Sarnthein-Lotichius Michael

Michael Sarnthein-Lotichius is a renowned Paleoceanographer and Marine Geologist. He served as Full Professor at the University of Kiel (1985–2004) and retired in 2004, continuing as Guest Professor at the University of Innsbruck. He holds Austrian citizenship and is affiliated with the Institute of Geosciences at Kiel University.

Education: PhD in Geology from the University of Innsbruck (1963), Habilitation in Marine Geology from Kiel University (1970). His research focuses on ocean circulation, paleoclimatology, and isotopic stratigraphy. Notable contributions include studies on North Atlantic circulation patterns and monsoonal climate variability.

Research Interests:

• History of ocean salinity conveyor belts
• Paleoproductivity and nutrient budgets
• CO₂ budget variations in the global ocean
• Monsoonal climate and continental aridity
• High-resolution radiocarbon chronostratigraphy

Awards:

• LEIBNIZ Award (DFG, 1988)
• Fellow of the Academia Europaea (1990)
• Milankovitch Medal (EGU, 2006)

Advising & Grants: Supervised 36 PhD and 80+ M.Sc. theses. Led the IMAGES program (2000–2003) and the DFG Research Unit “Ocean Gateways” (2000–2005). Coordinated China’s “1-1-1” Program for Tongji University’s School of Ocean and Earth Sciences (2007–present).

Labs & Expeditions: Founded the Leibniz Laboratory for AMS C14 dating (1989–1995). Led over 15 oceanographic cruises, including roles as Chief Scientist in the South China Sea (1994), Nordic Seas (1995), and Northwest Pacific (2001).