Geology Department Postgraduate Web Pages

Name: Vincent Mouchi

Contact Details

Title of Project

Biomineralisation and isotope proxies for environmental change

Project details

By studying the isotopic geochemistry of biominerals (hard parts synthesized by organisms, as shells and skeleton), it is possible to have access to some information on the living environment of the selected organism. My project is to focus on Irish waters deep-sea corals ecosystems to reconstruct temperature, salinity and pH variations throughout the Holocene at a seasonal scale. Other parts of this work concern diagenesis of corals and dating techniques (U-series, 14C).

Name of supervisor

Quentin G. Crowley (TCD)

Postgraduate personal details

I studied so far in Paris, France, at the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), with a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Geosciences followed by a one-year lab internship studying oyster shells, in order to characterize a temperature model based on Mg/Ca ratios. I was earlier interested in palaeontology, but I discovered sclerochronology during my studies and fell in love with this discipline.

Project Start Date

September 2011

Publications

Mouchi, V., de Rafélis, M., Lartaud, F., Fialin, M. & Verrechia E., accepted. Chemical labelling of oyster shells used for time-calibrated high resolution Mg/Ca ratios: a tool for past estimation of seasonal temperature variations. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclim. Palaeoeco, Special Pub ISC2010, accepted.
Mouchi, V., Lartaud, F., & de Rafélis, M., 2010. Environmental vs. physiological control of the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca distribution in oyster shells – modern and fossil applications. 2nd International Sclerochronology Conference, Mainz, July 2010, pp. 134.