Kaustubh Thirumalai
- Assistant Professor, Geosciences
- Assistant Professor, Global Change - GIDP
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
Contact
- (520) 621-6000
- Gould-Simpson, Rm. 521
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- kaustubh@arizona.edu
Degrees
- Ph.D. Geological Sciences
- University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
- Surface-ocean variability in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the late Holocene
- M.S. Geological Sciences
- University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
- Statistical constraints on El Niño Southern Oscillation reconstructions using individual foraminiferal analyses
- B. Tech. Chemical Engineering
- National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Karnataka, India
- Molecular modeling of zeolites for carbon capture
Awards
- Nanne Weber Early Career Award
- American Geophysical Union, Fall 2022
- Outstanding Faculty Award
- UA GEOS graduate students and UA GEOS Advisory Board, Spring 2022
- AGU Outstanding Reviewer for 2020, Geophysical Research Letters
- American Geophysical Union, Spring 2021
- Invited Keynote Speaker
- International Conference on Paleoceanography, Fall 2019
Interests
No activities entered.
Courses
2024-25 Courses
-
Directed Research
GEOS 492 (Fall 2024) -
Geosciences
GEOS 596H (Fall 2024) -
Paleoclimatology
GEOS 482 (Fall 2024) -
Paleoclimatology
GEOS 582 (Fall 2024) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Fall 2024) -
Thesis
GEOS 910 (Fall 2024) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Fall 2024)
2023-24 Courses
-
Directed Research
GEOS 392 (Spring 2024) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Spring 2024) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Spring 2024) -
Directed Research
GEOS 492 (Fall 2023) -
Honors Independent Study
GEOS 499H (Fall 2023) -
Paleoclimatology
GEOS 482 (Fall 2023) -
Paleoclimatology
GEOS 582 (Fall 2023) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Fall 2023) -
Stbl Isot Geoch+Paleocli
GEOS 466 (Fall 2023) -
Stbl Isot Geoch+Paleocli
GEOS 566 (Fall 2023) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Fall 2023)
2022-23 Courses
-
Directed Research
GEOS 492 (Spring 2023) -
Honors Thesis
GEOS 498H (Spring 2023) -
Intro To Oceanography
GEOS 212 (Spring 2023) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Spring 2023) -
Honors Independent Study
GEOS 499H (Fall 2022) -
Honors Thesis
GEOS 498H (Fall 2022) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Fall 2022) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Fall 2022)
2021-22 Courses
-
Directed Research
ECOL 492 (Summer I 2022) -
Directed Research
GEOS 492 (Summer I 2022) -
Honors Thesis
GEOS 498H (Spring 2022) -
Independent Study
GEOS 599 (Spring 2022) -
Master's Report
GEOS 909 (Spring 2022) -
Paleontology
GEOS 308 (Spring 2022) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Spring 2022) -
Teaching Geosciences
GEOS 397A (Spring 2022) -
Thesis
GEOS 910 (Spring 2022) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Spring 2022) -
Honors Thesis
GEOS 498H (Fall 2021) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Fall 2021) -
Stbl Isot Geoch+Paleocli
GEOS 466 (Fall 2021) -
Stbl Isot Geoch+Paleocli
GEOS 566 (Fall 2021) -
The History of Earth's Climate
GEOS 342 (Fall 2021) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Fall 2021)
2020-21 Courses
-
Directed Research
GEOS 492 (Spring 2021) -
Honors Independent Study
GEOS 399H (Spring 2021) -
Master's Report
GEOS 909 (Spring 2021) -
Mineral-Petrol-Geochem
GEOS 596A (Spring 2021) -
Paleontology
GEOS 308 (Spring 2021) -
Research
GEOS 900 (Spring 2021) -
Senior Capstone
GEOS 498 (Spring 2021) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Spring 2021) -
Honors Independent Study
GEOS 399H (Fall 2020) -
Paleoclimatology
GEOS 582 (Fall 2020) -
Senior Capstone
GEOS 498 (Fall 2020) -
Topics in Geosciences
GEOS 595A (Fall 2020)
2019-20 Courses
-
Directed Research
GEOS 392 (Spring 2020) -
Geomorph-Quart Geology
GEOS 596C (Fall 2019) -
Independent Study
GEOS 399 (Fall 2019) -
Stbl Isot Geoch+Paleocli
GEOS 566 (Fall 2019)
Scholarly Contributions
Journals/Publications
- Prabhakar, M., Thirumalai, K., Cronin, T. M., Gemery, L., Thomas, E. K., & Rafter, P. A. (2024). Morphotypical and Geochemical Variations of Planktic Foraminiferal Species in Siberian and Central Arctic Ocean Core Tops. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 54(1), 1–19.
- Wang, N. a., Dee, S., Hu, J., Steiger, N., & Thirumalai, K. (2024). PDO and AMO Modulation of the ENSO–Asian Summer Monsoon Teleconnection During the Last Millennium. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 129(1).
- Brierley, C., Thirumalai, K., Grindrod, E., & Barnsley, J. (2023). Indian Ocean variability changes in the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project. Climate of the Past, 19(3), 681–701.
- Clemens, ., Thirumalai, K., & Oppo, D. (2023). Indian margin methane hydrate dissociation recorded in the carbon isotopes of benthic (Miliolida) foraminifera. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 609, 118101.
- Du, X., Dee, S., Hu, J., & Thirumalai, K. (2023). Solar Irradiance Modulates the Asian Summer Monsoon—ENSO Relationship Over the Last Millennium. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(23).
- Hu, J., Dee, S., Parajuli, G., & Thirumalai, K. (2023). Tropical Pacific Modulation of the Asian Summer Monsoon Over the Last Millennium in Paleoclimate Data Assimilation Reconstructions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128(20).
- McClymont, E. L., Ho, S. L., Ford, H. L., Bailey, I., Berke, M. A., Bolton, C. T., De Schepper, S., Grant, G. R., Groeneveld, J., Inglis, G. N., Karas, C., Patterson, M. O., Swann, G., Thirumalai, K., White, S. M., Alonso‐Garcia, M., Anand, P., Hoogakker, B., Littler, K., , Petrick, B. F., et al. (2023). Climate Evolution Through the Onset and Intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation. Reviews of Geophysics, 61(3).
- Thirumalai, K. (2023). Salty seas sway global glacial cycles. Nature.
- Thirumalai, K., & Maupin, C. R. (2023). Chasing Interannual Marine Paleovariability. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 38(8).
- Thirumalai, K., Cohen, A. S., & Taylor, D. (2023). Hydrologic controls on individual ostracode stable isotopes in a desert lake: a modern baseline for Lake Turkana. Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst..
- Thirumalai, K., Zorzi, C., Desprat, S., Clément, C., Oliviera, D., Anupama, K., Prasad, S., & Martinez, P. (2022). When Eastern India Oscillated Between Desert Versus Savannah‐Dominated Vegetation. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(16). doi:10.1029/2022gl099417
- Clemens, S. C., Yamamoto, M., Thirumalai, K., Giosan, L., Richey, J. N., Nilsson-Kerr, K., Rosenthal, Y., Anand, P., & McGrath, S. M. (2021). Remote and local drivers of Pleistocene South Asian summer monsoon precipitation: A test for future predictions. Science Advances, 7(23), eabg3848.
- Glaubke, R. H., Thirumalai, K., Schmidt, M. W., & Hertzberg, J. E. (2021). Discerning Changes in High-Frequency Climate Variability Using Geochemical Populations of Individual Foraminifera. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 36(2).
- Maupin, C. R., Roark, E. B., Thirumalai, K., Shen, C., Schumacher, C., Van, K. S., Housson, A. L., McChesney, C. L., Baykara, O. c., Yu, T., White, K., & Partin, J. W. (2021). Abrupt Southern Great Plains thunderstorm shifts linked to glacial climate variability. Nature Geoscience.
- Mehta, S., Singh, A., & Thirumalai, K. (2021). Uncertainty in palaeosalinity estimates from foraminiferal geochemical records in the northern Indian Ocean. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 569, 110326.
- Mishra, V., Thirumalai, K., Jain, S., & Aadhar, S. (2021). Unprecedented drought in South India and recent water scarcity. Environmental Research Letters, 16(5), 054007.
- Ramya, B. P., Pullyottum, K. S., Tayasu, I., Yoshimizu, C., Thirumalai, K., Sajeev, K., & Sukumar, R. (2021). Paleovegetation dynamics in an alternative stable states landscape in the montane Western Ghats, India. The Holocene, 09596836211066592.
- Tharammal, T., Bala, G., Paul, A., Noone, D., Contreras-Rosales, A., & Thirumalai, K. (2021). Orbitally driven evolution of Asian monsoon and stable water isotope ratios during the Holocene: Isotope-enabled climate model simulations and proxy data comparisons. Quaternary Science Reviews, 252, 106743.
- Thirumalai, K., Richey, J. N., & Quinn, T. M. (2021). Holocene Evolution of Sea-Surface Temperature and Salinity in the Gulf of Mexico. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 36, e2021PA004221, 1--16.
- Abram, N. J., Hargreaves, J. A., Wright, N. M., Thirumalai, K., Ummenhofer, C. C., & England, M. H. (2020). Palaeoclimate perspectives on the Indian Ocean Dipole. Quaternary Science Reviews, 237, 106302.
- Bali, H., Gupta, A. K., Mohan, K., Thirumalai, K., Tiwari, S. K., & Panigrahi, M. K. (2020). Evolution of the oligotrophic West Pacific Warm Pool during the Pliocene--Pleistocene boundary. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, e2020PA003875.
- DiNezio, P. N., Puy, M., Thirumalai, K., Jin, F., & Tierney, J. E. (2020). Emergence of an equatorial mode of climate variability in the Indian Ocean. Science Advances, 6(19), eaay7684.
- Gebregiorgis, D., Clemens, S., Hathorne, E. d., Giosan, L., Thirumalai, K., & Frank, M. (2020). A Brief Commentary on the Interpretation of Chinese Speleothem δ¹⁸O Records as Summer Monsoon Intensity Tracers. Quaternary, 3(1), 7.
- Lawman, A. E., Quinn, T. M., Partin, J. W., Thirumalai, K., Taylor, F. W., Wu, C., Yu, T., Gorman, M. K., & Shen, C. (2020). A Century of Reduced ENSO Variability During the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 35(4).
- McClymont, E. L., Ford, H. L., Ho, S. L., Tindall, J. C., Haywood, A. M., Alonso-Garcia, M., Bailey, I., Berke, M. A., Littler, K., Patterson, M. O., Patrick, B., Peterse, F., Ravelo, A. C., Risebrobakken, B., Schepper, S., Swann, G., Thirumalai, K., Tierney, J. E., Weijst, C., , White, S. M., et al. (2020). Lessons from a high-CO 2 world: an ocean view from~ 3 million years ago. Climate of the Past, 16(4), 1599--1615.
- Mishra, V., Thirumalai, K., Singh, D., & Aadhar, S. (2020). Future exacerbation of hot and dry summer monsoon extremes in India. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 3(1).
- Thirumalai, K., & Clemens, S. (2020). Monsoon reconstructions using bulk and individual foraminiferal analyses in marine sediments offshore India. Current Science, 119, No. 2, 328--334.
- Thirumalai, K., Clemens, S. C., & Partin, J. W. (2020). Methane, Monsoons, and Modulation of Millennial-Scale Climate. Geophys. Res. Lett., 47(9).
- Thirumalai, K., Clemens, S. C., & Partin, J. W. (2020). Methane, Monsoons, and Modulation of Millennial‐Scale Climate. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(9). doi:10.1029/2020gl087613
- Tierney, J. E., Poulsen, C. J., Monta~nez, I. P., Bhattacharya, T., Feng, R., Ford, H. L., H"onisch, B., Inglis, G. N., Petersen, S. V., Sagoo, N., Tabor, C. R., Thirumalai, K., Zhu, J., Burls, N. J., Foster, G. L., Godd'eris, Y., Huber, B. T., Ivany, L. C., Turner, S. K., , Lunt, D. J., et al. (2020). Past climates inform our future. Science, 370(6517).
- Greene, C. A., Thirumalai, K., Kearney, K. A., Delgado, J. M., Schwanghart, W., Wolfenbarger, N. S., Thyng, K. M., Gwyther, D. E., Gardner, A. S., & Blankenship, D. D. (2019). The Climate Data Toolbox for MATLAB. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
- Greene, C., & Thirumalai, K. (2019). It's Time to Shift Emphasis Away from Code Sharing. Eos, 100.
- Khider, D., Emile-Geay, J. .., McKay, N. P., Gil, Y., Garijo, D., Ratnakar, V., Alonso-Garcia, M. .., Bertrand, S., Bothe, O., Brewer, P., Bunn, A., Chevalier, M., Comas-Bru, L. .., Csank, A., Dassi'e, E., DeLong, K., Felis, T., Francus, P., Frappier, A., , Gray, W., et al. (2019). PaCTS 1.0: A Crowdsourced Reporting Standard for Paleoclimate Data. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 34(10), 1570--1596.
- Naidu, P. D., Niitsuma, N., Thirumalai, K., & Naik, S. S. (2019). Significant seasonal contrast in the Arabian Sea during deglaciation_ Evidence from oxygen isotopic analyses of individual planktic foraminifera. Quaternary International, 163--169.
- Richey, J. N., Thirumalai, K., Khider, D., Reynolds, C. E., Partin, J. W., & Quinn, T. M. (2019). Considerations for Globigerinoides ruber (white and pink) paleoceanography: comprehensive insights from a long-running sediment trap. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 313(5785), 345--347.
- Schmitt, A., Elliot, M., Thirumalai, K., La, C., Bassinot, F., Petersen, J., Movellan, A., Jorry, S. J., & Borgomano, J. (2019). Single foraminifera Mg/Ca analyses of past glacial-interglacial temperatures derived from G. ruber sensu stricto and sensu lato morphotypes. Chem Geol, 511, 510--520.
- Thirumalai, K., DiNezio, P. N., Tierney, J. E., Puy, M., & Mohtadi, M. (2019). An El Ni~no Mode in the Glacial Indian Ocean?. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology.
- Tierney, J. E., Malevich, S. B., Gray, W., Vetter, L., & Thirumalai, K. (2019). Bayesian Calibration of the Mg/Ca Paleothermometer in Planktic Foraminifera. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 34(12), 2005--2030.
- Giosan, L., & Thirumalai, K. (2018). Interactive comment on ``Re-examining the 4.2 ka BP event in foraminifer isotope records from the Indus River delta in the Arabian Sea'' by Alena Giesche et al.. Climate of the Past Discussions, 1--3.
- Giosan, L., Orsi, W. D., Coolen, M., Wuchter, C., Dunlea, A. G., Thirumalai, K., Munoz, S. E., Clift, P. D., Donnelly, J. P., Galy, V. V., & Fuller, D. Q. (2018). Neoglacial climate anomalies and the Harappan metamorphosis. Climate of the Past, 14(11), 1669--1686.
- Thirumalai, K. (2018). A fresh take on ancient climate change in the North Pacific. Nature, 559(7713), 185--186.
- Thirumalai, K., Quinn, T. M., Okumura, Y., Richey, J. N., Partin, J. W., Poore, R. Z., & Moreno-Chamarro, E. (2018). Pronounced centennial-scale Atlantic Ocean climate variability correlated with Western Hemisphere hydroclimate. Nature Communications, 9(1), 113--111.
- Emile-Geay, J., McKay, N. P., Kaufman, D. S., Gunten, L., Wang, J., Anchukaitis, K. J., Abram, N. J., Addison, J. A., Curran, M., Evans, M. N., Henley, B. J., Hao, Z., Martrat, B., McGregor, H. V., Neukom, R., Pederson, G. T., Stenni, B., Thirumalai, K., Werner, J. P., , Xu, C., et al. (2017). A global multiproxy database for temperature reconstructions of the Common Era. Scientific Data, 4, 170088--170033.
- Flannery, J. A., Richey, J. N., Thirumalai, K., Poore, R. Z., & DeLong, K. L. (2017). Multi-species coral Sr/Ca-based sea-surface temperature reconstruction using Orbicella faveolata and Siderastrea siderea from the Florida Straits. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 466, 100--109.
- Ghosh, P., Rangarajan, R., Thirumalai, K., & Naggs, F. (2017). Extreme Monsoon Rainfall Signatures Preserved in the Invasive Terrestrial Gastropod Lissachatina fulica. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 26(1), 173--113.
- Thirumalai, K., DiNezio, P. N., Okumura, Y., & Deser, C. (2017). Extreme temperatures in Southeast Asia caused by El Ni~no and worsened by global warming. Nature Communications, 8, ncomms15531.
- Tindall, J. C., Haywood, A. M., & Thirumalai, K. (2017). Modeling the stable water isotope expression of El Ni~no in the Pliocene: Implications for the interpretation of proxy data. Paleoceanography, 19(3-4), 191--122.
- Abram, N. J., McGregor, H. V., Tierney, J. E., Evans, M. N., McKay, N. P., Kaufman, D. S., Thirumalai, K., & Consortium, P. (2016). Early onset of industrial-era warming across the oceans and continents. Nature, 536(7617), 411--418.
- Goff, J. A., Lugrin, L., Gulick, S. P., Thirumalai, K., & Okumura, Y. M. (2016). Oyster reef die-offs in stratigraphic record of Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, possibly caused by drought-driven extreme salinity changes. The Holocene, 26(4), 511--519.
- Thirumalai, K., & Richey, J. N. (2016). Potential for paleosalinity reconstructions to provide information about AMOC variability. US Clivar Variations, 14(3), 8--12.
- Thirumalai, K., Quinn, T. M., & Marino, G. (2016). Constraining past seawater ?1?O and temperature records developed from foraminiferal geochemistry. Paleoceanography.
- Weil-Accardo, J., Feuillet, N., Jacques, E., Deschamps, P., Saurel, J., Thirumalai, K., Demeza, S., & Anglade, D. (2016). Relative sea-level changes during the last century recorded by coral microatolls in Belloc, Haiti. Global Planet Change, 139, 1--14.
- McGregor, H. V., Evans, M. N., Goosse, H., Leduc, G., Martrat, B., Addison, J. A., Mortyn, P. G., Oppo, D. W., Seidenkrantz, M., Sicre, M., Phipps, S. J., Selvaraj, K., Thirumalai, K., Filipsson, H. L., & Ersek, V. (2015). Robust global ocean cooling trend for the pre-industrial Common Era. Nature Geoscience, 8(9), 671--677.
- Thirumalai, K., Taylor, F. W., Shen, C., Lavier, L. L., Frohlich, C., Wallace, L. M., Wu, C., Sun, H., & Papabatu, A. K. (2015). Variable Holocene deformation above a shallow subduction zone extremely close to the trench. Nature Communications, 6.
- Wicks, T. Z., Thirumalai, K., Shanahan, T. M., & Bell, C. J. (2015). The use of δ¹³C values of leporid teeth as indicators of past vegetation. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 418(C), 245--260.
- Laskar, A. H., Gandhi, N., Thirumalai, K., Yadava, M. G., Ramesh, R., Mahajan, R. R., & Kumar, D. (2014). Stable carbon isotopes in dissolved inorganic carbon: extraction and implications for quantifying the contributions from silicate and carbonate weathering in the Krishna River system during peak discharge. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, 50(2), 1--13.
- Maupin, C. R., Partin, J. W., Shen, C., Quinn, T. M., Lin, K., Taylor, F. W., Banner, J. L., Thirumalai, K., & Sinclair, D. J. (2014). Persistent decadal-scale rainfall variability in the tropical South Pacific Convergence Zone through the past six centuries. Climate of the Past, 10(4), 1319--1332.
- Thirumalai, K., Richey, J. N., Quinn, T. M., & Poore, R. Z. (2014). Globigerinoides ruber morphotypes in the Gulf of Mexico: A test of null hypothesis. Scientific Reports, 4, 1--7.
- Thirumalai, K., Partin, J. W., Jackson, C. S., & Quinn, T. M. (2013). Statistical constraints on El Ni~no Southern Oscillation reconstructions using individual foraminifera: A sensitivity analysis. Paleoceanography, 28(3), 401--412.
- Thirumalai, K., Singh, A., Ramesh, R., & Ramesh, R. (2011). A MATLAB(TM) code to perform weighted linear regression with (correlated or uncorrelated) errors in bivariate data. J Geol Soc India, 77(4), 377--380.