EPS Colloquium – Bärbel Hönisch, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory/Columbia University in the City of New York
Reconstructions of Cenozoic atmospheric CO2 and ocean carbon cycle perturbations
My research interests focus on understanding the role of the ocean, and in particular the role of marine carbonate chemistry in global climate change. As I was originally trained as a (marine) biologist, my way of approaching paleoceanographic questions often includes a biological component. I will present an introduction to reconstructing marine carbonate chemistry from boron proxies in planktic foraminifera, including calibration under simulated deep-time conditions and application to the last deglaciation and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. In addition, I will report on a 7-year international effort to document and vet atmospheric CO2 concentrations over the Cenozoic.
To be added to the EPS colloquium mailing list, please contact Caroline Carr at carolinecarr@fas.harvard.edu.
Bärbel Hönisch grew up in Germany and studied at the Universities of Bielefeld and Bremen, as well as the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven. She received her Diploma in Biology in 1999 and her PhD in Natural Sciences in 2002. After moving to the US, she held academic positions at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, the City University of New York at Queens College, the State University of New York in Stony Brook, and Bremen University. She joined the faculty of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University in 2007.