Chair of Historical and Regional Geology
Research and teaching in the field of historical and regional geology are aimed at demonstrating temporal and spatial changes in the Earth system. The focus is on variations in the chemical composition of the ocean-atmosphere system as a function of the interactions between atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere.
20 Jahre Geochemie der Stabilen Isotope am Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie (in German only)
Earth System Evolution and the Role of Geochemistry
In recent years, historical and regional geology has evolved from descriptive-documentary to process-orientated research. Building on the basic principles developed using classical methods, modern concepts such as global correlation programmes, sequence stratigraphy, cyclo-stratigraphy and basin analysis are now at the forefront. They are indispensable for the temporal and spatial understanding of regional and global geological processes. Understanding the evolutionary history of our earth requires a holistic interdisciplinary approach, a consideration of the EARTH SYSTEM.
The study of geological phenomena, both the 'products' in the sense of rock units and the endogenous and exogenous processes of their genesis, has changed from a purely qualitative description to a quantitative characterisation. The modern view of global and regional geological evolution is no longer limited to the identification of lithological contexts and relevant biostratigraphic classifications, but attempts to characterise the processes that led to the formation of the existing geological features by integrating various geoscientific disciplines.
In addition to the 'classical' petrographic and palaeontological approaches, geochemical methods represent a successful tool for identifying the origin of a material as well as the relevant processes. These processes, which have led to today's geological inventory, have left their corresponding geochemical fingerprints in the available rocks. As an alternative to classical geochemical approaches in the sense of pure concentration determinations, isotope geochemistry (both stable and radiogenic isotopes) offer the possibility of drawing direct conclusions about processes. Corresponding results can be important in terms of regional geological interpretations, but can also help to shed light on the evolutionary history of our planet. Prominent examples are the characterisation of the depositional conditions and the diagenetic history of sediments in a sedimentary basin (more regional aspects) or the concept of sediment recycling and the development of our earth's crust in the course of geological history ('provenance studies'). In many cases, stratigraphic correlations not only utilise classical biostratigraphy, but also integrate chemostratigraphy. A modern view of the evolutionary history of life on our planet goes beyond the classical approaches of systematic palaeontology. Today's research concepts attempt to reconstruct the ecosystem in the geological past, whereby biologically controlled processes can be characterised by geochemical and isotope-geochemical analyses. Finally, a consideration of the evolution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere is inseparable from an overall understanding of the history of our planet.
The role of geochemistry (including isotope geochemistry) in the geosciences must be understood as universal. It is by no means the sole and exhaustive ‘source of wisdom’. However, (isotope) geochemical investigations represent a tool that can be used universally for questions from general, historical, regional and applied geology and is used successfully both nationally and internationally. Our present understanding of the current state and evolutionary history of the Earth, and thus the core aspect of historical and regional geology, is based on the integration of results from all geoscientific disciplines. Geochemistry plays an important role in this.
