Max Planck Research Group for Marine Isotope Geochemistry

he ocean plays a crucial role in the Earth’s climate system, yet the physical and chemical processes in the ocean and their link to climatic changes are largely unknown. The research group Marine Isotope Geochemistry utilizes radiogenic isotopes (neodymium, strontium) to study the provenance and transport pathways of water masses and terrigenous material and hence biologically essential trace metals contained in terrigenous sediments. The analysis of these isotopes in seawater thus provides insight into processes and water mass distributions in the present ocean, while the study of fossil marine sediments allows the reconstruction of past ocean circulation changes in the course of climate variations.