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  Research Group: Sedimentary Geology

Research interests

• Sedimentary records of natural hazards
• Paleoseismology
• Lacustrine and marine geology
• Subaquatic landslides and turbidites
  
• Marine geophysics and geotechnics

Curriculum Vitae

Since Apr. 2016	Assistant Professor / University Assistant at University of Innsbruck (UIBK) - Sedimentary Geology Group
Jan. 2014 - Dec. 2015	Assistant Professor at Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh)  “Sedimentary records of natural hazards in Chile”
Oct. 2011- Dec. 2013	Postdoctoral researcher / Lecturer at ETH Zürich, Switzerland Advisor: Prof. Dr. Michael Strasser Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation “Stability of underwater sediments upon earthquake shaking: implications for quantitative paleoseismology”
Oct. 2010 - Sep. 2011	Postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, Belgium Advisor: Prof. Dr. Marc De Batist Funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) “Paleoseismic reconstruction in Chile using sedimentary archives in lakes and fjords”
Jan. 2006 - May 2010	Ph.D. student at Ghent University, Belgium Advisor: Prof. Dr. Marc De Batist Funded by the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology – Flanders (IWT) “Sublacustrine landslide processes and their paleoseismological significance” "Paleoclimate record of Lake Challa (equatorial East Africa)"
Aug. 2005 - Dec. 2005	Scientific personnel at Ghent University, Belgium Advisor: Prof. Dr. Marc De Batist CRIMEA: “Contribution of high-intensity gas seeps in the Black Sea to methane emission to the atmosphere”

Research Projects

Principal Investigator

• "Tyrol on Shaky Slopes": Did strong earthquakes trigger the rockslide clusters in Tyrol (Austria)? Evidence from lacustrine sedimentary records (Tiroler Wissenschaftsförderung TWF, 2018-2020) More info
• Quantitative lacustrine paleoseismology in Carinthia (Austria) (FWF, Austria, 2017-2021) More info
• "Process understanding in subaquatic paleoseismology: Earthquake-triggered remobilization of surficial sediments at ocean margins and lacustrine basins" (Nachwuchsförderung – University of Innsbruck, 2016-2018). More info
• “Spatio-temporal patterns of earthquake recurrence in South-Central Chile: quantitative analysis of lacustrine paleoseismic records” (FONDECYT, Chile, 2015)
• Tsunami deposits in coastal lakes in South-Central Chile (Ghent University, Belgium, 2011-2014)
• PhD and Postdoc fellowship (FWO and IWT Flanders, 2006-2011)

Co-Principal Investigator

• IODP Proposal 866 (funded): Expedition 386 Japan Trench Paleoseismology
• Studying the significance of subaqueous slides in Austrian lakes (ÖAW, 2019-2020)
• Recurrence of great earthquakes and tsunamis in Central Chile (FONDECYT, Chile, 2015-2018)
• Lacustrine paleoseismology in Alaska (FWO Flanders, Belgium, 2012-2017)
• Geotechnical characterization of subaquatic slope stability (MARUM, Germany, 2013)
  

Collaborator

• SLATE - Submarine Landslides and their impact on European continental margins (ITN: Marie-Skłodowska-Curie program, European Commission, 2017-2021)
• Core-XCT: X-ray Computed Tomography as new tool in Earth Science for non-destructive core analyses (Nachwuchsförderung – University of Innsbruck, 2018-2019)
• ARMONIA: Harmonising administration and public institutions for trans-frontier risk prevention and disaster management. (Interreg V-A, 2018-2021) 
• Earthquake archive in the geological record of the Japan Trench (FWF, Austria, 2016-2020) 
• Lacustrine paleoseismology in Switzerland (SNSF, Switzerland, 2011-2015)
• Lacustrine paleoclimate records in Chile (FWO Flanders, Belgium, 2008-2012)
• Tephrostratigraphy in South-Central Chile (University of Oxford, UK, 2013-2016)
• Paleoclimate record of lake Challa, East Africa (ESF, Ghent University, 2007-2011) 

Teaching

• Geophysics (BSc)
• Applied Geophysics (MSc)
• Analytical Lab Methods (BSc)
• collaborations in Limnogeology (MSc) and Natural Hazards in Mountain Regions (MSc)
  

At previous positions (UACh, ETHZ):

• Geophysics (BSc)
• Seismology (BSc)
• Limnogeology (BSc)
• collaborations in Marine Geology (MSc), Geomorphology (BSc) and Applied Seismology (MSc)

Supervision / mentoring of 5 Ph.D, 6 M.Sc. and 10 B.Sc. students (some ongoing)

Training of students and guest researchers in geophysical data acquisition, processing and interpretation; sediment coring; geochemical, petrophysical and sedimentological logging and analyses; granulometry; standard geotechnical tests, etc. 
Organization of field courses in Limnogeology, Applied  Geophysics, Geomorphology.

Other scholarly activities 

• Peer reviewer for funding agencies and several journals including Geology, Marine Geology, Geomorphology, Quaternary Science Reviews, Journal of Geophysical Research, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Tectonophysics, Quaternary International.
• Co-Convener at the International Sedimentology Congress 2014 (Geneva) “Sedimentology of extreme events”, EGU 2018/2019 (Vienna) ) “Limnogeology”, INQUA 2019 “Subduction Zone Paleoseismology”
• Participation at conferences: EGU, AGU, ISC, INQUA, IGC, ILIC, GEOSUR, AGU Chapman, ESF and national conferences
• Public outreach: presentations at several events for the promotion of science in Belgium and in Chile; publications and comments in newspapers in Austria, Belgium and Chile. Documentary, public talks and interviews about earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Chile. TV Interviews on Austrian lake projects.
• Participation at workshops: ECORD Summer School on “Submarine Landslides, Earthquakes and Tsunamis”, Bremen, Germany, 2012; Submarine Paleoseismology Workshop: Using giant piston coring within IODP to fill the gap in long-term records of great earthquakes, ETH Zürich, Switzerland, 2015
• Research stays: MARUM Bremen, 2012 (4 months): Geotechnical analysis of lake sediments. GFZ Potsdam, 2008 (3 weeks): Impregnation and microfacies analysis of lake sediments. MARUM Bremen and ETH Zürich (4 weeks): core scanning (XRF and MSCL)
• Scientist board member in Research Centers (RC) / Doctoral Programs (DP): DP Natural Hazards in Mountain Regions (UIBK);  RC Geodynamics-Geomaterials (UIBK); RC Natural Risks (UACh); RC Quaternary Research (UACh)
• Committee member in PhD/MSc commissions (5); 
• Coordinator/instructor for the geophysical equipment (subbottom profiler, geo-electrics, GPR), grain-size lab (Mastersizer 3000) and varve lab at the UIBK
• Research expeditions: Geophysical mapping/profiling and sediment coring on lakes in Chile (16), Alaska (5), Switzerland (4), Austria (9) and Turkey (1) for a total of 550 days in the field. Geophysical mapping on R/V Sonne offshore Japan (SO251; 2016); R/V Belgica on the Belgian Continental Shelf (2006); R/V Guaiqueri offshore Venezuela (2005)