Research

Our group uses speleothems (e.g. stalagmites and flowstones) from caves around the globe to reconstruct climatic and environmental changes during the Quaternary period. To obtain such records, our group uses a broad array of analytical methods, including Uranium-series dating, stable isotope and trace element analysis and digital imaging.
 

Many of our research activities focus on the following main themes:

  • Rainfall and temperature variations during the Holocene and Pleistocene.
  • Impact of climate on human evolution and dispersal
  • Influence of climatic fluctuations and extremes on socio-economic transformations during pre-historic and historic times
  • Characterization of extreme climatic and environmental events such as megadroughts, earthquakes or major volcanic eruptions