PhD position in Organic and Isotope Geochemistry within the ERC project “Deconvolving the early record of eukaryotic evolution”
MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology (SSP)
This PhD position is part of an ERC project that investigates the Neoproterozoic and early Palaeozoic as a critical interval in Earth history, when eukaryotes became ecologically successful and animals emerged and diversified. The project develops and applies molecular and isotope-based approaches in organic geochemistry and palaeontology to deconvolve mixed sedimentary signals and to reconstruct ancient ecosystems and carbon-cycle dynamics during major environmental perturbations.
The PhD project focuses on key stable carbon isotope excursions throughout the Neoproterozoic and early Palaeozoic, exploring their origins and the interactions between life and environments during these events, including compound-specific isotope analysis of ancient biomarkers. The goal is to better constrain the nature, timing, and drivers of major environmental perturbations and to assess how biological and environmental processes are recorded in sedimentary geochemical archives during these intervals. You will explore some of the largest environmental changes in Earth history and what they tell us about the coevolution of life and environments.