Sedimentary Geochemistry

We employ an analytically diverse approach that primarily targets Cenozoic sedimentary records to provide concrete narratives of past climates and environments as well as a better understanding of the recurrence and magnitude of natural hazards. Past and current research endeavors involve diverse themes, including the reconstruction of past changes in climate dynamics, landscape evolution, biogeochemical cycles, natural hazards and basin development. Furthermore, the group addresses impact of these changes on biological evolution as well as biotic and abiotic factors that control postdepositional sediment alteration. Our research approach is motivated by the idea that extracting information from sedimentary archives requires a comprehensive understanding of the spatial and temporal dimensions and drivers (climate, tectonics, humans, etc.) controlling sediment production, transport, burial, and postdepositional alteration. For this, we design research projects using a holistic approach that starts with understanding the catchment dynamics, physics, and chemistry of the investigated lake and ocean basins through the collection of ideal data and samples in the field. Geophysical data is analyzed using computational methods while samples collected at the field sites undergo basic analysis (eg. sedimentological & petrophysical etc.) and, depending on the particular scientific question to be answered, more sophisticated sedimentological, inorganic, organic and isotope geochemical analyses.

high-resolution multibeam swath bathymetry system, Lake Poso, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Picture showing the fitting of a high-resolution multibeam swath bathymetry system onto a local boat at Lake Poso, Sulawesi, Indonesia. With this system we generated the first high-resolution bathymetric map of one of the larger ancient lakes in SE Asia. The data is analysed to better understand earthquake recurrence rates in the past and aquatic habitat characteristics in this highly biodiverse setting

Current major research themes

Cenozoic paleoclimate reconstructions from continuous continental sedimentary records

 

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Deep biosphere-geosphere interactions at the top of the world (DIGESTED): An interdisciplinary approach to interpret a Myr climate record from Lake Nam Co (Tibetan Plateau)

 

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Assessing the frequency and magnitude of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from lake sediment records on the SE Asian maritime continent

 

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Biotic and abiotic factors for diagenesis in sedimentary archives

 

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Climatic, environmental, and geological drivers of biological evolution in ancient lakes

 

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