Biography
- MSci Geological sciences (University of Cambridge) - 2008
- PhD Materials science (University of Cambridge) - 2012
PhD thesis: Marine Sequestration of Particulate Organic Carbon from Mountain Belts
Research project
Effects of a warming climate on the key organic carbon cycle processes in the Eurasian Arctic
Working with:
Research interests
My research focusses on the land-ocean transfer of organic carbon, and its sequestration in marine sediments. I aim to understand the volumes and types of carbon exported from a range of geological and climatic settings, and their potential for oxidation or burial at sea. The balance between harvesting of fresh material, erosion of fossil carbon, oxidation during transport and re-burial in marine sediments is a critical factor for global carbon budgets.
During my PhD I studied the export of Particulate Organic Carbon from active mountain
belts, mostly in tropical settings. I found that globally-significant amounts of carbon were
being exported from active mountain belts, and being buried in large-volume marine
sediments. My post-doc focusses on the export of carbon from Siberian permafrost to the
Arctic Ocean, using molecular biomarkers to understand the distribution of organic material
across the shelf. The volume of carbon currently stored in the permafrost exceeds the amount
of CO
