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SIF 3rd Cohort Fellows - Boris Karatsolis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Curriculum Vitae
 
  • Education

November 2022: Doctorate (PhD) in Earth Science with specialization in Historical Geology and Paleontology - Uppsala University, Sweden

February 2017: Master (MSc) in Oceanography and Marine Environment Management - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece


October 2014: Bachelor (BSc) in Geology and Geoenvironment - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece


 

  • Experience

 
01/10/2017-25/10/2022: PhD Student, University of Uppsala, Sweden. Research on late Miocene and Pliocene micropaleontology and paleoclimate, supervised by Professor Jorijntje Henderiks, Paleobiology research group.

27/11/2016-21/12/2016 and 12/06/2017-29/06/2017: Invited student, University of Bremen, Germany. Funded research visit to work on the effect of acidification on calcareous nannoplankton assemblages.

01/03/2015-31/07/2015: Master Internship, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy. Erasmus funded placement to complete part of my master thesis.
 
  • Publications/Research achievements
ORCID: 0000-0002-6248-2151; Research Gate: Boris-Theofanis Karatsolis

- Karatsolis, B.-Th., and Henderiks, J., (2023). Late Neogene nannofossil assemblages as tracers of ocean circulation and paleoproductivity over the NW Australian shelf. Climate of the Past 19, 765–786. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-765-2023, 2023.
- Karatsolis, B.-Th., Lougheed, B., De Vleeschouwer, D., and Henderiks, J., (2022). Abrupt conclusion of the late Miocene-early Pliocene biogenic bloom at 4.6-4.4 Ma. Nature Communications 13, 353. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27784-6
- Christensen, B., De Vleeschouwer, D., Henderiks, J., Groeneveld, J., Auer, G., Drury, A.J., Karatsolis, B.-Th., Lyu, J., Betzler, C., Eberli, G.P., and Kroon, D., (2021). Late Miocene onset of Tasman Leakage and Southern Hemisphere Supergyre ushers in Near‐modern Circulation. Geophysical Research Letters 48 (18), e2021GL095036. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095036
- Henderiks, J., Bartol, M., Pige, N., Karatsolis, B.-Th., and Lougheed, B. C., (2020). Shifts in phytoplankton composition and stepwise climate change during the middle Miocene. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 35, e2020PA003915. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA003915
- Karatsolis, B.-Th., De Vleeschouwer, D., Groeneveld, J., Christensen, B., and Henderiks, J., (2020). The late Miocene to early Pliocene “Humid Interval” on the NW Australian shelf: Disentangling climate forcing from regional basin evolution. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 35, e2019PA003780. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019PA003780
- Malinverno, E., Cerino, F., Karatsolis, B-Th., Ravani, A., Dimiza, M., Psarra, S., Gogou, A., and Triantaphyllou, M., (2019). Silicoflagellates in the eastern mediterranean and Black Seas: Seasonality, distribution and sedimentary record. Deep Sea Research Part II 164, 122-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.03.010.
- Triantaphyllou, M., Baumann, K.-H., Karatsolis B.-Th., Dimiza, M., Psarra, S., Skampa, E., Patoucheas, P., Vollmar, N., Koukousioura, O., Katsigera, A., Krasakopoulou, E., and Nomikou, P., (2018). Coccolithophore community response along a natural CO2 gradient off Methana (SW Saronikos Gulf, Greece, NE Mediterranean). PLOS ONE 13(7), e0200012. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200012
- Karatsolis, B.-Th., Triantaphyllou, M., Dimiza, M., Malinverno, E., Lagaria, A., Mara, P., Archontikis, O., and Psarra, S., (2017). Coccolithophore assemblage response to Black Sea Water inflow into the North Aegean Sea (NE Mediterranean). Continental Shelf Research 149, 138-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2016.12.005.
- Lagaria, A., Mandalakis, M., Mara, P., Frangoulis, C., Karatsolis, B-Th., Pita, P., Triantaphyllou, M., Tsiola, A., and Psarra, S., (2017). Phytoplankton variability and community structure in relation to hydrographic features in the NE Aegean frontal area (NE Mediterranean Sea). Continental Shelf Research 149, 124-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2016.07.014.
- Maliverno, E., Karatsolis, B.-Th., Dimiza, M., Lagaria, A., Psarra, S., and Triantaphyllou, M., (2016). Extant silicoflagellates from the Northeast Aegean (eastern Mediterranean Sea): Morphologies and double skeletons. Revue de Micropaléontologie 59(3), 253-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmic.2016.06.001.
- Dimiza, M., Triantaphyllou M., Malinverno E., Psarra S., Karatsolis B.-Th., Mara P., Lagaria A., and Gogou A., (2015). The composition and distribution of living coccolithophores in the Aegean Sea (NE Mediterranean). Micropaleontology 61(6), 521-540. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44511374.
- Triantaphyllou, M., Karatsolis, B.-Th., Dimiza, M., Malinverno, E., Cerino, F., Psarra, S., Jordan, R. and Young, J., (2015). Coccolithophore Combination Coccospheres from the NE Mediterranean Sea: New Evidence and Taxonomic Revisions. Micropaleontology 61(6), 457-72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44511370.
- Triantaphyllou, M., Dimiza, M., and Karatsolis, B.-Th., (2014). Adding proofs to Syracosphaera histrica- Calyptrolithophora pappilifera life-cycle association. Journal of Nannoplankton Research 34, 57-59.
- Karatsolis, B.-Th., Dimiza, M., and Triantaphyllou, M., (2014). Verification of the Coronosphaera mediterranea– “Zygosphaera hellenica” life-cycle association. Journal of Nannoplankton Research 34, 45-46.
 
Research Project:
 

Phytoplankton Productivity During the Late Neogene: Astronomical Pacing, Trends, and Tipping Points in Biogenic Sedimentation Across Ocean Basins and Latitudes


I am a geologist and paleoclimatologist specializing in micropaleontology, the study of the fossilised remnants of tiny phytoplanktonic organisms that dominated (and still do) the global ocean. Throughout my academic journey, I studied extant calcareous nannoplankton and nannofossil assemblages, focusing on low-latitude areas (tropics). For my PhD, I conducted research on sediments from the NW Australian shelf, as well as other locations drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and its predecessor programs (DSDP, ODP). I am excited to continue my academic journey at the Analytical, Environmental & Geo-Chemistry department (AMGC) at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, under the supervision of Professor Philippe Claeys.

The title of my project is PlanktonPro, and will focus on the astronomical pacing and abrupt changes in phytoplanktonic paleoproductivity (the production of organic matter from phytoplanktonic organisms) during the last 10 million years of Earth's history. Specifically, my goal is to synthesize and compile records of biogenic sedimentation from globally distributed International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) sites, in an effort to investigate the amount of phytoplankton that inhabited the ocean, as well as understand the driving mechanisms behind its fluctuations in geological timescales. Along with this synthesis, I will conduct a multi-proxy reconstruction of high-latitude paleoproductivity for newly recovered sediment cores from the North Atlantic (IODP Expeditions 395C and 395).

The analysis will use sedimentological, lithological, and geochemical methods to estimate paleoproductivity at IODP Site U1562 between 7-3 million years ago. Combined, the compiled records and the new information will document the “regular rhythm” of marine productivity in different latitudes across a crucial interval of Earth’s history. By documenting past fluctuations and the controlling factors behind abrupt changes in ocean productivity, I aim to contribute to our understanding of the current anthropogenic impact on phytoplankton under warming climatic conditions.