,<\/strong> Dyer, B., Ashe, E., Menke, W. (2022<em>) <\/em>Postglacial relative sea level change in Norway. <em>Quaternary Science<\/em> <em>Reviews<\/em> 282:107422. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2022.107422\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2022.107422<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Curtin, L., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., <strong>Balascio, N.L., <\/strong>Shirazi, S., Shapiro, B., de Wet, G.A., Bradley, R.S., Bakke, J. (2021) Sedimentary DNA and molecular evidence for early human occupation of the Faroe Islands. <em>Communications Earth and Environment<\/em> 2:253. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s43247-021-00318-0\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s43247-021-00318-0<\/a> ; \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eos.org\/articles\/ancient-eruptions-reveal-earliest-settlers-on-the-faroe-islands\"><em>EOS Article<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lapointe, F., Bradley, R.S., Francus, P., <strong>\u00a0Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Abbot, M., Stoner, J., St-Onge, G., de Coninck, A., Labarre, T. (2020) Annually resolved Atlantic sea-surface temperature variability over the past 2900 years. <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>: 202014166. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2014166117\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2014166117<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Anderson, R.S., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Wickler, S., D\u2019Andrea, R., Bakke, J. (2020) Vegetation changes and plant wax biomarkers from an ombrotrophic bog define hydroclimate trends and human-environment interactions during the Holocene in northern Norway. <em>The Holocene<\/em> 30: 1849-1865. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0959683620950456\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0959683620950456<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Curtin, L., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.,<\/strong> *Pugsley, G., de Wet, G., Bradley, R.S. (2019) Holocene and Last Interglacial climate of the Faroe Islands from sedimentary plant wax hydrogen and carbon isotopes. <em>Quaternary Science Reviews <\/em>223: 105930. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2019.105930\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2019.105930<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lapointe, F., Francus, P., Stoner, J., Abbott, M., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Cook, T.L., Bradley, R.S., Forman, S., Besonen, M., St-Onge, G. (2019) Chronology and sedimentology of a new 2.9 ka annually laminated record from South Sawtooth Lake, Ellesmere Island. <em>Quaternary<\/em> <em>Science Reviews<\/em> 222: 105875. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2019.105875\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2019.105875<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Muschitiello, F., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Schmittner, A., Heaton, T.J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, deRoberts, N., Caffee, M.W., Woodruff, T.E., Welten, K.C., Skinner, L., Simon, M., Dokken, T.M. (2019) Deep-water circulation changes lead North Atlantic climate during deglaciation. <em>Nature Communications<\/em> 10: 1272. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-019-09237-3\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-019-09237-3<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Kaste, J.M., *Meyer, M.G., *Renshaw, M., *Smith, K., Chambers, R.M. (2019) A high-resolution mill pond record from eastern Virginia reveals the impact of past landscape changes and regional pollution history. <em>The Anthropocene<\/em> 25: 1-14.<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ancene.2019.100190\"> http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ancene.2019.100190<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oppedal, L.T., van der Bilt, W.G.M., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bakke, J. (2018) Patagonian ash on sub-Antarctic South Georgia: expanding the tephrostratigraphy of southern South America into the Southern Ocean. <em>Journal of Quaternary Science <\/em>33: 482-486. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jqs.3035\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jqs.3035<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, D&#8217;Andrea, W.J., Anderson, R.S., Wickler, S. (2018) Influence of vegetation type on <em>n<\/em>-alkane composition and hydrogen isotope values from a high latitude ombrotrophic bog. <em>Organic Geochemistry<\/em> 121: 48-57. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.orggeochem.2018.03.008\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.orggeochem.2018.03.008<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong> and Wickler, S. (2018) Human-environment dynamics during the Iron Age in the Lofoten Islands. <em>Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift-Norwegian Journal of Geography<\/em> 72: 146-160<em>. <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/00291951.2018.1466831\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/00291951.2018.1466831<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, D&#8217;Andrea, W.J., Gjerde, M., Bakke, J. (2018<em>)<\/em> Hydroclimate variability of High Arctic Svalbard during the Holocene inferred from hydrogen isotopes of leaf waxes. <em>Quaternary Science Reviews<\/em> 183: 177-187. <a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2016.11.036\">http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2016.11.036<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bakke, J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bradley, R.S., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Gjerde, M., \u00d2lafsdottir, S., R\u00f8the, T., de Wet, G., (2018) The Island of Amsterdam\u00f8ya: A key site for studying past climate in the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard. <em>Quaternary Science Reviews<\/em> 183: 157-163.<\/p>\n<p>de Wet, G., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Bakke, J., Bradley, R.S., Perren, B.B. (2018) Holocene glacier activity reconstructed from proglacial lake Gj\u00f8avatnet on Amsterdam\u00f8ya, NW Svalbard. <em>Quaternary Science Reviews<\/em> 183: 188-203.<\/p>\n<p>Gjerde, M., Bakke, J., D\u2019Andrea, W.J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bradley, R.S., Vasskog, K., \u00d3lafsdottir, S., R\u00f8the, T.O., Perren, B.B., Hormes, A. (2018) Holocene multi-proxy environmental reconstruction from Lake Hakluytvatnet, Amsterdam\u00f8ya Islands, Svalbard (79.5\u00b0N). <em>Quaternary Science Reviews<\/em> 183: 164-176.<\/p>\n<p>van der Bilt, W.G.M., D&#8217;Andrea, W.J., Bakke, J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Werner, J.P., Gjerde, M., Bradley, R.S. (2018) Alkenone-based reconstructions reveal four-phase Holocene temperature evolution for High Arctic Svalbard. <em>Quaternary Science<\/em> <em>Reviews<\/em> 183: 204-213.<\/p>\n<p>van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bakke, J., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong> (2016) Mapping sediment-landform assemblages to constrain lacustrine sedimentation in a glacier-fed lake catchment in northwest Spitsbergen. <em>Journal of Maps<\/em> 12: 985-993.<\/p>\n<p>Nielsen, P.R., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Dahl, S.O., Jansen, H.L., St\u00f8ren, E.W.N., Bradley, R.S. (2016) A high-resolution 1200-year lacustrine record of glacier and climate fluctuations in Lofoten, northern Norway. <em>The Holocene<\/em> 26: 917-934.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.,<\/strong> D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Bradley, R.S. (2015) Glacier response to North Atlantic climate variability during the Holocene. <em>Climate of the Past<\/em> 11: 1587-1598.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Francus, P., Bradley, R.S., Schupack, B.B., Miller, G.H., Kvisvik, B., Bakke, J., Thordarson, T. (2015) Investigating the use of scanning XRF to locate cryptotephra in minerogenic lacustrine sediment: Experimental results. In I.W. Croudace, R.G. Rothwell (eds.), <em>Micro-XRF Studies of Sediment Cores,<\/em> <em>Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research<\/em> 17. Springer, Netherlands, p. 305-324.<\/p>\n<p>D\u2019Anjou, R., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bradley, R.S. (2014) Locating cryptotephra in lake sediments using fluid imaging technology. <em>Journal of Paleolimnology<\/em> 52: 257-264.<\/p>\n<p>Sundqvist, H.S., Kaufman, D.S., McKay, N.P., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Briner, J.P., Cwynar, L.C., Sejrup, H.P., Sepp\u00e4, H., Subetto, D.A., Andrews, J.T., Axford, Y., Bakke, J., Birks, H.J.B., Brooks, S.J., de Vernal, A., Jennings, A., Ljungqvist, F.C., Ruhland, K., Saenger, C., Smol, J.P., Viau, A. (2014) Arctic Holocene proxy climate database \u2013 New approaches to assessing geochronological accuracy and encoding climate variables. <em>Climate of the Past<\/em> 10: 1605-1631.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, D\u2019Andrea, W.J., Bradley, R.S., Perren, B.B. (2013) Biogeochemical evidence for hydrologic changes during the Holocene in a lake sediment record from southeast Greenland. <em>The Holocene<\/em> 23: 1428-1439.<\/p>\n<p>D\u2019Anjou, R.M., Bradley, R.S., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Finkelstein, D.B. (2012) Climate impacts on human settlement and agricultural activities in northern Norway: new insights from biogeochemistry. <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em> 109: 20332-20337.<\/p>\n<p>D\u2019Andrea, W.J., *Vaillencourt, D.A., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Werner, A., Roof, S.R., Retelle, M., Bradley, R.S. (2012) Mild Little Ice Age and unprecedented recent warmth in an 1800 year lake sediment record from Svalbard. <em>Geology<\/em> 40: 1007-1010.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bradley, R.S. (2012) Evaluating Holocene climate change in northern Norway using sediment records from two contrasting lake systems. <em>Journal of Paleolimnology<\/em> 48: 259-273.<\/p>\n<p>Aarnes, I., Bjune, A., Birks, H.H., <strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Bakke, J., Blaauw, M. (2012) Vegetation responses to rapid climatic changes during the last deglaciation 13 500 \u2013 8000 years ago on southwest And\u00f8ya, arctic Norway. <em>Vegetation History and Archaeobotany<\/em> 21: 17-35.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Zhang, Z., Bradley, R.S., Perren, B., Dahl, S.O., Bakke, J. (2011) A multi-proxy approach to assessing isolation basin stratigraphy from the Lofoten Islands, Norway. <em>Quaternary Research<\/em> 75: 288-300.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Wickler, S., Narmo, L.E., Bradley, R.S. (2011) Distal cryptotephra found in a Viking boathouse: the potential for tephrochronology in reconstructing the Iron Age in Norway.<em> Journal of Archaeological Science<\/em> 38: 934-941.<\/p>\n<p>Kuehn, S.C., Froese, D.G., Shane, P.A.R., INTAV Intercomparison Participants (including <strong>Balascio, N. L<\/strong>.) (2011) The INTAV intercomparison of electron-beam microanalysis of glass by tephrochronology laboratories: Results and recommendations. <em>Quaternary International<\/em> 246: 19-47.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Kaufman, D.S., Manley, W.F. (2005) Equilibrium-line altitudes during the last glacial maximum across the Brooks Range, Alaska. <em>Journal of Quaternary Science<\/em> 20: 821-838.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Balascio, N.L.<\/strong>, Kaufman, D.S., Briner, J.P., Manley, W.F. (2005) Late Pleistocene glacial geology of the Okpilak-Kongakut Rivers region, northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska. <em>Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research<\/em> 37: 416-424.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1776,"featured_media":6466,"template":"","class_list":["post-6119","faculty-profile","type-faculty-profile","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","expertise-specific-global-climate-change","expertise-specific-paleoclimatology","expertise-specific-paleolimnology","expertise-specific-sedimentology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile\/6119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faculty-profile"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1776"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile\/6119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6748,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile\/6119\/revisions\/6748"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}