Josef P Werne

Josef P Werne serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Science at the University of Pittsburgh's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. His research group employs organic biomarkers and stable isotopes in lake and ocean sediments to reconstruct Earth's climate history and biogeochemical processes across geological timescales.

His educational foundation includes a BS in Geology from Denison University, MS/PhD in Geological Sciences from Northwestern University, and postdoctoral research at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.

Dr. Werne's work centers on paleoclimatology and biogeochemistry, utilizing molecular fossils to decode past climate conditions through sulfur isotope systematics, carbon cycling, and microbial community analysis. Current projects investigate Precambrian ocean analogs in sulfidic lakes, Pleistocene climate-human interactions across the Americas and Africa, and development of GDGT-based temperature proxies.

Recent publications reveal strong trends in limnological climate proxies (70% of works), sulfur biogeochemistry (20%), and methodological innovations (10%), with field sites concentrated in the Americas, East Africa, and hypersaline rift lakes.

His research group has secured significant NSF funding for projects including the Titicaca Basin human-biomarker study and MexiDrill's 1km Lake Chalco core recovery. Mentees like Dervla Kumar and Molly O'Beirne have earned NSF, GSA, and Mellon fellowships for paleoclimate proxy development.

The Werne Lab maintains active collaborations with archaeologists, microbiologists, and international drilling programs, operating specialized facilities for lipid and isotope analysis to support ongoing investigations into Earth's climate evolution.