Dr. Julio Sepúlveda will present: What do fossil molecules tell us about Earth’s history and the extinction of dinosaurs?

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Dr. Sepúlveda is a broadly trained biogeochemist who uses organic and stable isotope geochemical tools to study the co-evolution of biology, biogeochemical cycles and climate. His research studies the interplay between microorganisms, biogeochemical processes, and climate in contemporary settings (e.g., continental margins, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, extreme environments), and paleo-ecosystems across major climatic/biotic transitions in Earth history (e.g., mass extinction events, greenhouse climates, glacial-interglacial transitions). He approaches these studies with a focus on the structure, distribution, and stable isotopic composition of cell membrane lipids (biomarkers) that are preserved in modern and ancient depositional systems, and carry taxonomic, metabolic, and environmental information. Notably, these characteristics of biomarkers can be preserved in sedimentary systems for billions of years.