Bio

I earned a PhD in Earth Science with a focus in paleoclimatology from Syracuse University, where my research focused on reconstructing past environmental change and biotic responses using microfossils and geochemical proxies. My work integrates stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and climate modeling to better understand Earth's climate dynamics during the intervals of rapid change, like the Late Devonian and end Triassic mass extinctions.

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Student Advisory Council Member, Geological Society of America (2025 - Present)
  • Board Member, Clark Reservation State Park (NY) (2023 - 2025)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    prowa@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Earth & Planetary Sciences Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

Links

Lab Affiliations

2025-26 Courses

All Publications

  • A Laser Ablation ICP-MS Protocol for High-Resolution Iodine-to-Calcium Ratio (I/Ca) Analysis on Corals. Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM Prow-Fleischer, A. N., Lu, Z. 2025; 39 (9): e10002

    Abstract

    Corals are continuous, time-resolved archives of ambient seawater geochemistry and can extend climate records beyond direct monitoring. The iodine-to-calcium (I/Ca) ratio may be a proxy for local oxygen depletion in corals, but the current solution-based ICP-MS protocol limits sampling resolution. A protocol was developed for rapid analysis of coral I/Ca using laser ablation ICP-MS.Two reference materials, a powdered coral (JCp-1) and a synthetic carbonate (MACS-3), were compared for precision in measuring Sr, Mg, I, Ba, and U. Then, the influence of laser parameters (spot size, fluence, repetition rate, and scan speed) on iodine sensitivity from the reference material was evaluated to optimize laser settings for accurate and reproducible I/Ca calibration. Then, I/Ca was measured in line scans along and across the ambulacrum in a Diploria labyrinthiformis coral.We find that JCp-1 has greater precision in measuring iodine, as well as other traces, compared to MACS-3. At a 10 Hz repetition rate, spot sizes from 150 to 85 μm obtained concentrations in agreement with certified values, but higher repetition rates overestimated iodine concentrations from JCp-1. Certain scan speeds and fluence can introduce noise, likely due to matrix effects, but the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved by adjacent-average filtering. Using this simple data filtering routine and optimized laser settings, the highest resolution for accurate I/Ca analysis is < 100 μm. While the fine-scale (< 250 μm) I/Ca variabilities in parallel transects in a coral sample likely resulted from biomineralization processes, large -scale features (> 500 μm) along the ambulacrum tend to correlate.LA-ICP-MS has great potential for accurate, high-resolution I/Ca profiling in corals using JCp-1 as a calibration standard. Because of compositional variability near centers of calcification, it is important to pay attention to how the laser transect is aligned relative to skeletal elements, which may incorporate iodine differently.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/rcm.10002

    View details for PubMedID 39923188

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11807343

  • Calcium isotopes support spatial redox gradients on the Tethys European margin across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary CHEMICAL GEOLOGY Prow-Fleischer, A. N., Lu, Z., Blattler, C. L., He, T., Singh, P., Kemeny, P., Todes, J. P., Pohl, A., Bhattacharya, T., van de Schootbrugge, B., Wignall, P. B., Todaro, S., Payne, J. L. 2025; 673

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122530

    View details for Web of Science ID 001389439500001

  • Body-size reductions in dacryoconarid tentaculitoids during Late Devonian warming GEOSPHERE Prow-Fleischer, A. N., Lu, Z., Meehan, K. C., Yang, Z., Ivany, L. C., Payne, J. L. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.1130/GES02759.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 001331557900001

  • Extraction of calcareous dacryoconarid microfossils from limestones and mudrocks by surfactants paired with freeze-thaw processing MARINE MICROPALEONTOLOGY Prow, A. N., Lu, Z., Frappier, A. B., Weisbeck, L. E., Underwood, C. R. 2023; 180

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.marmicro.2023.102216

    View details for Web of Science ID 000942880900001

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3371-2453