I am interested in past climatic changes and its relationship with ocean and atmospheric circulation. My research is focused on Pliocene-Pleistocene climate change at different timescales, from centennial-millennial to orbital variability, in the North Atlantic, at high and low latitudes, and the Indian Ocean .

I use multiple proxies such as benthic and planktic oxygen and carbon isotopes, trace element analysis on foraminifers (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca), planktic foraminifer assemblages, ice-rafted debris (IRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), grain-size analysis and biomarkers.

Currently I am the PI of Project CINNAMOW (https://montsealonso82.wixsite.com/cinnamow). If you would like to do an undergraduate/ master/ erasmus+ project on paleoceanography and paleoclimatology under the framework of the project, please contact me!

My current lines of interest are:

Plio-Pleistocene climate transition
The transition from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene  is linked to the onset of the Northern Hemisphere glaciations. I believe that a better knowledge of this climate transition is essential to understand Earth's climate evolution through the Cenozoic. The increase of ice volume accumulated on the continents probably had a big impact on the distribution of the atmospheric wind belts, changing the surface ocean temperatures and sea-ice conditions as well as the hydrological conditions on the continents and monsoon regime. My interest in these transition particularly includes the role of ocean circulation, orbital forcings, changes in greenhouse gasses, and productivity linked to the increase in the severity of glaciations. Currently, I am working with samples of Site U1391 (IODP Expedition 339, Mediterranean Outflow) to evaluate changes in climate at mid-latitudes and Mediterranean Outflow oscillations, and its linkage to global climate and North Atlantic circulation. This is the Project CINNAMOW, which received funding from the FCT through the grant PTDC/MAR-PRO/3396/2014.

Evolution of glacial-interglacial cycles and interglacial climate variability during Mid-Late Pleistocene
The strong asymmetry of glacial-interglacial cycles during the late Pleistocene, with progressive long glacial periods and rapid Terminations, makes the study of the evolution of glacial-interglacial cycles very interesting. Moreover, understanding the climate of the interglacial periods is very important to make predictions about the future climate.  During my PhD I studied how surface and deep ocean circulation in the subpolar North Atlantic evolved during Mid-Pleistocene climatic cycles. I focused on the transition from interglacial to glacial periods comparing North Atlantic datasets with other marine records as well as ice core records seeking the differences in the progress of Northern and Southern hemisphere conditions. Currently, I am working with samples from IODP Expedition 359 (Maldives Monsoon and Sea Level) to evaluate Pleistocene climate and oceanographic evolution in the Indian Ocean and its linkage to global oceanographic and atmospheric changes.