Working group for Paleoceanography and Sedimentology

The focus of our working group is on paleoceanographic and sedimentological questions related to the development of shallow and marginal seas. Primarily, we investigate seafloor sediments—both surface sediments and a wide range of sediment cores—to reconstruct past depositional and paleoenvironmental conditions. Special emphasis is placed on the postglacial history of the Baltic Sea.

The unique characteristics of the Baltic Sea and other marginal seas often require the adjustment of established paleoenvironmental proxies and the development of new ones. One promising approach is to calibrate these sedimentary proxies with long instrumental time series. This, however, requires accurate chronostratigraphies of the topmost sediments.

By combining various micropaleontological, sedimentological, and (inorganic and organic) geochemical methods in so-called multi-proxy approaches, we aim to understand how environmental conditions responded to external factors (e.g., climate, ice sheet dynamics, sea level, and tectonics) and, for the most recent past, to anthropogenic influences.

Our research activities are part of the IOW's research programme, specifically within Research Area 2 “Coastal Seas in Transition – Present, Past and Future Perspectives”.

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Infrastructure