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Research
Our Research Themes
Sedimentology and ichnology, from the field to the rock record
Our research investigates how physical, chemical, and biological processes shape sediments, and how the traces of life within them help reconstruct environments past and present.
Theme 1 — Environmental & coastal sedimentology
We study how sediment is transported, deposited, and preserved across dynamic coastal systems, including estuaries, tidal flats, and the fluvio-tidal transition zone where rivers meet the sea. This work establishes modern analogs that improve how we interpret similar deposits in the ancient record. Keywords: Estuaries, Tidal flats, Floccule ripples, Sediment transport.
Theme 2 — Neoichnology & animal-sediment relationships
Trace fossils record the behaviour of organisms in response to their environment. By observing how modern animals burrow, feed, and move through sediment, and the stresses that limit them, we build a framework for reading biogenic structures in both modern settings and the rock record. Keywords: Trace fossils, Bioturbation, Benthic communities, Environmental stress.
Theme 3 — Paleoenvironmental reconstruction & facies models
Combining sedimentology, ichnology, and an array of analytical proxies, we reconstruct ancient depositional environments and refine the facies models used to interpret them, with study areas spanning Canada, Argentina, Portugal, and beyond. Keywords: Facies analysis, Reservoir characterization, Core scanning, Optical microscopy.
Theme 4 — Analytical methods & climate change
A growing focus of the lab is the response of coastal sedimentary systems to climate change, supported by a broad analytical toolkit applied to sediment, core, and water samples. Methods: grain size analysis, geochemistry (CaCO3, XRD, XRF), core imaging (CT, X-ray), microscopy (SEM, hyperspectral), water quality monitoring, and experimental flume simulations.
Theme 5 — Carbon capture and storage
Combining petrography, sedimentology, and geochemistry, we characterize rocks to identify safe and effective geological repositories for carbon capture and storage (CCS), supporting the transition to a low-carbon future. Keywords: CO2 storage, Petrography, Geochemistry, Reservoir characterization.
Meet the Research Team
Our themes are driven by the people behind them, faculty, graduate students, and collaborators working across sedimentology, ichnology, and geochemistry. Learn more about who we are and what we study.