New on Board: Coralie Zorzi
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be doing at CCMAR.
In 2022, I started a FCT young researcher contract to develop the project CHUVA, Land-Sea dynamics in East Asia: Deciphering the impact of high-latitude versus tropical forcing, aiming at providing new insights on the hydrological cycle in East Asia (#grant: 2022.03976.CEECIND). One of the main goal of CHUVA is to reconstruct vegetation-based hydroclimate variability, as well as simultaneous sea-surface changes in the East Sea across the Plio-Pleistocene (~the last 5 Ma). This land-sea reconstruction will be crucial to assess potential regional oceanic feedbacks on the frequency and amplitude of monsoonal rainfall changes. The project is mostly based on the examination of microfossils from two neighbouring deep-sea sequences collected in the East Sea, namely IODP Site U1425 and core ES14-GC01. The originality of the project relies on an innovative palynological approach, combining systematically a jointed-analysis of terrestrial (i.e. pollen grains) and marine (i.e. dinocysts) palynomorphs, which is the rare way to explore through the same analysis the interactions of the land-atmosphere-ocean systems without chronological ambiguities.
What were you doing before you joined us?
In December 2019, I completed my Ph.D., titled Plio–Pleistocene marine palynomorph biostratigraphy of the subarctic Pacific, in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in Canada while simultaneously, in January, starting a Teaching and Research assistant contract at the EPHE-UMR EPOC in Bordeaux, France. During this 2-years long contract, I could continue the research initiated during my Master thesis on the Indian monsoon variability while teaching BSc and MSc students, mainly in Geosciences. After, I was awarded of a 1-year postdoctoral contract at the University of Bordeaux in the framework the GI-NOAH Project, and then, of a 15-months post-doctoral contract with IODP France by submitting the ARID Project, that strengthening my expertise on the Indian monsoon.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I am not going to be very creative saying that I love travelling! I like to discover new cultures, landscapes and ways of life! I am always excited in experiencing new food and activities! It is also very important for me to share moments with my family and my friends!