Earth System Science in Münster
The working group Earth System Science at the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster focusses on the question:
Why do the climate system and the global carbon cycle respond differently to astronomical Milankovitch forcing under different boundary conditions?
The term “boundary conditions” can refer to any element in the Earth’s system that has been significantly different in the geologic past. For example, a planet with unipolar ice-sheets, a planet without 8000 m high Himalayan mountains, a planet with a wide-open Indonesian Throughflow, or a planet with more than 500 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere.
To answer the above question, we study Earth’s history throughout the geological Eras, with a focus on the Late Devonian (~375 Ma), the Eocene (~40 Ma), and the Miocene-to-recent (last 23 Myr). None of these time slices are perfect analogues for the Anthropocene, yet they are worth studying as they provide valuable insights into the machinery of the climate system under boundary conditions much unlike today’s.
Obviously, the age of the sediment(ary rock) under investigation is very different between the geological Eras, but our work always shares a common objective: Integrating the paleoclimate and geochronology aspects of the sedimentary archives to better constrain how much and how fast our planet has been changing.
To do so, we go on fieldwork (on outcrops as well as sea-going expeditions), we carry out laboratory measurements (isotopic, elemental and geophysical proxies), and we use numerical approaches for data analysis and visualization.
Tasman Leakage
(DFG project: 2021 - 2024)
In her PhD, Jing Lyu aims at pinpointing the onset of Tasman Leakage in geologic time. Tasman Leakage is a pathway of interocean exchange between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. To date, its variability in response to climatic (north-south migration of climate belts) as well as to tectonic processes (northward movement of the Australian continent) remains unknown. Jing’s work on ODP Sites 752 and 754 (Broken Ridge) is designed to change this.
DevonianAstro
(DFG project: 2021 - 2024)
In her PhD, Nina Wichern aims at understanding the cyclicity in Late Devonian sedimentary sequences in the Rhenish Massif, first to refine the geological time scale and second to provide paleoclimate insights for this high-CO2 world. Three episodes of black shale deposition are studied: The Kellwasser events at the Winsenberg roadcut near Diemelsee-Adorf; the Annulata and Dasberg crises at the Effenberg Quarry; and the Hangenberg crisis at the Borkewehr section.
Cyclostratigraphy
The study of astronomical climate forcing and the application of cyclostratigraphy have experienced a spectacular growth over the last decades. Indeed, cyclostratigraphy is a powerful tool to understand paleoclimate change, as well as to read geologic time in sedimentary sequences. Therewith, cyclostratigraphy exists at the intersection between astronomy, paleoclimatology and stratigraphy.
Get to know more about cyclostratigraphy on the open-access learning platform www.cyclostratigraphy.org
Paleoceanography
Paleoceanography is the study of ancient oceans and their interactions with the Earth's climate system. By examining sediment cores from the ocean floor, paleoceanographers can reconstruct past climate conditions, ocean circulation patterns, and biogeochemical cycles. This field of study provides valuable insights into how the ocean has responded to past climate changes and how it may respond to future ones.
The Earth System Science working group in Münster specializes in analyzing ocean sediment cores from all ocean basins, with a particular focus on the Indian Ocean and the inter-ocean connections between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. Specifically, we study the Indonesian Throughflow in the north and the Tasman Gateway in the south of Australia. By examining sediment cores from these regions, we can better understand the mechanisms behind ocean circulation patterns and their effects on climate. Our research contributes to a broader understanding of the Earth's past, present, and future ocean systems.