By drilling sediment scores, the scientists can get information about the past climate and organisms which lived in the past. Sofia Ribeiro's research combines methods from geology and biology, and she studies climate and environmental history in Greenland.

The sediment cores from Arctic fjords are archives of microevolution in a warming climate. Sofia uses sediment archives of marine protists (mainly dinoflagellates) to reconstruct environmental and climatic change. The microfossils in the sediment cores can stay alive up to 100 years, which allows the scientists to reveal environmental change.

Sofia Ribeiro's research takes place in north-eastern Greenland. This is a largely unexplored area, and we are lacking basic background information, such as the depth of the fjords, which has not been measured yet. However, we know that the Arctic sea ice has disappeared rapidly during the past 30 years due to climate change. Increased freshwater inflow is expected to influence the Gulf stream and the climate in Northern Europe.

Read more about Sofia’s research at videnskab.dk

Arctic Research Centre has supported Sofia's research.