Alexandra Rodler

I use geochemistry and sedimentology in an integrated approach to reconstruct paleo-seawater chemistry at critical intervals of environmental change. This includes the post-glacial periods following the Snowball Earth events, times of fluctuating oxygen levels towards the end of the Neoproterozoic era, and the transition from Cryogenian to Ediacaran environmental conditions that likely facilitated the evolution of complex life. I combine sedimentary trace and rare earth element data with redox- and bioproductivity-sensitive isotope systems to reconstruct changes in paleo-environmental conditions in post-Sturtian and post-Marinoan open marine settings. I also carefully calibrate the novel geochemical tracers I use for these paleo-environmental reconstructions though mechanistic experiments of trace element incorporation and through calibration with present-day analog samples.