Babette Hoogakker

Babette Hoogakker is a Professor at Heriot-Watt University, based in The Lyell Centre within the Global Research Institutes. Her work focuses on reconstructing past ocean oxygenation and climate dynamics to understand future climate change impacts. She holds a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (Fate of ocean oxygenation in a warming world) and has contributed to over 40 peer-reviewed publications since 2003. Her research integrates deep-sea sediment studies and foraminifera analysis to explore ocean deoxygenation, carbon cycling, and climate modeling.

Research Interests:
Babette’s work examines the interaction between ocean circulation, carbon cycling, and climate change, with a focus on oxygen minimum zones and their evolution. She develops novel proxies using foraminifera and sediments to reconstruct historical ocean conditions. Current projects include studying the Panama Isthmus’s tectonic impact on oxygenation and analyzing Pliocene/Pleistocene warm periods.

Key Contributions:
Her recent articles emphasize proxy development (e.g., foraminifera pore patterns, I/Ca ratios) and model simulations of historical ocean deoxygenation. These studies address critical gaps in understanding natural oxygen cycles and their implications for future marine ecosystems.

• Scientific Awards: Philip Leverhulme Prize (2018)
• Grants: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and leads a research group focused on foraminifera-based paleoceanography. She also contributed to the CUSHMAN FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY 2024.