Seminar by Hai Cheng from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
25 July 2025
KST 10:00
The Seminar is being held in Room 1010 (Jasmin) – Integrated mechanical engineering building. Click here for the campus map.
Abstract:
Over the past 25 years, speleothem-based paleoclimate research has achieved major advances in reconstructing Earth’s climate history across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. As the field matures, the drive for new breakthroughs has intensified, giving rise to several emerging frontiers. This talk highlights three frontiers in particular. First, recent progress in carbonate U-Pb dating has extended the reach of speleothem archives to “deep time”, beyond the traditional U-Th limit of ~600,000 years. This has enabled investigations of global climate change throughout the Quaternary, including low-latitude perspectives on the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. Second, the growing availability of high-resolution, precisely dated speleothem records now allows for the development of a comprehensive correlation framework across key components of the Earth system—a potential “Paleoclimate Rosetta Stone.” Third, analyses of interdecadal variability and early warning signals preceding abrupt shifts in these records offer new opportunities to understand the dynamics of future climate change, illustrating the enduring relevance of the idea that the past is key to the future. These advances have positioned speleothems as a vital, fourth pillar of paleoclimate science.
Speaker: Professor Hai Cheng
Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
Professor Hai Cheng is a leading expert in isotope geochemistry and paleoclimatology. He currently serves as a Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University and is a Fellow of the AGU, Geochemical Society, and European Association of Geochemistry. His research has pioneered high-precision U-series dating techniques and advanced speleothem-based paleoclimate reconstructions, helping establish speleothems as a key archive alongside marine, ice core, and loess records.
He has published over 700 scientific papers, including 30 in Nature and Science, with more than 93,000 citations and an H-index of 123. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher (2014–2024) and ranks 8th globally in Earth Sciences according to Research.com (2025). His international honors include the AGU Emiliani Lecture (2019), the EGU Milanković Medal (2022), and the Earth Science Leader Award (2025).