Welcome to the AMG lab
Latest research in Alfredo Martínez García's laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC)
The AMG lab studies the evolution of the Earth system including its physical, chemical and biological components. We combine the study of modern processes with the analysis of past climatic and environmental archives using a variety of geochemical techniques, including organic biomarkers, and stable isotopes of Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen. In addition, in recent years we have pioneered the use N isotopes in enamel to study the trophic evolution of extant and extinct taxa including our early hominin ancestors, as well as, the application of stable isotopes to study cancer diagnosis and metabolism. Find more details about our research here.
Latest Research Highlights
Enhanced ocean oxygenation during Cenozoic warm periods
August 31, 2022
Dissolved oxygen (O2) is essential for most ocean ecosystems, fuelling organisms’ respiration and facilitating the cycling of carbon and nutrients. Oxygen measurements have been interpreted to indicate that the ocean’s oxygen-deficient zones (ODZs) are expanding under global warming. However, models provide an unclear picture of future ODZ change in both the near term and the long term. The paleoclimate record can help explore the possible range of ODZ changes in warmer-than-modern periods. In an article published in the journal Nature, we show that water-column denitrification in the eastern tropical North Pacific was greatly reduced during two Cenozoic periods of sustained warmth. Because denitrification is restricted to oxygen-poor waters, our results indicate that, contrary to most expectations, ODZs contracted , not expanded, during climate warming. Although our results from the Cenozoic do not necessarily apply to the near-term future, they suggest that global warming may eventually cause ODZ contraction.