Taina Marcos Lima Pinho – Bernd Rendel Prizewinner 2025
Taina Marcos Lima Pinho
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Taina Marcos Lima Pinho’s main research area is the palaeoceanography and palaeoclimatology of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic during the Late Quaternary – the geological period spanning the last 2.6 million years up to the present day. His goal is to decipher the complex interrelationship between the Southern Ocean and Antarctic ice dynamics. Since the feedback mechanisms between ice and ocean that govern the behaviour of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet are still not well understood, it remains impossible to make reliable predictions about future sea-level rise.
Some studies have found that even a warming of just 2 to 3 degrees Celsius could trigger a partial collapse of the ice sheet – a phenomenon that has occurred during past warm periods in Earth’s climate history. Given the pivotal role the Southern Ocean plays in connecting the world’s ocean basins, such an event would have global consequences.
In his doctoral research, Taina Pinho is working with high-resolution records derived from preserved biogenic carbonates from Antarctica, particularly from the glacial periods. His investigations have already identified key mechanisms such as shifts in water mass composition and changes in meridional circulation – processes that are directly linked to his current research on Antarctic palaeoceanography. He is currently studying deglacial meltwater discharge from the East Antarctica.is.