Peter G. DeCelles

About

Peter G. DeCelles is a professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona. His research interests include the regional structural evolution of collisional and cordilleran orogenic belts and sedimentary basins, with specific focus on systems such as the Himalayan, Tibetan, Andean, North American Cordilleran, Pamir, and Alpine-Apennine orogenic systems. He specializes in structural geology of fold-thrust belts, petrology, provenance studies including conventional and geochemical methods, and detrital geo-petro-thermochronology of clastic sediments and sedimentary rocks. Additionally, his work encompasses physical sedimentology and depositional systems across various environments such as fluvial, alluvial, eolian, and marine settings, as well as landscape evolution in orogenic highlands. Dr. DeCelles has made significant contributions to understanding the geological processes shaping mountain belts and sedimentary basins, and has been recognized with numerous awards including the Francis J. Pettijohn Medal from the Society for Sedimentary Geology and the Geological Society of America Laurence L. Sloss Award. He holds a B.S. in Geology from the University of Notre Dame and both a Ph.D. and M.S. in Geology from Indiana University, with postdoctoral experience at Stanford University.

Research topics

• Paleontology
• Geology
• Oceanography
• Geography
• Climatology
• Physical geography
• Geochemistry
• Seismology
• Cartography
• Geomorphology

Selected publications

• The role of the westerlies and orography in Asian hydroclimate since the late Oligocene

  Geology · 2020 · 83 citations

  Abstract Interactions between midlatitude westerlies and the Pamir–Tian Shan mountains significantly impact hydroclimate patterns in Central Asia today, and they played an important role in driving Asian aridification during the Cenozoic. We show that distinct west-east hydroclimate differences were established over Central Asia during the late Oligocene (ca. 25 Ma), as recorded by stable oxygen isotopic values of soil carbonates. Our climate simulations show that these differences are present w…

  DOI

• Resetting Southern Tibet: The serious challenge of obtaining primary records of Paleoaltimetry

  Global and Planetary Change · 2020 · 58 citations

  DOI

• Topographic Control on Ground Motions and Landslides From the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake

  Geophysical Research Letters · 2022 · 44 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Landslides triggered by earthquake shaking pose a significant hazard in active mountain regions. Steep topography promotes gravitational instabilities and can amplify the seismic wavefield; however, the relationship between topographic amplification and landsliding is poorly understood. Here, we use numerical methods to investigate the link between low‐frequency ground shaking, topographic amplification, and the landslide distribution from the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake. Results show…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Climate as the Great Equalizer of Continental‐Scale Erosion

  Geophysical Research Letters · 2021 · 42 citations

  Abstract Central Asia hosts the most extensive and highest topography on Earth, which is the result of the feedbacks among rock uplift, atmospheric circulation and moisture transport, and erosion. Here, we analyze 2,511 published low‐temperature thermochronometric ages as a proxy of the regional‐scale erosion of Central Asia. We compare these ages to tectonic and climate proxies, and state‐of‐the‐art paleoclimate simulations to constrain the influences of climate and tectonics on the topographic…

  DOI

• Reliability of micritic carbonates in recording well-preserved isotopic composition and implications for paleoelevation estimates in central Tibet

  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · 2024-04-07 · 12 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Are Remnants of the Tibetan Plateau Preserved in the Southern Himalayan Thrust Belt?

  NSF · $521k · 2018–2023

• Collaborative Research: Tectonic Significance of Long Run-Out Coarse-Grained Facies in the Cordilleran Foreland Basin

  NSF · $228k · 2015–2020

• Collaborative Research: Investigation of Syncollisional Extension and Basin Development in the High Himalaya

  NSF · $291k · 2005–2008

Frequent coauthors

• Bárbara Carrapa

  104 shared

• Paul Kapp

  University of Arizona

  69 shared

• George E. Gehrels

  58 shared

• Jay Quade

  38 shared

• Mihai N. Ducea

  University of Bucharest

  23 shared

• T. P. Ojha

  19 shared

• Lin Ding

  Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research

  18 shared

• Gilby Jepson

  University of Oklahoma

  16 shared

Awards & honors

• Francis J. Pettijohn Medal, Society for Sedimentary Geology-…
• American Geophysical Union Fellow (2017)
• Geosciences Alumni Board Outstanding Faculty Award, Universi…
• Galileo Circle Fellow, University of Arizona (2009)
• Laurence L. Sloss Award, Geological Society of America (2008…

Similar researchers at University of Arizona

• Diane Thompsonh-131
• Mihai N. Duceah-68