
Dr Alan Hsieh
BSc, MSc, DPhil
Expertise
I study how nutrients and trace elements move from land to rivers and the ocean, using isotopes to track water quality and environmental change, and to understand how natural and human activities shape aquatic systems.
Current positions
Lecturer in Catchment Science and Water Quality
School of Geographical Sciences
Contact
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Research interests
I am a geochemist interested in the sources, cycling and environmental applications of nutrients and trace elements across catchments, rivers and the ocean. My research uses both stable and radioactive isotopes to trace interactions between weathering, riverine inputs, particles, biology and seawater, with applications to water quality, nutrient cycling and environmental change. I combine field observations, laboratory experiments, and high-precision mass spectrometry to understand how aquatic systems respond to natural and human-driven processes.
Publications
Recent publications
01/03/2026Examining the utility of barium isotopes as a tracer of large-scale seafloor methane venting
Marine Chemistry
Barium uptake and isotope fractionation by a marine diatom
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Controls on distributions of aluminium, manganese and cobalt in the South Atlantic Ocean along GEOTRACES transect GA10
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta