معرفی
Lucas Lourens is a Professor of Paleoclimatology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. He leads research on astronomically-forced climate changes during the Cenozoic Era, with a focus on both Greenhouse and Icehouse Worlds. His work integrates stratigraphy, paleoceanography, and stable isotope analysis, supported by international Ocean Drilling Program expeditions such as ODP Leg 208 and IODP Expedition 339.
His research expertise spans paleoclimatology, time series analysis, foraminifera studies, and paleoceanographic reconstructions in regions including the Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Sea, and Atlantic Ocean. He investigates long-term climate dynamics, particularly around the 55-million-year-old greenhouse climate event, placing modern global warming in deep geological context.
Lourens has been recognized with major scientific awards, including the Jean Baptiste Lamarck Medal (2016), and has secured prestigious NWO grants (Vidi and Vici) to build and lead his research group. He is actively involved in teaching courses such as Astronomical Climate Forcing and Time Scales, Paleoclimatology, and Stratigraphy and Time Scales, and contributes to public outreach initiatives like the Geotruck project and the Nationale Academische Jaarprijs.
- NWO Vidi Award (2002)
- NWO Vici Award (2010)
- Jean Baptiste Lamarck Medal (2016)
He advises students through his research group and has led projects funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. His inaugural lecture, Climate Extremes, delivered on November 28, 2011, emphasized the importance of geological perspectives in understanding current climate change. He is affiliated with major international research programs including IODP and maintains active scientific profiles on platforms such as ResearchGate.
His laboratory and team focus on cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology, utilizing deep-sea sediment cores to reconstruct past climate variability and refine geological timescales.
