Former Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Henrich

We apply carbonate and clastic sedimentology, micropaleontology (coccolithophorids, pteropods and planktic foraminifers) of modern, Quarternary and Tertiary systems to reconstruct various aspects of climate change and marine sedimentation.

Working Area

Main topics are sediments from different pelagic and continental shelf environments, also including studies of pelagic communities in the water column. Working areas are located in the North and South Atlantic also including the research disciplines of gravity mass wasting and turbidity - versus contour current induced sedimentation on continental slopes off NW- and S-America. In the focus are climatically triggered sedimentary processes linking land-ocean interactions putting main emphasis on the shelves and continental slopes of NW-Africa and S-America. In addition, geological mapping and facies analysis in the Northern Limestone Alps is carried out in co-operation with the Geological Survey of Austria.

Methods

Elemental analysis, electron and light microscopy, granulometry (Sedigraph, Atterberg), carbonate microfacies analysis, micropaleontological preparation techniques of sediment samples and plankton assemblages in surface waters