Paula Noble

Summary

My research focuses on the combined use of siliceous microfossils (radiolarians, diatoms) and sedimentary geochemistry to answer questions about the age of rocks, the evolution and extinction of fossil marine plankton, as well as understanding past climate, anthropogenic impacts, and natural disturbances in mountain lakes.

Radiolarian lab: I have used Paleozoic radiolarians for over 30 years as a biostratigraphic tool to aid in structural and stratigraphy of complex orogenic regions. Current radiolarian work, however, is focusing on the last 10 Ma of radiolarian biodiversity in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific.

Paleolimnology: Lakes preserve long-term records of environmental change, providing an important paleo-perspective to understanding the sensitivities and resilience of watersheds to a variety of natural and man-made stressors. The signals from lake records can extend our knowledge of significant environmental change back in time, well beyond the limits afforded by instrumental records. Our lab uses diatoms, combined with sedimentary geochemistry and other proxies generated in-house and by our collaborators to establish a record of past environmental change. Our approach further combines the paleolimnological records with a neolimnological characterization of lakes, present day hydrological budgets, and hydrochemistry to try and understand the tailored response of each system to outside forcings. Recently, we have begun tracking the occurrence of prehistoric earthquakes in lake records, while trying to understand how seismic events can affect groundwater chemistry and spring discharge that enters these lakes.

Research interests

• Diatoms and diatomite
• Paleolimnology
• Paleoseismicity Triassic ichthyosaurs Luning Formation
• Paleozoic radiolaria

Courses taught

• GEOL 101 Physical Geology
• GEOL 102 Historical Geology
• GEOL 461/661 Paleobiology
• GEOL 462/662 Micropaleontology
• GEOL 763 Paleolimnology

Education

• Ph.D. 1993, The University of Texas at Austin; geology
• B.A. 1985, University of California Berkeley; paleontology

Select publications

2020

• Binda, G., Pozzi, A., Michetti, A., Noble, P. J., Rosen, M. (2020). Towards the Understanding of Hydrogeochemical Seismic Responses in Karst Aquifers: A Retrospective Meta-Analysis Focused on the Apennines (Italy). Minerals, 10(12), 1058.
• Noble, P. J., McGaughey, G., Rosen, M. R., Fuller, C., Aquinas-Lopez, M., Chandra, S. (2020). A 450-year record of environmental change from Castle Lake, (Siskiyou County, CA) through the lens of diatoms and organic geochemistry. Journal of Paleolimnology, 65, 201-217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-020-00160-
• Trubovitz, S., Lazarus, D., Renaudie, J., Noble, P. J. (2020). Marine plankton show threshold extinction response to Neogene climate change. Nature Communications, 11(5069). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18879-7

2019

• Archer, C., Noble, P. J., Rosen, M.R., Sagnotti, L., Florindo, F., Mensing, S. A., Piovesan, G., Michetti, A. M., 2019. Lakes as paleoseismic records in a seismically-active, low-relief area (Rieti Basin, central Italy). Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 211, 186-207.

2018

• Ball, G.I., Noble, P.J., Stephens, B.M., Higgins, A., Mensing, S.A., and Aluwihare, L.I., 2018. A lignin, diatom, and pollen record spanning the Pleistocene-Holocene transition at Fallen Leaf Lake, Sierra Nevada, California, USA, in Starratt, S.W., and Rosen, M.R., eds., From Saline to Freshwater: The Diversity of Western Lakes in Space and Time: Geological Society of America Special Paper 536.
• Ivanovsky, A., Belles, A., Criquet, J., Dumoulin, D., Noble, P., Alary, C., Billon, G., 2018, Assessment of the treatment efficiency of an urban stormwater pond and its impact on the natural downstream watercourse, 2018, Journal of Environmental Management, v. 226: 120-130. 
• Mensing, S.A., Schoolman, E.M., Tunno, I., Noble, P., Sagnotti, L., Florindo, F., and  Piovesan, G. 2018. Historical ecology reveals landscape transformation coincident with cultural development in central Italy since Roman time, Nature Science Reports, 8:2138. 
• Okuyucu, C., Tekin, U. Kagan, Noble, P. J., Bedi, Y., Saydam-Demiray, D. Gulnur, Sayit, K. 2018. Foraminifera, Radiolaria and Conodont assemblages from the Early Mississippian (late Tournaisian)/Early Pennsylvanian (early Bashkirian)blocks within the Mersin Mélange, southern Turkey: Biochronological and paleogeographical implications. Palaeoworld, 27, 438-457. 
• Rosen, M. R., Binda, G., Archer, C., Pozzi, A., Michetti, A.M., and Noble, P.J., 2018. Mechanisms of earthquake-induced chemical and fluid transport to carbonate groundwater springs after earthquakes, Water Resources Research.  
• Tekin, U. Kagan, Okuyucu, C., Sayit, K., Bedi, Y., Noble, P. J., Krystyn, L., Goncuoglu, C. 2018. Integrated Radiolaria, Benthic Foraminifera and Conodont biochronology of the pelagic Permian blocks/tectonic slices and geochemistry of associated volcanic rocks from the Mersin Mélange, southern Turkey: Implications for the Permian evolution of the Northern Neotethys. Island Arc, 36. 

2017

• Aitchison, J.C., Suzuki, N., Caridroit, M., Danelian, T. and Noble, P., 2017. Paleozoic radiolarian biostratigraphy. Geodiversitas, 39(3), pp.503-531. 
• Caridroit, M., Danelian, T., O'Dogherty, L., Cuvelier, J., Aitchison, J.C., Pouille, L., Noble, P., Dumitrica, P., Suzuki, N., Kuwahara, K. and Maletz, J., 2017. An illustrated catalogue and revised classification of Paleozoic radiolarian genera. Geodiversitas, 39(3), pp.363-417. 
• Danelian, T., Aitchison, J.C., Noble, P., Caridroit, M., Suzuki, N. and O'Dogherty, L., 2017. Historical insights on nearly 130 years of research on Paleozoic radiolarians. Geodiversitas, 39(3), pp.351-361. 
• Howard, K. and Noble, P.J., 2017. Hydrological perturbations drive rapid shifts in phytoplankton biodiversity and population dynamics in Butte Lake (Lassen Volcanic National Park, California). Lake and Reservoir Management, pp.1-21. 
• Holm-Denoma, C., Hofsra, A.H., Rockwell, B.W., and Noble, P.J., 2017, The Valmy thrust sheet: A regional structure formed during the protracted assembly of the Roberts Mountains allochthon, Nevada, USA GSA Bulletin 129 (11-12), p.1521-1536. 
• Johnson, B.E., Noble, P.J., Heyvaert, A.C., Chandra, S., and Karlin, R., 2017,  Anthropogenic and climatic influences on the diatom flora within the Fallen Leaf Lake watershed, Lake Tahoe Basin, California over the last millennium. Journal of Paleolimnology: 1-15. 
• Noble, P.J, Aitchison, J.C., Danelian, T., Dumitrica, P., Maletz, J., Suzuki, N., Cuvelier, J., Caridroit, M. and O'Dogherty, L., 2017. Taxonomy of Paleozoic radiolarian genera. Geodiversitas, 39(3), pp.419-502. 
• Tetard, M., Monnet, C., Noble, P.J and Danelian, T., 2017. Biodiversity patterns of Silurian Radiolaria. Earth-Science Reviews , 173 , pp.77-83. 
• Archer, C., Noble, P., Kreamer, D., Piscopo, V., Petitta, M., Rosen, M.R., Poulson, S.R., Piovesan, G. and Mensing, S., 2016. Hydrochemical determination of source water contributions to Lake Lungo and Lake Ripasottile (central Italy). Journal of Limnology. 

2016

• Menicucci, A.J., Noble, P.J. and Houseman, M., 2016. Paleolimnology and diatom flora of the Miocene Quincy Diatomite, Washington, USA. Revue de Micropaléontologie, 59(4), 381-395. 
• Mensing, S.A., Tunno, I., Cifani, G., Passigli, S., Noble, P., Archer, C., Piovesan, G., 2016. Human and climatically induced environmental change in the Mediterranean during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age: A case from Italy. Anthropocene, 
• Noble, P.J., Ball, G.I., Zimmerman, S.H., Maloney, J. Smith, S.B., Kent, G., Adams, K.D., Karlin, R.E., Driscoll, N., 2016. Holocene paleoclimate history of Fallen Leaf Lake, CA., from geochemistry and sedimentology of well-dated sediment cores. Quaternary Science Reviews, 131, p. 193-210.