Supported projects

Today, the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool represents a vast oceanographic expanse characterized by sea surface temperature (SST) values consistently above 28°C, and is often considered one of the thermal engines of our planet. The 5th IPCC report recognized the critical role of the eastern Indian Ocean in the global climate and classified this region as a major climate hotspot. Reconstructing ocean temperatures in the Indian Ocean during so-called greenhouse periods, such as the Paleogene, is therefore crucial for our understanding of current climate change. However, despite the importance of this region in regulating the climate system since the early Cenozoic, few temperature reconstructions are available for this ocean during the Paleogene. This lack of data is explained by the numerous methodological challenges that complicate the reconstruction of reliable ocean temperatures during greenhouse periods. Through this internship, we propose to study the sediments of the ODP 763 site. We will use the geochemical signal carried by coccoliths to generate new SST values. The monocrystalline microstructure, without porosity, of these organisms makes them exceptionally resistant to dissolution; they thus maintain an excellent state of preservation, even during greenhouse periods. These SST measurements will be combined with the estimation of subsurface and bottom ocean temperatures (planktonic and benthic foraminifera), in order to reconstruct the thermal stratification of the Indian Ocean during warm periods. Collectively, these new data will improve our understanding of the climate evolution of this period, as well as the response of different marine faunas to these major climate changes.