CaMicroBio
Reconstruction of the oceanic carbon cycle via microanalysis of carbonate biominerals
Scientific responsibility :
- Sophie Sépulchre
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Funding :
- DIM PAMIR
Project ID : IDF-DIM-PAMIR-2026-10-003
Summary :
Reconstructing past changes in ocean dynamics and the carbon cycle is essential for understanding natural climate variability and projecting the future fate of anthropogenic carbon. Microfossils extracted from marine sediments provide insights into past variations in circulation and the chemistry of water masses, particularly through the geochemical signature of biominerals. However, analysis can be limited by the amount of material required. The objective of this Master 2 internship will be to develop an analytical approach for elemental measurement using laser ablation at the GEOPS laboratory, specifically to measure elemental ratios in foraminifera. The method will then be applied to fossil foraminifera extracted from two marine sediment cores from the Arctic Ocean to reconstruct changes in water mass dynamics (e.g., temperature, salinity, nutrient content, etc.) in the Arctic Ocean, an environment likely to undergo significant changes in the future. In addition, this project will open up new research opportunities for GEOPS by enabling the point-specific geochemical analysis of biocarbonates for detailed characterization in a variety of applications.
Legend: Photograph of the planktonic foraminifer species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma taken with a Keyence 3D digital microscope before (left) and after (right) laser ablation coupled with a mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) analysis.
