Stergios Zarkogiannis

Stergios Zarkogiannis
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow
Royal Society Newton International Fellow
Tutorial Fellow at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
+44 (0) 1865 272 001
stergios.zarkogiannis@earth.ox.ac.uk

Biography

I am fundamentally an Oceanographer and an Architect who developed a strong passion for Earth Sciences eversince encountering dissected, polished ammonite fossil specimens. After completing my undergraduate studies in Marine Sciences at the University of the Aegean, where I specialized in eastern Mediterranean islandic beaches, I pursued a Master's degree in Environmental Coastal Engineering at the University of Southampton. It was there that I gained hands-on experience with marine fossils and discovered Paleoceanography. I later earned a PhD in Marine Micropaleontology and Foraminifera Shell Geochemistry and currently hold a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford.

 

Research

My research delves into the carbon cycle, examining how calcifying planktonic organisms sequester atmospheric carbon (CO2) and transport it into the sedimentary record, a long-term carbon store. To achieve this, I focus on the calcification processes of phyto- and zooplankton, the structural components of the pelagic carbonate system. In recent years, I’ve explored factors driving planktonic foraminifera shell weights and found that physical oceanography and not only the water chemistry impacts biomineralization. I'm currently exploring planktonic calcification in regions with pronounced oceanographic fronts and extreme events and am expanding my work to investigate how biogenic silicification may also be affected by seawater density. This line of research holds promise for deepening our understanding of carbon sequestration processes.

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Paleoceanography; Paleoclimate; Micropaleontology; Plankton Biomineralization; Stable Isotope and Trace Metal Geochemistry

My research interests focus on understanding the relationship between foraminiferal calcification and oceanic conditions, particularly how seawater density, salinity, and temperature influence shell weights across different ocean basins. I aim to explore how these factors impact the global carbon cycle, and how changes in pelagic calcification affect climate dynamics on both seasonal and geological timescales. My work also investigates the resilience of foraminifera to environmental changes and their potential role in atmospheric CO2 regulation throughout Earth's history.

Lecturer in: 

Geochemistry, Climate and Carbon Cycle

Climate Dynamics

Analytical methods

Climate Science

I have been voted lifelong and voting member of the Greek Philosophical Society.

I have been awarded two of the most prestigious independent research fellowships: the Newton International Fellowship from the Royal Society in the UK and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship from the European Union.

Before joining the University of Oxford, I worked at several leading European institutions, including the Godwin Laboratory for Paleoclimate Research at the University of Cambridge, as well as Excellence Cluster Institutes in continental Europe, such as the Department of Geosciences at the University of Bremen in Germany and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain.

I am a member of several European and U.S. scientific societies and have also received numerous prestigious grants, including awards from the Smithsonian Institution in the United States and the International Association of Sedimentologists.

 

Publications