Uni Koeln mit Schrift small

Log in

Log in

After almost five months and almost 17300km of travel, the sediment cores from our second deep drilling operation at the Paranal clay pan finally arrived here in Cologne at the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy. A truck full of sediment cores with a weight of up to 8t was unloaded, inspected and stored in the facilities of the Quaternary working group. The first 50m were directly moved to the laboratory to start some initial scans on the Multi-Sensor Core Logger. Within the next months the cores will be opened, described and will go through some analyses, including paleomagnetics, geochemical and geophysical properties, followed by sub-sampling for more methods, covered within our CRC1211. This sediment archive will give us crucial insights in the paleo-environment and paleo-climate of the southern Atacama Desert (Southern Focus Area of our CRC1211). With the data and information obtained from our first deep drilling operation at the PAG clay pan (Central Focus Area) and short cores from the Huara clay pan (Northern Focus Area), we will be able to trace major climate shifts and conditions during the past, to better understand local and overregional climate patterns and mechanisms, such as ENSO variations and rare but severe precipitation events. With the information obtained from the entirety of paleoclimate archives within our Collaborative Research Centre, we will be able to better understand processes which shape our Earth, especially in arid to hyperarid environments. In cooperation with our biologists, we will be able to unravel how life evolved and adapted to these harsh conditions. Reconstructed past climate episodes and their atmospheric mechanism, can be translated to forecast and model future climate and environmental conditions.

Author: B. Ritter

 

 

Crew with the lowermost core of Hole 1B (174 m depth).
Fig.1: Crew with the lowermost core of Hole 1B (174 m depth).
Photo: Damian Lopez

  Downloading the samples at the shipping agency in La Portada, Antofagasta.
Fig.2: Downloading the samples at the shipping agency in La Portada, Antofagasta.
Photo: Damian Lopez

 

Arrival in Cologne.
Fig.3: Arrival in Cologne.
Photo:
Benedikt Ritter

  Downloading the samples on the parking at the Institute of Geology.
Fig.4: Downloading the samples on the parking at the Institute of Geology.
Photo:
Benedikt Ritter

imageZ5



imageZ5 150px

Get in touch

Dr. Hannah Hartung
IRTG Coordinator

University of Cologne
Institute of Geology and Mineralogy
 

Zülpicher Str. 49a
50674 Cologne
Germany 
 
Phone:   +49 (0)221 470-6101
E-mail:   irtg@sfb1211.de

IRTG Mission

Forging and maintaining an international,
interdisciplinary network in the area of Earth
and Life Sciences

Uni Köln   Uni Bonn   Goethe Uni Frankfurt   GFZ
           
  RWTH Aachen   Uni Heidelberg    

Partners Chile

 

Logo Partner Chile   Logo Partner Chile  

Logo Partner Chile

  Logo Partner Chile   Logo Partner Chile
                 
Logo Partner Chile   Logo Partner Chile   Logo Partner Chile   Logo Partner Chile

Partners Namibia

 

Logo Partner Namibia   Logo Partner Namibia  

Logo Partner Namibia

  Logo Partner Namibia