Tomas Capaldi

Tomas Capaldi is an Assistant Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at the University of California San Diego, where he leads the Sedimentary Basins and Tectonics Research Group. Previously, he held an Assistant Professor position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from January 2021 to 2024. His research focuses on linking Earth surface processes to lithosphere dynamics, with particular emphasis on sediment routing systems, tectonic-climate interactions, and the evolution of sedimentary basins in active orogens like the Andes and western North America. Capaldi earned a PhD in Geological Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin (2019) and a B.S. in Geology/Engineering Geology from UCLA (2014).

His key research interests include tectonics of sedimentary basins, the sediment record of mountain-building and magmatism, basin analysis, climate-tectonic interactions, and geochronology. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in regions such as Argentina, Nevada, Utah, and Iceland, studying topics like foreland basin stratigraphy, detrital provenance, and thermochronology.

Capaldi’s recent work highlights the role of flat-slab subduction in shaping Andean tectonics, the influence of tectonic inheritance on basin formation, and the integration of multi-mineral geochronology with thermokinematic modeling. He collaborates with international researchers, including Eduardo Garzanti and Margo Odlum, to advance methodologies in detrital analysis and sediment provenance tracking.

His students and advisees include Zoey Plonka (Masters, 2022), James Duncan, Ian Gillette, and undergraduates like Conner and Didi. Research outputs span over 30 peer-reviewed articles, focusing on subjects like foreland basin evolution, detrital rutile/zircon geochronology, and the stratigraphic response to climate shifts.