Geobiology is the study of the coevolution of and interplay between life and Earth. The group of geobiology at the University of Vienna, lead by Ass.-Prof. Dr. Theresa Nohl, M.Sc., is focused on microbially mediated early diagenesis in carbonate sediments, its steering mechanisms and their temporal and spatial intensity range. A special interest are thereby caused biases in the palaeontological and geological record, i.e., the effects of early diagenesis on palaeontological, geochemical and sedimentological data retrieved from carbonate rocks for stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental interpretation. We further investigate the effect of early diagenetic dissolution and precipitation processes on carbon cycling.
Ass.-Prof. Dr. Theresa Nohl, M.Sc.
Drilling sites of IODP Exp. 389 Hawaiian drowned reefs. www.ecord.org/expedition389/
Are you interested in a BSc or MSc thesis?
Contact: theresa.nohl@univie.ac.at
Currently conducted theses:
-BSc: Environmental and diagenetic drivers of sediment composition in the Bahamas transect
-MScUsing palaeontological and sedimentological information to „unfold“ the tectonic and depositional history of deposits near Grundlsee
Cross-cutting facies. The depositional surface not at the lithological boundary but in the middle of the beds, combining different facies into one limestone bed. Unpublished photo by Theresa Nohl.
Horizontal cut of a Trichoptera protective case with agglutinated gastropods and chemically and biogenically precipitated laminae, preserving the fragile structure. From Nohl et al. 2021 ( https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.4067)
Shrinking or shaking: Are the septarian structures within limestone beds and on limstone surfaces caused by dessication and shrinkage or by earthquake waves disturbing the process of early diagenesis/lithification? Unpublished foto by Theresa Nohl
(A) Differential compaction and preservation of one storm bed, separated by early diagenesis into limestone and marl. From Nohl et al. (2019) doi.org/10.2110/palo.2018.062
Differential preservation of aragonitic Hydrobia gastropod in lithified and unlithified beds. Photo by Theresa Nohl, cover image for Journal of Sedimentary Research Vol. 90, N. 11 (Nov. 2020)
(C) Detail of originally aragonitic (green arrow) and calcitic fossils (red arrow) at the boundary between marl (lower part) and limestone (upper part). The originally aragonitic gastropod ends at the boundary, whereas the calcitic component (presumably a coral fragment) continues across the boundary. From Nohl et al. (2019) doi.org/10.2110/palo.2018.062