Patrick Grunert

SSP Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

The 2015 Division Outstanding Young Scientist Award is awarded to Patrick Grunert for his contributions to understanding palaeobiologic, stratigraphic, geochemical and palaeoceanographic aspects of the Early Miocene.

Patrick Grunert finished his PhD thesis in 2011 at the Institute of Earth Sciences of the University of Graz (Austria), working on an integrated palaeobiologic, stratigraphic, geochemical and palaeoceanographic topic in the Early Miocene. His work led to a re-interpretation of the Early Miocene stratigraphy in the Central Paratethys but also to a new view from a palaeoceanographic perspective. Later on, Grunert extended his scientific vision into the Mediterranean and even onto a global scale dealing with climate changes in Antarctica which influenced the Mediterranean/Paratethys system via teleconnection.

Grunert has already gained deep insights into several fields in the Earth sciences, focusing on micropalaeontology, biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy and chemostratigraphy, as well as geochemistry and palaeoceanography and palaeoclimate. His committed work to gain micropalaeontological data acts as a sound base for his environmental interpretations. His outstanding scientific skills are his ability to put his results in a very general frame and to identify the overarching context.

For his excellent research results, Patrick Grunert received several national awards and was invited as keynote speaker at several international conferences. In 2011–2012, he sailed on the Joides Resolution in the course of IODP Expedition 339 (Mediterranean Outflow) as a leading scientist due to his expertise on benthic foraminifers and geochemistry. His scientific recognition is clearly reflected in invitations as visiting research fellow at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Rutgers University (USA).