The Lost Geologist

Sep 24 2009

Written by Ava

We're proud of Mathias Koester of Germany. Not only does he have a great geology blog, The Lost Geologist and focus much of his work on marine-related findings, but he's also slated become a full-fledged geologist very soon. He's currently working on what will surely be a fabulous thesis for his Masters degree in Germany and of course, that topic has to do with marine geology.

We just had to talk to him. The Lost Geologist specializes in the geology of mineral deposits and uses carbonate rocks as a resource and is amazed at their formation in marine ecosystems. He also gives us his opinion about marine conservation, climate change, and other important marine topics and how they may or may not have something to do with his work.

Check out his responses below.

Tell me about your background in geology, specifically your knowledge in marine geology?

I'm a German Diplom degree student of Geology. Those unfamiliar with the German degree system can think of the Diplom as the same as a Masters degree. In October I will start work on my final thesis related to shallow-marine carbonate rocks and their resource quality. So I am about to be a full-fledged geologist soon.

During my studies I specialized myself in Economic Geology, that is the geology of mineral deposits like base-metals (i.e. Lead and Zinc), precious metals (i.e. gold or silver) and other commodities, also industrial minerals like calcite (Calciumcarbonate). My knowledge about marine geology is mainly derived from my interest in carbonate rocks as a resource. The most common carbonate rock is limestone, followed by dolomite. I was and am fascinated by them and the processes behind their formation in the marine environment. They are mineralogically simple but feature a bewildering collection of processes in terms of formation, deposition and diagenesis, that is the processes that happens to the sediment from the point of deposition and onwards. The depositional environment and diagenesis are key to understanding the properties of the carbonates.

You specialize in mineral deposits. What do the mineral deposits you’ve found on the sea floor and by the coast tell you about those marine environments?

Economic mineral deposits are something very rare. They usually are small targets both in area and volume but are often connected to very special kinds of conditions of formation. A variety of valuable mineral deposits form in the marine environment, that is, in or far below the sea floor. An interesting example are manganese nodules. They form in the deep ocean usually below 4000 to 6000 m of water depths and contain many valuable metals, besides manganese also copper, cobalt, zinc or nickel. Their growths is incredibly slow and the formation mechanism complex. Still, their slow growths, partially concentric growth layering and the fact that they are found mostly directly on the sediment or within the upper few centimeters to meters below the seafloor supports the idea that they need a very steady and stable environment of formation. For example stable ocean chemistry, steady supply of metals and low rate of sedimentation.

Another extremely useful mineral deposit are phosphorites. These are phosphorus-rich sediments that usually form under very special conditions in the oceans. They are a very important resource for the manufacture of fertilisers. Phosphorus is elemental to all life and gets readily re-digested by organisms and that makes these deposits very rare. You need a combination of high biological productivity and at the same time slow rates of sedimentation, so that rich layer may accumulate. The upwhelling regions along the Peruvian coastline are a very rich, recent area where phosphorites form, an area where currents mix and marine life, both macro- and microscopically, is incredibly rich.

They are distinctively connected to life and to very rare environmental conditions.

Why focus on shallow-marine depositional environments?

Carbonate shallow-marine depositional environments are one of the most productive biological systems that exist. For example imagine the Great Barrier Reef off Australia as a giant, living organism constructing itself. The lack of clastic (meaning mud, sand, etc.) input allows for the growth of almost pure carbonate sediments. Especially the high-energy areas on the shelf margin with highest agitation and wave energy close to reefs or carbonate sand shoals produce pure Calciumcarbonate either by direct biological control, i.e. Corals skeletons are made from Calciumcarbonate or by chemical precipitation, i.e. oolithic grains where Calciumcarbonate precipates directly from the sea-water around a nucleus (maybe a shell fragment or quartz grain).

The above gives me two reasons to focus on them: First, they are one of the most interesting and richest zones of marine life and fantastic sedimentary processes. Second, the fossils remnants of ancient carbonate depositional systems are among the most purest areas of Calciumcarbonate as an industrial resource which we need for almost every single construction purpose one can imagine, and also many other industrial applications. Our society depends on them.

Has your mineral deposit research uncovered any significant problems or issues having to do with those marine environments? Are they problems we will need to worry about in the future?

My personal research has not touched this question, however, the knowledge of the geological record and the evolution of life that every geoscientist has, has lead me to think that the use of the marine environment should be well regulated. It is a fragile system that can easily be brought out of balance. This is especially important when facing the great environmental changes that are ahead of us, i.e. climate change, ocean acidification and the disruption of marine resources by over-fishing, and thus in the end removing our own sources of food and recreation.

What is your experience in geology with reefs?

I mainly work on carbonate sands, that is largely chemically precipitated sediment as described above. However, those carbonate sand shoals or barriers happen to form in similar areas like reefs, meaning the zone of highest wave or current energy. What I think is important and what many people do not know, is that reefs are not just corals. Sponges, algae, sea shells and bryozoans are just some of the many contributing organisms. Having said that I would love to finally visit a real reef by myself soon.

Tell me about the upcoming thesis you will begin writing for the Free University in Berlin starting at the end of September. Will it include anything marine-related?

My thesis is a cooperation with large, German producer of construction materials. They need limestone resources for their purposes. The limestones that I will be investigating have formed in a shallow-marine environment, perhaps very similar to what we can nowadays observe on the Bahamas platform. The aim will be to compare the depositional environment to the pureness of the rocks and to draw connections to recent areas where this is happening, i.e. the Bahamas. Rocks consisting solely of Calciumcarbonate would be the ideal end of the spectrum as an industrial resource.

What do your past findings tell you about the current condition of the ocean, acidification, pollution, and climate change?

They are not my findings but the result of countless numbers of researches investigating the past and present of our planet. What has been learned is that change is the only constant factor in the long term. We also learned that small changes in ocean chemistry or the environment, like climate and temperature, can have drastic effects on life in the ocean and on land. We know the ocean, at least in parts, is over-used and that sooner or later we must find methods to bring our uncontrolled use of it in harmony with what is required to secure the ocean's resources for the future. As I am not a great expert in environmental issues and climatology I will leave it with what.

Do you consider yourself to be a marine conservationist and does this impact your work as a geologist?

I consider myself to be a responsible person. I am convinced that the abuse of the ocean will sooner or later have its price, perhaps by the disappearance of the known food fishes or the loss of lives in coastal areas because mangrove woods or reefs have been destroyed, and thus can no longer protect us against storms and waves. But I also know that for many people there is no alternative to what they do. I know some poor regions by own experience. It is a hard issue to resolve.

Nevertheless, the marine environment does not impact my work directly. Still the knowledge of Earth as a system tells me to pay special attention whenever a resource project is planed. No one knows a region better than those geologists who mapped, sampled and planed to develop a future mine or construction site. When they are responsible even the largest project can be operated at minimal impact to the environment. In any case that is a challenge to all our skills.

Is there anything the general public can do concerning your field to prevent harm to the world’s marine environments in the future?

I am not sure it has a direct connection to my own field but yes, stop using plastic bags and please throw garbage into the bin and not the country side. It not only litters huge areas in the pacific with millions of particles but also the remotest deserts and jungles have it flying around. There is nothing more non aesthetically pleasing than a beautiful landscape, beach, reef or coast that is dotted with garbage.

My work takes me to remote places and beautiful environments, and truly, garbage is always there before me.