- Graduate School GLOMAR
- PhD student members
- Sofía Barragán Montilla
Sofía Barragán Montilla
Institution: | University of Bremen |
Office: | MARUM Pavillon, room 1120 |
Phone: | +49 421 218 - 65982 |
E-mail: | [Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript] |
Other webpage(s): | Sofía's MARUM web page |
PhD Project
Methane seepage activity of NW Africa during the last deglaciation and its relation with global climate change; paleoenvironmental multiproxy analysis using foraminifera
The oceans occupy ∼ 71 % of the earth’s surface and play an important role in climate stability through the interchange of carbon with the atmosphere. This interaction has led to past changes in the earth’s climate that can help us comprehend the current climatic crisis and where we are headed in the feature. One of the factors influencing global climate is Methane seepage. Deposits from this greenhouse gas are formed under low temperature and high-pressure conditions, and the variations of these parameters since the Last Glacial Period have resulted in the release of methane from marine deposits into the ocean and the atmosphere. Part of this gas is processed by deep ocean bacteria through anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) enhancing ocean acidification, and the remaining travels to shallower sea waters finally being released to the atmosphere contributing to global warming.
Benthic foraminifera adapt to environments with active methane seeps, and certain species thrive albeit diversity and population density tend to strongly decrease. Such changes in these assemblages record past climate changes and provide information of how temperature, oxygenation and trophic levels have changed and their part on global climate regulation. For this reason, I intend to integrate taxonomical and quantitative analysis of benthic foraminifera, with geochemical records (δ13C and δ18O and Mg/Ca ratios), to reconstruct environmental trends in the last 30.000 years and observe how methane seepage has influenced environmental changes in the upper slope of Mauritania (NW Africa) and the role these phenomena play in climate change.
Thesis Committee
Prof. Dr. Heiko Pälike | MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen |
Dr. Enno Schefuß | MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen |
Dr. Stefan Mulitza | MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen |
Dr. Tilmann Schwenk | University of Bremen, Faculty of Geosciences |
Dr. Heather J. Johnstone | MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen |