Program Sommer-Semester 2026

16.04.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr.  Jan Falkenberg (TU Berlin)

Gold and Sulfur cycling in submarine epithermal systems, Karambusel vent field, Papua New Guinea

Abstract: Research cruise SO299 in 2023 to Papua New Guinea discovered the active Karambusel vent field on the submarine Conical Seamount at 1300 mbsl in PNG. Karambusel represents a, first-of-its-kind, hybrid system that combines characteristics of a high-temperature magmatic-hydrothermal system and cold hydrocarbon seepage forming a unique Au-rich (up to 230 µg/g) polymetallic breccias on the seafloor. In my talk I will give an overview on how submarine ore-forming systems can be studied using an extensive suite of trace element and S isotope in-situ methods. I will especially focus on the discovery of the Karambusel vent field, the pathways of Sulfur and Gold in young submarine epithermal systems, and present an ore-forming model for Au enrichment in hydrothermal mineralization.

Vita: My research focuses on critical metal cycling in various ore-forming environments. I completed my PhD at GeoZentrum Nordbayern in Erlangen in 2024 with a focus on the trace element and S isotopic composition of sulfides from arc-related submarine hydrothermal vents (“black smokers”) in the western Pacific and from porphyry-epithermal systems in Greece. Currently I am leading the LA-ICP-MS lab at the Applied Geochemistry Group at the TU Berlin and my current research focus on hydrothermal experiments exploring trace element partitioning between fluids and sulfides.

Invited by: Harry Becker

23.04.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr.  Nozair Khawaja (FUB)

Exploring the Habitability of Ocean Worlds

Abstract: Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a high astrobiological potential, as it emits material from its subsurface ocean in the form of gas and ice grains through plumes at its south pole. A wide variety of chemical species detected in the plume by Cassini’s mass spectrometers require a subsurface origin to explain their presence and their transport from Enceladus’s core to the icy vents. In this talk, I will present the current understanding of Enceladus’ chemical inventory in the post-Cassini era, together with an update on my European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project, Analogue Icy Moon Simulations (AIMS).

Vita: My main research focuses on exploring the habitability of ocean worlds, including Enceladus and Europa, and characterizing cosmic dust using spaceborne mass spectrometers. I am associated with the current NASA Europa-Clipper mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa and the past Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturnian System. Furthermore, I am Co-I for Destiny Dust Analyzer (DDA) onboard JAXA’s Destiny+ Mission to an asteroid, Phaethon. At Freie Universität Berlin, I am a research group leader with the ERC-CoG project (webpage), Analogue Icy Moon Simulations (AIMS).

Invited by:  Frank Postberg

30.04.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

 TBD

07.05.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr.  Filippo Maria Rotatori (FUB)

Western Europe as a Crucible: Diversity and macroevolution of iguanodontian dinosaurs in the Jurassic and Cretaceous

Abstract: Iguanodontian dinosaurs are among the earliest discovered and later became one of the most successful herbivorous groups, yet their early evolution remains poorly understood. In this talk, I highlight Western Europe as a key region for their diversification. By re-examining Late Jurassic material from across the region, including the Lourinhã Formation (Portugal), I reveal previously overlooked diversity, including new species, effectively expanding the known record. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that iguanodontians diversified earlier than previously thought, underscoring Western Europe as a crucial evolutionary centre shaping their Jurassic origins and Cretaceous success.

Vita: My research explores the diversity, systematics, and macroevolution of ornithopod dinosaurs worldwide during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. I completed my PhD at NOVA University of Lisbon, where I studied iguanodontian evolution and palaeobiogeography. Currently, my projects focus on evolutionary patterns in Late Jurassic iguanodontians from the United States Morrison Formation, combining comparative anatomy, phylogenetics, and macroevolutionary analyses.

Invited by: Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr and Emanuel Tschopp

Artwork: Victor Carvalho (Creative Commons)

21.05.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr.  Sebastian Breitenbach (Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne)

Deep Into the Continent and Back in Time —Where No One Has Gone Before

Abstract: Continental Eurasia, with its vast permafrost deposits, boreal forests and dryland biomes, is a key regulator of global greenhouse gas dynamics and atmospheric circulation patterns. Despite its rapid response to global warming, reflected in accelerating permafrost thaw, intensifying wildfires, and increasing number of extreme events like droughts and floods, the climatic history of continental Eurasia remains poorly understood, due largely to lack of suitable archives. I will discuss cave deposits as archives for continental palaeoenvironmental changes, present recent results of my team, and challenges when working with speleothems in permafrost regions. Ongoing work reveals environmental changes in Siberia since the Miocene. Using innovative analytical tools like clumped isotopes and biomarkers we gain fresh insights into past temperature, vegetation changes and moisture supply that are intimately linked to circulation dynamics. Going ca. 8.7 million years back in time, we tap into continental climate changes in a warmer-than-modern world, but we also face new challenges that require novel methods and interdisciplinary collaboration.  Linking multi-proxy reconstructions from different archives and model estimates we should be able to estimate near-future scenarios for permafrost, precipitation, and vegetation changes deep in Eurasia and associated repercussions for society.

Vita:  I am Associate Professor at the School of Geography and Natural Sciences at Northumbria University, UK. I studied geography and geology at Humboldt University and FU Berlin, completed my PhD at University Potsdam in 2009. After several years as postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich, I became research associate at Cambridge University (2015-2016) and Ruhr-University Bochum (2016-2020). In 2020, I accepted a post as Senior-Vice Chancellor Fellow at Northumbria University. As Head of the Northumbria Isotope and Clumped Geothermometry for Environmental Studies (NICEST) laboratory I exploit diverse carbonate systems, like speleothems, ostracods and molluscs, to reconstruct past environmental changes on the continents. I am particularly interested in the development of quantitative proxies, such as clumped isotopes, and the consequences of climatic changes on society. I am a field-oriented speleothem science expert, and I enjoy working in interdisciplinary research collaborations. 

Invited by: Pavel Tarasaov

28.05.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr. André Bahr (FUB)

Title: TBD

Invited by: Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr

04.06.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

TBD

11.06.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

TBD

18.06.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr.  Jörg Maletz (FUB)

Graptolites - Seriously!

Abstract: Graptolites - the most important group of the macroplankton in the Palaeozoic, remain one of these types of fossils, every student has to learn about, but very few will ever use during their career. Thus, I will provide here an overview of the impact that graptolites have in the Geological Sciences and how personal research at various levels (Batchelor, masters, PhD theses, etc.) can and will influence a career in Palaeontology, even if it is not based on one of the most talked-about fossil groups.

Vita: My research focussed for more than 40 years on graptolites, a peculiar fossil group of the Palaeozoic (Cambrian - Carboniferous), to which recently the extant Rhabdopleuridae and Cephalodiscidae (extant Pterobranchia) were added, modifying the understanding of the fossil graptolites considerably. Graptolites are used in a number of scientific aspects in the Geological Sciences and their use will not be easily understood at first. They are highly important for dating marine sedimentological successions and tracing intervals for oil and gas, as is very frequently done in the Sichuan Basin of the Yangtze Platform of China for example, one of my most recent areas of research, but also in numerous other regions. Graptolites may be essential for the interpretation of regional geology and plate tectonics. In the Chronostratigraphy of the Palaeozoic, graptolites provide the most important index fossils. Graptolites provide highly useful insight into the evolution of the marine ecosphere in the Palaeozoic, producing the first marine macroplankton moving freely in the water column.

Invited by: Elis Hoffmann

25.06.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr.  Derya Gürer (U HD)

Double Same-Dip Subduction in the Neotethys: Linking the Geologic Record, Mantle Structure, and Geodynamic Models

Abstract: The Neotethys Ocean preserves evidence of double same-dip subduction in the Alpine–Himalayan orogen, segmented by transform-controlled boundaries. Integrating the geologic record, plate reconstructions, and seismic tomography, we identify slab remnants and connect their geometries to past trench motion and mantle structure. 3-D geodynamic models show that double subduction accelerates plate motion, redirects convergence, and drives Euler pole shifts. This framework links surface observations to plate kinematics and mantle dynamics over geological time.

Vita: I am a geoscientist specializing in tectonics and plate boundary processes. My research integrates field geology with tools like paleomagnetism and geochronology to study long-term geological evolution. I also collaborate with researchers using seismic tomography and geodynamic modeling to investigate shorter-term mantle and subduction processes, focusing on how slab geometry controls plate motion and mantle structure in complex orogenic systems. I am particularly interested in the tectonic evolution of the Tethyan and Southwest Pacific realms, where I work both onshore and offshore.

Invited by:  Alex Webb

02.07.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr. Fang-Zhen Teng (U Washington + FUB)

Title: TBD

Invited by:  Harry Becker

09.07.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

Dr. Ina Plesa (DLR)

Title: TBD

Invited by:  Lena Noack

16.07.2026

13:15, Lecture hall C.011

TBD

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