Maxwell Lechte
PhD Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne
MSc Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne
BSc Geology, University of Melbourne
Precambrian sedimentology, iron paleoredox geochemistry, glacial geology
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher funded by the Moore–Simons Project on the Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell, currently working on reconstructing the environmental conditions of Proterozoic eukaryotes in order to better understand the relationships between the biosphere and marine redox evolution during this time. Much of my research has focused on understanding the genesis of iron deposits, as well as the use of iron geochemistry paleoredox proxies, in order to help constrain ocean chemistry during the Proterozoic. My study areas are predominantly in Yukon and Québec (Canada), as well as South Australia and Northern Territory (Australia).
Hood, A.vS., Penman, D., Lechte, M., Wallace, M., Giddings, J., Planavsky, N. (2021) Neoproterozoic syn-glacial carbonate precipitation and implications for a snowball Earth. Geobiology. doi: 10.1111/gbi.12470.
Wei B., Tang D., Shi X., Lechte, M., Zhou L., Zhou X. and Song H., 2021. A pulsed oxygenation in terminal Paleoproterozoic ocean: Evidence from the transition between the Chuanlinggou and Tuanshanzi formations, North China. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 22(5), doi: p.e2020GC009612.
Maloney, K.M., Halverson, G.P., Schiffbauer, J.D., Xiao, S., Gibson, T.M., Lechte, M.A., Cumming, V.M., Millikin, A.E., Murphy, J.G., Wallace, M.W. and Selby, D., 2021. New multicellular marine macroalgae from the early Tonian of northwestern Canada. Geology, 49(6), doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G48508.1
Fang H., Tang, D., Shi X., Lechte, M., Shang M., Zhou X., Yu W. (2020) Manganese-rich deposits in the Mesoproterozoic Gaoyuzhuang Formation (ca. 1.58 Ga), North China platform: Genesis and paleoenvironmental implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109966
O'Connell, B., Wallace, M.W., van Smeerdijk Hood, A., Lechte, M.A. & Planavsky, N.J. (2019) Iron-rich carbonate tidal deposits, Angepena Formation, South Australia: A redox-stratified Cryogenian basin. Precambrian Research, doi: 10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105668
Tang D., Ma J., Shi X., Lechte, M. & Zhou X. (2020) The formation of marine red beds and iron cycling on the Mesoproterozoic North China Platform. American Mineralogist.
Lechte, M.A., Wallace, M.W., van Smeerdijk Hood, A., Li, W., Jiang, G., Halverson, G.P., Asael, D., McColl, S.L. & Planavsky, N.J. (2019) Subglacial meltwater supported aerobic marine habitats during Snowball Earth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1909165116
Wei G., Ling H.-F., Shields, G., Chen T., Lechte, M., Chen X., Qiu C., Lei H. & Zhu M. (2019) Long-term evolution of terrestrial inputs from the Ediacaran to early Cambrian: clues from Nd isotopes in shallow-marine carbonates, South China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109367
Lechte, M.A., Wallace, M.W., van Smeerdijk Hood, A. & Planavsky, N. (2018) Cryogenian iron formations in the glaciogenic Kingston Peak Formation, California. Precambrian Research, 310, p.443-462, doi: 10.1016/j.precamres.2018.04.003
Lechte, M.A., Wallace, M.W. & Hoffmann, K.H. (2018) Glacio-marine iron formation deposition in a c. 700 Ma glaciated margin: insights from the Chuos Formation, Namibia. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, SP475-2, doi: 10.1144/SP475.2
Busigny, V., Planavsky, N.J., Goldbaum, E., Lechte, M.A., Feng, L. & Lyons, T.W. (2018) Origin of the Neoproterozoic Fulu iron formation, South China: Insights from iron isotopes and rare earth element patterns. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 242, p.123-142, doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2018.09.006
Lechte, M. & Wallace, M. (2016) Sub–ice shelf ironstone deposition during the Neoproterozoic Sturtian glaciation. Geology, 44(11), p.891-894, doi: 10.1130/G38495.1
Lechte, M.A. & Wallace, M.W. (2015) Sedimentary and tectonic history of the Holowilena Ironstone, a Neoproterozoic iron formation in South Australia. Sedimentary Geology, 329, p.211-224, doi: 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.09.014