Majie Fan
Associate professor
University of Texas at Arlington
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Office: Geoscience 235
Lab: Geoscience 137, and 230 (Light Stable Isotope Lab)
Phone: 817-272-9092
Fax: 817-272-2628
Mail: University of Texas at Arlington, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 500 Yates Street, Box 19049, Arlington, TX 76019
Sedimentary Record of Tectonics and Paleoclimate
My students and I apply field-based, laboratory, and numerical modeling approaches to understand basin evolutions, tectonic processes responsible for the formation of mountains, and associated climatic and environmental changes. The research tools we use include sedimentology and stratigraphy, isotope geochemistry and geochronology, and basin subsidence modeling.
My latest main research interests include applying sedimentology and geochemistry to reconstruct paleotopography, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironment in western North America Cordillera system, and document the spatial and temporal patterns of surface uplift and rock uplift. Such researches provide critical insights into geodynamic processes responsible for mountain building, interactions among orogeny, surface uplift and climate, and reconstructions of the Earth’s history into deep past.
Short Bio
I was born and grow up in the Gansu Province in northwestern China. I
lived in cave houses in the rural area of northwestern China for many
years during my childhood. These cave houses are called Yaodong in
Chinese, and represent a unique dwelling style on the Chinese Loess
Plateau. When I was a kid, I always wondered about the frequent color
variations from light yellow to dark brown on the wall of Yaodong. Not
until I entered Lanzhou University, China, I learned from an
introductory geology class that the color variations were caused by
climate changes, and loess deposits represent a long period of
aridification in central Asia caused by the uplift of the Tibetan
Plateau and global cooling. This inspired my curiosity to learn more
about geology.