Research Group Sedimentology

The main aim of our research is to better understand the processes controlling recent sedimentation in coastal and deep-water environments in order to improve paleoceanographic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on sedimentary archives. With our expertise in sediment dynamics, we also study the distribution of plastics in the marine environment to analyze the processes that transport them to the seafloor and to better characterize the environmental impact. Furthermore, we deal with the investigation of coccolithophores, a group of marine unicellular algae, and their application for paleoecological reconstructions. Our group has therefore three main lines of research:

• Sediment dynamics in deep-water environments
• Bedforms fields – hydrodynamics, sediment transport and geomorphology
• Coccolithophores ecology and climate proxies

Working Area

Continental margins of the NW and southern Atlantic Ocean, SW and northern Indian Ocean, NW Mediterranean Sea and Southern Ocean, estuaries in the North Sea

Methods

We use a multidisciplinary approach that combines observations of natural systems using geophysical data, sediment cores, samples from sediment traps, and oceanographic data with hydrodynamic modelling and flume tank experiments.