Dr. Ankit

Courses Taught:
M.Geg.09 catchment area, land management
M.Geg.10 Verfahren zur Ressourcenanalyse und -bewertung

Research interests
I completed my PhD from Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali in the year 2022. I am trained as a bio-geo-chemist and my fundamental research interest lies in deciphering the causal mechanisms responsible for the biotic and environmental perturbations in the planet earth’s history (Anthropocene to Mass Extinctions). For my research, I have extensively worked on the different attributes of the biogeochemistry discipline having isotope geochemistry, organic geochemistry, analytical geochemistry and environmental geochemistry as sub-disciplines. The different tools belonging to the sub-disciplines in the field of biogeochemistry are utilized in different environmental archives including lake sediments, estuarine sediments, marine sediments, peat and rock samples spanning across the entire geological timescale. In specific, the analysis of 'Molecular Organic Fossils: Biomarkers' (alkanes, alkanoic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, hopanoids, steroids, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, and amino acids) and their isotopic compositions (14C, 13C, 15N and 2H) have been the center of my work. I have extensively utilized these biomarkers to improve our understanding of the different biogeochemical cycles on planet earth and its spheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere). In order to acquire the molecular data, various analytical techniques such as Pressurized/Accelerated solvent extraction (PSE and ASE), Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, GC-qTOF-MS and Pyro GC-MS), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS and LC-MS/MS), isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), gas chromatography coupled isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and RAMAN spectroscopy has been employed. Overall, my research encompasses a combination of fieldwork, laboratory analyses, analytical measurements and data processing/mining. This integrated approach having biomarkers as a tool provides an all-inclusive insight into Petroleum geochemistry, Biogeochemical cycles, Monsoon dynamics, Fire regimes, and Environmental perturbations whether natural or anthropogenic.

Projects
- Pliocene environmental changes in the Levantine Corridor (Near East)
- Changes in Black Carbon composition and sequestration: an assessment based on lake sediments in Higher Himalayas
- Climate-Biogeochemical feedbacks during the extreme environmental conditions in the history of planet Earth: A picture from PETM and end-Permian mass extinction
- Change, Resilience, Transitions and Sustainability in the Indian subcontinent during the late Holocene: Investigating environmental variability and human disturbances with biogeochemical fingerprinting of lacustrine records