Bing Shen

Dr. Bing Shen

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Earth Sciences, Rice University

MS126. 6100 Main St. Houston, TX. 77005

Email: bing.shen@rice.edu

Phone: 281-733-6317

Education:

PhD: Virginia Tech, 2008

BSc: Beijing University, 2001

Research Interests:

● Early life evolution and evolutionary theories

● Stable isotope geochemistry and biogeochemistry

● Earth system sciences

Journal Articles

1. Shen, B., Xiao, S., Zhou, C., Yuan, X., 2009, Yangtziramulus zhangi new genus and species, a carbonate-hosted Ediacaran macrofossil from the Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China, Journal of Paleontology. 83: 575-587. [PDF]

2. Dong, L., Xiao, S., Shen, B., Zhou, C., Li, G., and Yao, J., 2009, Basal Cambrian microfossils from the Yangtze Gorges area (South China) and the Aksu area (Tarim Block, northwestern China). Journal of Paleontology. 83: 30-44. [PDF]

3. Shen, B., Dong, L., Xiao, S. and Kowalewski, M., 2008. The Avalon explosion: Expansion and saturation of Ediacara morphospace. Science. 319: 81-84. [PDF]

4. Shen, B., Xiao, S., Bao, H., Kaufman, A. J. and Zhou, C., 2008. Stratification and mixing of the post-glacial Neoproterozoic ocean: Evidence from carbon and sulfur isotopes in a cap dolostone from northwest China. Earth and Planetary Science Letter. 265: 209-228. [PDF]

5. Dong, L., Xiao, S., Shen, B., Yuan, X., Yan, X. and Peng, Y., 2008 Restudy of the worm-like carbonaceous compression fossils Protoarenicola, Pararenicola, and Sinosabellidites from early Neoproterozoic successions in North China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 138-161. [PDF]

6. Dong, L., Xiao, S., Shen, B. and Zhou, C., 2008. Silicified Horodyskia and Palaeopascichnus from upper Ediacaran cherts in South China: tentative phylogenetic interpretation and implications for evolutionary stasis. Journal of the Geological Society, London. 165: 367-378. [PDF]

7. Shen, B., Xiao, S., Dong, L., Zhou, C. and Liu, J., 2007. Problematic macrofossils from Ediacaran successions in the North China and Chaidam blocks: implications for their evolutionary root and biostratigraphic significance. Journal of Paleontology, 81: 1406-1421. [PDF]

8. Schiffbauer, J.D., Yin, L., Bodnar, R.J., Kaufman, A.J., Meng, F., Hu, J., Shen, B., Yuan, X., Bao, H. and Xiao, S., 2007. Ultrastructural and geochemical characterization of Archean-Paleoproterozoic graphite particles: Implications for recognizing traces of life in highly metamorphosed rocks. Astrobiology, 7: 684-704.

9. Xiao, S., Shen, B., Zhou, C., Xie, G. and Yuan, X., 2005. A uniquely preserved Ediacaran fossil with direct evidence for a quilted bodyplan. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United State of America, 102: 10227-10232. [PDF]

10. Shen, B., Wen, Y. and Bai, Z., 2001. Using paleontological clock to explore the extraterrestrial impact. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 37: 508-514.

Invited Talks

● Oct 2007, Texas A& M University: Glaciation, Oxidation and Evolution: The Tale of the Garden of Ediacara.

● April 2008, University of California, Los Angelus: Understanding the Evolutionary Pattern and Environmental Context in the Ediacaran Period.

● April 2008, Geobiology of Proterozoic and Cambrian Symposium at Harvard University: Morphological and Taxonomical Evolution of the Ediacara Biota.

Awards

● Outstanding PhD Student Award, 2008, College of Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institutes and State University

● Commendation Award for Outstanding Dissertation, 2008, Graduate School, Virginia Polytechnic Institutes and State University

Collaborators

Huiming Bao (Louisiana State University)

Michal Kowalewski (Virginia Tech)

Alan Jay Kaufman (University of Maryland)

Cin-Ty Lee (Rice University)

Jianbo Liu (Beijing University)

Shuhai Xiao (Virginia Tech)

Qingzhu Yin (University of California, Davis)

Xunlai Yuan (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology)

Chuanming Zhou (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology)

Early Life Evolution

At current time, I am focusing on the paleobiology of the enigmatic Ediacara biota, which has been regarded as “the dawn of animal life” and “the prelude of the Cambrian Explosion”. The interpretations and the phylogenetic positions of the Ediacara biota have long been controversial. To solve this problem, we study the uniquely preserved Ediacara fossils in non-siliciclastic rocks (e.g. carbonate and chert), and quantitatively analyze the “traditional” Ediacara fossils preserved in siliciclastic rocks all over the world.

Stable Isotope Geochemistry

1. Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Biogeochemistry

Neoproterozoic and Cambrian experienced dramatic changes in biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and global biogeochemical cycles. We use stable isotopes (C, O, and S) as major tools to understand the evolution of paleoceanography, atmosphere, and biogeochemical cycles in this critical period.

2. Mg Isotope and Global Mg Cycles

Mg accounts for 2% of Earth’s crust in mass, and Mg isotopes (²⁴Mg, ²⁵Mg, and ²⁶Mg) fractionate in low-T reactions in the surface Earth. Thus Mg isotope is a useful tool in tracing low-T reactions in surface Earth, such as chemical weathering.