Baerbel Hoenisch

Baerbel Hoenisch is a tenured Professor at Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and a leading researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). Her work bridges paleoceanography, paleoclimatology, and biological oceanography, focusing on reconstructing past ocean chemistry and atmospheric CO₂ levels through geochemical proxies. She has made significant contributions to understanding ocean acidification during extreme climate events like the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and refining proxies such as boron isotopes and trace elements in marine calcifiers.

• Education: PhD in Natural Sciences (Alfred Wegener Institute, 2002), Masters in Marine Biology (University of Bremen, 1999), BA in Biology (University of Bielefeld, 1995)

Research interests center on marine carbonate chemistry, paleo-pH reconstructions, and the role of the ocean in global climate change. Her lab conducts culture experiments with planktic foraminifera to validate proxies under varying paleo-seawater compositions. She leads interdisciplinary projects on CO₂ history, thermohaline circulation, and Arctic acidification, co-developing the paleo-CO2.org database.

Her recent publications address Cenozoic atmospheric CO₂ integration, Mg/Ca calibration across eras, and proxy systematics during hyperthermals. Collaborations span institutions like Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale, with a focus on multi-proxy approaches.

• Scientific Awards: AGU Emiliani Lecturer (2021), Willi Dansgaard Award (2018), Lenfest Distinguished Faculty (2016), WISE Distinguished Lecturer (2012)

Hoenisch mentors a dynamic group of PhD students, postdocs (e.g., Laura Haynes, Jesse Farmer), and lab staff. She teaches courses in oceanography, paleoceanography, and geochemical proxies, maintaining a TIMS facility for high-precision isotope analyses. Her work integrates culture experiments, proxy validation, and climate modeling to inform future scenarios through ancient analogs.