About the project
As the climate of the Mesozoic is equivalent to the extreme end of present-day global warming, its research can help refine climate models by providing accurate paleotemperature data. Oxygen isotope thermometry of calcitic fossils is one of the most important tools for determining paleotemperatures, which requires the detection of primary structures and late-stage alterations.
The major aims of the present proposal are:
- Investigation the microfabric and structural characteristics and their mathematical modeling on samples from different locations and ages to determine the origin, function, and evolution of the laminated structure.
- Determination the calcite-water oxygen isotope fractionation relationship relevant to aptychi and rhyncholites. A combination of oxygen and clumped isotope analyses will be applied to provide precise paleotemperature calculations.
- Determination of accurate and reliable paleotemperature data by analyzing aptychus, rhyncholite, belemnites and brachiopod fossils with the aim of clarifying Mesozoic climate conditions and the paleolatitudinal distribution of global temperature over the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
This project will be the first to study the calcite structures of aptychi and rhyncholites using mathematical modeling, the combination of various microscopic techniques and EBSD, as well as traditional, clumped isotope and SIMS techniques. The modeling of calcite structures may have material science implications in bioarchitecture-inspired material developments. This project will attract students in addition to the currently participating MSc students. The results will be presented at international conferences and project-related workshops, and will be published in leading journals, but public outreach will also be a major goal.
