Dr Michael Hermoso


NERC Research Fellow

Email: Michael.Hermoso@earth.ox.ac.uk
TEL: + 44 (0) 1865 272010
FAX: + 44 (0) 1865 272072

Research Profile

My research intererests center around palaeoceanography and biogeochemistry of the marine calcifiers. I am currently interested in developping a mechanistic understanding of stable isotopes in coccolithophores in order to unlock a part of the information contained in the geological record and derive actual (i.e., "vital effect-free") variations of the chemistry of seawater in the past. The coccolithophores are unicellular marine algae living in the surface of the oceans. These calcifying and photosynthetic organisms have an influential role on the exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the ocean and are responsible for a large part of the carbon drawdown to the seafloor. In the laboratory, it is possible to reproduce a range of environmental conditions and investigate the effect of the changes in the chemical composition of the biominerals and measure the intensity of the biological-induced fractionation of stable isotopes in coccoliths. Identifying what causes this vital effect will help developing a quantitative approach. Once such a calibration between extracellular parameters and the geochemistry of the mineralisation is obtained, I will test the outcomes pertaining the biogeochemistry of these organisms against the climatic variability of natural environment both geographically and temporally. These new constrains will also be relevant for predicting the response of the oceanic carbonate system to future climate changes because the behaviour of the surface ocean is a key parameter used for most climatic models.  

Teaching Profile

  • Fundamentals of Geology I: Lectures/practicals "Sedimentary rocks & Sedimentary environments" (1st year).
  • Dorset Fieldtrip (2nd year).
  • Master's and D.Phil Students Mentoring.

Selected Publications

Hermoso, M., Minoletti, F., Rickaby, R.E.M., Hesselbo, S.P., Baudin, F. and Jenkyns, H.C., 2012. Dynamics of a stepped carbon-isotope excursion: ultra high-resolution study of Early Toarcian environmental change. Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters, 319, pp. 45-54, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.12.021.

Scroxton, N., Bonham, S., Rickaby, R., Lawrence S., Hermoso, M. and Haywood, A., 2011. Persistent El Niño-Southern Oscillation variation during the Pliocene Epoch. Paleoceanography, 26, PA2214, doi:10.1029/2010PA002097.

Hermoso, M., Minoletti, F., Le Callonnec, L., Jenkyns, H.C., Hesselbo, S.P., Rickaby, R.E.M., Renard, M., de Rafélis, M. and Emmanuel, L., 2009. Global and local forcing of Early Toarcian seawater chemistry: a comparative study of different paleoceanographic settings (Paris and Lusitanian basins). Paleoceanography, 24, PA4208, doi:10.1029/2009PA001764.

Hermoso, M., Le Callonnec, L., Minoletti, F., Renard, M. and Hesselbo, S.P., 2009. Expression of the Early Toarcian carbon-isotope negative excursion in separated microfractions (Jurassic, Paris Basin). Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters, 277, pp. 194-203, doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.10.013.

Minoletti, F., Hermoso, M.* and Gressier, V., 2008. Separation of micron-sized sedimentary particles for palaeoceanography and calcareous nannofossil biogeochemistry. Nature protocols, 4 (1), pp. 14-24, doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2008.200. (* Co-lead author)

Emmanuel, L., Renard, M., Cubaynes, R., Rafélis, M. de, Hermoso, M., Le Callonnec, L. and Rey J., 2006. The "Schistes carton" of Quercy (Tarn, France): A lithological signature of a methane hydrate dissociation event in the Early Toarcian. Implications for correlations between Boreal and Tethyan realms. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France, 177 (5), pp. 237-247. (pdf)

Other Information

I am part of the Ocean Biogeochemistry Research Group at Oxford.

I am part of the Stratigraphy and Sedimentology Research Group at Oxford.

I am also a honorary Research Associate of the National History Museum, Luxembourg [LINK].