ENHG Lecture October 6: Ostracods: Tiny But Very Useful Crustaceans

Kindly note that this lecture will take place via Zoom. A link will be sent prior to the talk for all who register. There are unlimited spaces, so feel free to pass the invite to your friends!

Short summary:

Ostracods are an important group of crustaceans which are used as powerful tools in biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimate studies and monitoring of aquatic habitats. Ostracods produce calcareous shells which are often preserved in the rock record. The talk will provide a general introduction on ostracods, and the use of ostracod shells in studies of ancient aquatic environments. Past water availability can be reconstructed based on analysis of ostracod shells, and the degree of human impacts on aquatic ecosystems can be assessed in the context of long-term natural fluctuations of the environment and climate. The state of research with respect to ostracods in the United Arab Emirates will be reviewed. 

About Steffen: 

Steffen Mischke is a geologist with a main interest in environmental and climate change during the most recent period of Earth’s history, the Quaternary. He graduated from a PhD study at the Free University of Berlin in Germany where he worked as a junior professor for six years afterwards. He spent a year as visiting researcher at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (USA), and worked as research fellow at University of Potsdam (Germany). Steffen has worked as a geology professor in the Faculty of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland since 2015, teaching undergraduate and graduate students and acting as a PhD supervisor. Steffen’s research has a focus on the dry regions of the Old World including China, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Jordan, Israel and Morocco.