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Sofía Barragán-Montilla at Forams 2023

Report of GLOMAR PhD student Sofia-Barragan-Montilla about her participation in the "International Symposium on Foraminifera - Forams 2023" in Perugia, Italy from 26 to 30 June 2023

Forams is an international conference held every 4 – 5 years, gathering foraminiferologists from all over the globe to share the latest advances in foraminiferal studies, including but not limited to systematics, biogeochemical and genetic studies, and also applications of this wide microfossil group to understanding the fossil and recent record.

Forams 2023 was initially planned for 2022 but was postponed due to the COVID pandemic to host a full in-person conference. This gathering took place in Perugia (Italy) from June 25^th to June 30^th, with more than 270 experts from different parts of the world. For 6 days, a variety of oral presentations were held in 3 parallel sessions per day, alternated with coffee breaks destined to poster discussions and networking.

Forams 2023 welcome sign — Welcoming and Inauguration of Forams 2023 in Perugia, Italy

Sofìa with two colleagues — Connecting with some GeoLatinas friends. From left to right: Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research President Lizette Leon-Rodriguez; collaborator Dharma Andrea Reyes Macaya from the Heriot-Watt University; Sofía Barragán-Montilla from MARUM.

During this week, I got the opportunity to connect with old colleagues and mentors, and also met fellow early career researchers in person for the first time, after having worked together virtually for some years. It also served as a unique platform to connect researchers from minoritized communities, allowing us to share our experiences, struggles and create a closer support system for us.

I had the amazing opportunity to present a part of my PhD research on benthic foraminifera paleothermometry in a Session dedicated to Prof. John Murray one of the most important researchers in benthic foraminifera who sadly passed away in 2021. In this session, several researchers shared their experiences with Prof. Murray, and the newest advances of benthic foraminifera research and applications that sheds light in the bottom ocean dynamics that have impactful implications in our understanding of climate change.

Sofía receiving an award on a stage — Sofía receiving one of the awards for the Student Oral Presentation Contest

screen shwoing a PP slide — A tribute to Emeritus Professor John Murray (National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton) during Session 2 of Forams 2023

Sofía at a speaker's desk in front of a large screen in a conference room — Sofía presenting a part of her PhD research on Benthic Foraminifera Paleothermometry in the NE Atlantic

I am grateful to GLOMAR and MARUM who provided me with the funds to attend this important conference, and it brings me joy to bring back a recognition for my oral presentation “Benthic foraminiferal palaeothermometry in deglacial sediments off NW Africa: how accurately is Mg/Ca recording bottom water temperature changes in the past?”, that summarized a big part of my PhD research during these last 2 and a half years at MARUM. Gracias!