Dr Nalan Lom is a geologist with a background in geophysics whose research focuses on the large-scale evolution of orogenic systems and the plate-kinematic reconstruction of ancient tectonic domains. Her work integrates palaeomagnetism, stratigraphy, mantle tomography, and field geology to understand the deformation and dynamics of convergent margins from Precambrian to Cenozoic.
Dr Lom earned her PhD in Solid Earth Sciences (2017) from the Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical University (ITU). During her doctoral studies, she received a research scholarship at the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Norway, and later continued as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at ITU (2017–2019).
Dr Lom worked at Utrecht University (2019-2023) in the Netherlands as part of the EU-funded TRIGGER project (Tracing the Regional Initiator of the Great Global Eocene Plate Reorganization), where she investigated the palaeogeography of the Tethys region and the tectonic evolution of orogenic belts. She also contributed to teaching and co-supervised MSc students.
Before joining the UCA, Dr Lom held a researcher and lecturer position at Heidelberg University in Germany (2024–2025), where she coordinated courses on geodynamics and structural geology.
Her recent research examines the plate-kinematic evolution of Iran and Afghanistan and the mantle provinces of the Tethyan realm, advancing understanding of continental collision and lithospheric deformation. She has collaborated with international research groups across Europe, Asia, and North America, combining field observation with quantitative kinematic modelling.
Dr Lom has contributed to the international geoscientific community through multiple book chapters and peer-reviewed publications in leading journals.
Publications
- Rojhani, E., Ghaemi, F., Bagheri, S., Li, S., Lom, N., & van Hinsbergen, D. J. (2026). Geology of the abrupt northern termination of the Sistan suture zone and the subduction zone configuration in eastern Iran since the late Cretaceous. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 308, 107148.
- Celâl Şengör, A. M., Lom, N., Zabcı, C., Dewey, J. F., Bailey, C. M., & Natal’in, B. A. (2025). Pangaea and the Tethys: Importance of Strike-Slip Movements in Orogenic Development. In Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (pp. 1-41). Springer Nature Switzerland.
- van Hinsbergen, D. J., Gürer, D., Koç, A., & Lom, N. (2024). Shortening and extrusion in the East Anatolian Plateau: How was Neogene Arabia-Eurasia convergence tectonically accommodated? Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 641, 118827.
- Lom, N., Şengör, A. M. C., Zabcı, C., Sunal, G., & Öner, T. (2024). The Saharides: Reassessing the Nature and History of the Pan-African Events in North Africa and the Arabian Shield. In Regional Geology Reviews (pp. 251-263). Springer International Publishing.
- Vaes, B., van Hinsbergen, D. J., van de Lagemaat, S. H., van der Wiel, E., Lom, N., Advokaat, E. L., … Langereis, C. G. (2023). A global apparent polar wander path for the last 320 Ma calculated from site-level paleomagnetic data. Earth-Science Reviews, 245, 104547.