I use carbonate geochemistry to read both the geological past and the present-day Earth surface — from the molecules that encode monsoon rainfall in cave minerals to the biogeochemical dynamics reshaping New Zealand's largest freshwater system.
My research uses carbonate geochemistry as a unifying toolkit across timescales. In speleothem science, I have developed kinetic proxies based on organic–metal complex dissociation rates, delivering the first unit-bearing discharge measurements from mineral archives — absolute paleohydrology, not relative indices. The method is applicable to diverse mineral archives and has revealed megadroughts invisible to conventional isotope records.
At the present-day Earth surface, I lead one of New Zealand's largest freshwater programmes, asking a globally relevant question: what happens when CO₂ rises in freshwater? The Waikato River is our exemplar — a system where geothermal CO₂, invasive gold clams, and nutrient loading are restructuring carbonate chemistry in real time. By establishing the Coulombic baseline governing CO₂–alkalinity–biology interactions, we are building predictive tools transferable to freshwater systems worldwide.
Recent highlights include contributing to a reconstruction of Miocene Arctic climate from Greenland speleothems published in Nature Geoscience, and a Nature Communications study showing that warming drives dissolved organic carbon export from pristine alpine soils — extending the group's reach into critical zone carbon cycling.
Since 2021: 1,329 citations · h-index 20 · i10-index 39
First deployment of the kinetic proxy in a high-resolution Chinese speleothem, revealing megadroughts invisible to δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C. Full Monte Carlo uncertainty propagation across nine sources. Reinterprets the 8.2 ka δ¹³C excursion as ventilation-driven rather than drought-driven.
Establishing a new vocabulary for nanoparticles and organic matter as biogeochemical intermediaries — transport vectors, competitive regulators, and kinetic gatekeepers at the dissolved–particulate interface.
My interest in what happens below the surface traces back to an undergraduate project on groundwater food webs under the Canterbury Plains — a curiosity that has since carried me through cave systems across four continents, contaminated aquifers in Australia, and the rivers and lakes of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Science Leader, Emerging Climatic Pressures programme (LVLX2302). Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Waikato and Lincoln University. Founder and Managing Director, Waikato Scientific Ltd.
Five-year research fellowship (Royal Society of New Zealand, $800K). Promoted to Associate Professor 2020. Founded the Waikato Environmental Geochemistry group.
Ten years building a research group from scratch. EU MSCA RISE PI (QUEST programme, linking Cambridge, JGU Mainz, PIK Potsdam). Marsden Fund panel member (Earth Sciences & Astronomy, 2022–2024).
National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Iron nanoparticle–arsenic interactions in contaminated aquifers.
NERC Doctoral Scholarship. Colloidal geochemistry of speleothem-forming groundwaters. Supervisor: Prof. Ian Fairchild.
Most Distinguished Student award.
Full list: Google Scholar · ORCID 0000-0002-1864-5144
Hartland A et al. (in prep.) Decoupled infiltration and isotope signals reveal hidden East Asian monsoon megadroughts. Nature Geoscience.
Pearson AR, Fox BRS, Hellstrom JC, ... Hartland A (2024) Warming drives dissolved organic carbon export from pristine alpine soils. Nature Communications 15: 3488.
Giesche A, Hodell DA, Petrie CA, ... Hartland A, ... Breitenbach SFM (2023) Recurring droughts from 4.2–3.97 ka in north India. Comms Earth & Environment 4: 138.
Höpker SN, Breitenbach SFM, Grainger M, Stirling CH, Hartland A (2024) Sulphate partitioning into calcite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
Hartland A, Farrant M, Höpker SN, et al. (2024) Mines to moana: hydrochemical legacies in a historically mined watershed. Applied Geochemistry.
Nava-Fernandez C, Hartland A, Gázquez F, et al. (2020) Pacific climate reflected in Waipuna Cave drip water hydrochemistry. HESS 24: 3361–3380.
Blyth AJ, Hartland A, Baker A (2016) Organic proxies in speleothems — new developments, advantages and limitations. Quaternary Science Reviews 149: 1–17.
Hartland A, Andersen MS, O'Carroll DM (2015) Arsenic and phosphorus association with iron nanoparticles between streams and aquifers. Water Research 71: 150–161.
I founded Waikato Scientific to build autonomous field sensing tools — instruments that go where scientists can't stay. Our flagship, the SYP Mark III Automatic Fluid Sampler, collects up to 58 discrete, silicon-sealed samples over year-long deployments on a rechargeable LiPo battery. Units are deployed at Vanderbilt, Cornell College, Rouen, and Northumbria. Open-source research software at github.com/waikatosci.
On the compound environmental pressures reshaping New Zealand's longest river — geothermal CO₂, invasive gold clams, and the challenges of responding to converging threats. Read →
How Corbicula fluminea is stripping ~14 tonnes of calcium carbonate from the Waikato River daily, disrupting water treatment chemistry and mobilising arsenic into forms that could evade conventional treatment. Read →
Interview on the biosecurity implications of Corbicula fluminea for freshwater infrastructure, hydroelectric operations, and indigenous species. Listen →
On using cave mineral archives to reconstruct New Zealand's climate history — from stalagmite chemistry to understanding past rainfall variability. Listen →
On the use of speleothem records to understand how New Zealand's rainfall extremes may intensify under climate change. Read →
Interview on elevated CO₂ concentrations in the Waitomo Glowworm Cave and implications for cave conservation. Listen →
On speleothem evidence linking Maya Terminal Classic drought to hydroclimate variability in the Yucatan. Read →
Feature on the EU-funded QUEST programme and the development of novel speleothem proxies linking cave chemistry to past climate. Read →
Photo essay on the QUEST research network's fieldwork across New Zealand cave systems. Read →
On the Rutherford Discovery Fellowship programme to develop quantitative speleothem proxies of past rainfall in New Zealand. Read →
I'm based at the Ruakura Research Estate in Hamilton, New Zealand. For research enquiries, collaboration proposals, or postgraduate supervision opportunities:
[email protected]
Lincoln Agritech profile
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