Organic Geochemistry & Radiocarbon Dating

Our research group combines radiocarbon analysis with organic geochemical approaches to study environmental processes in the past and present. A particular focus lies on lipid biomarkers, which we use to investigate carbon cycling and to reconstruct environmental and climatic conditions in terrestrial and aquatic systems.

Our research focuses on Arctic permafrost environments, where large amounts of organic carbon are stored and where thawing may have far-reaching consequences for the climate and the environment.

In our teaching, we introduce students to organic geochemistry, environmental geochemistry, palaeoclimatology and palaeoceanography, covering both the fundamentals and practical applications through lectures, laboratory courses and field-based training.

As part of CologneAMS ↗, our group also supports external users with radiocarbon analyses of a wide range of sample types.