Nick Balascio

Nick Balascio is an Associate Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at Bates College. His research focuses on paleoclimatology, reconstructing past environmental conditions through geologic archives such as sediment cores. He specializes in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, investigating climate change impacts, human-environment interactions, and fire-climate relationships. Balascio holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an M.S. from Northern Arizona University, and a B.S. from Union College. Prior to Bates, he served as a faculty member at William & Mary and was a Lamont Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

His current projects include analyzing prehistoric human habitation in northern Greenland (via WandelDal.org), resolving fire-climate dynamics in the eastern U.S., and reconstructing sea-level changes in former ice sheet margins. His work bridges geology, ecology, and archaeology, often involving undergraduate researchers in field and lab studies.

Key research interests include Holocene climate variability, proxy-based environmental reconstructions, and the application of biomarkers like plant waxes and sedimentary DNA. He collaborates internationally on interdisciplinary projects, such as sedimentary DNA analysis to trace early human settlements in the Faroe Islands and Arctic regions.