The University of Western Australia

Asst/Prof Jens Zinke

Research Assistant Professor
School of Earth and Environment

Contact details

Address

School of Earth and Environment
The University of Western Australia (M470)
35 Stirling Highway
CRAWLEY WA 6009
Australia

Phone

6488 3644

Email

jens.zinke@uwa.edu.au

Biography

1994 BSc Geology FU Berlin, Germany
1996 MSc Geology and Paleontology (Diplom-Geologe) FU Berlin, Germany
2000 PhD degree, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, IFM-GEOMAR, Germany

Key research

My research involves the geochemical study of marine biological archives (massive corals) from the Indian Ocean as recorders of environmental and climate change over the past 300 years and during the Holocene. In most cases, I have worked on western Indian Ocean coral records. This work is motivated by the need to produce reliable, long-term observations of sea surface temperature, ocean currents and the hydrological cycle over the tropical/subtropical oceans.

Major research interests:

- Geochemical proxies in coral carbonate

- Indian Ocean climate change

- Global climate teleconnections

- Human impact on coral reefs

- Coral Reefs and Climate Change

Publications

Beal, L. M., Ruijter, W. P. M. D., Biastoch, A., Zahn, R., Cronin, M., Hermes, J., Lutjeharms, J., Quartly,G., Tozuka, T., Baker-Yeboah, S., Bornman, T., Cippolini, P., Dijkstra, H., Hall, I., Park, W., Peeters, F., Penven, P., Ridderinkhof, H. & Zinke, J. On the role of the Agulhas system in ocean circulation and climate. Nature 472, 429-436 (2011).

K. F. Rijsdijk, J. Zinke, P. G.B. de Louw, J. P. Hume, H. J. van der Plicht, H. Hooghiemstra, H.J.M. Meijer, H. Vonhoff, N. Porch, V. Florens, C. Baider, B. van Geel, J. Brinkkemper, A. Janoo 2011. Dodo mass-mortality during megadrought ca. 4200 years ago: will insular vertebrates cope with future climatic extremes? The Holocene, doi:10.1177/0959683611405236.

Y. Cahyarini, M. Pfeiffer, W.-Chr. Dullo, J. Zinke, S. Hetzinger, S. Kasper, C. A. Grove, D. Garbe-Schönberg 2011.Comment on ’A snapshot of climate variability at Tahiti at 9.5 ka using a fossil coral from IODP Expedition 310,’ by K. L. Delong, T.M. Quinn, Chuan-Chou Shen and Ke Lin (2010). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 12, doi:10.1029/2010GC003377.

U. Fallet, G.J.A. Brummer, J. Zinke, S. Vogels, H. Ridderinkhof 2010. Contrasting seasonal fluxes ofplanktonic foraminifera and impacts on paleothermometry in the Mozambique Channel upstream of the Agulhas Current. Paleoceanography 25, doi:10.1029/2010PA001942.

Grove, C.A., Nagtegaal, R., Zinke, J., Scheufen, T., Koster, B., Kasper, S., McCulloch, M.T., van den Bergh, G. and Brummer, G.J.A. 2010. River runoff reconstructions from novel spectral luminescence scanning of massive coral skeletons. Coral Reefs, doi:10.1007/s00338-010-0629-y.
Cahyarini, S. Y. and Zinke, J. 2010. Geochemical tracer in corals as a sea surface temperature proxy: records from Jukung coral. ITB Journal of Science 42 (1), 65-72.

C. A. Grove, R. Nagtegaal, T. Scheufen,B. Koster, J. Zinke, G.-J. Brummer 2009. Luminescence patterns in tropical coral skeletons revealed using a novel technique. Geochimica at Cosmochimica Acta 73 (13), A 470.

Zinke, J., M. Pfeiffer, G. Davies, O. Timm, W-C. Dullo and Camoin, G. F. 2009. Tracking the movement of the ITCZ from the Last Interglacial to the present: evidence from Seychelles corals, western Indian Ocean. Geochimica at Cosmochimica Acta 73 (13), A1537.

Zinke, J., Pfeiffer, M., Timm, O., Dullo, W.-Chr. and Brummer, G. J. A. 2009. Western Indian Ocean marine and terrestrial records of climate variability: a review and new concepts on land-ocean interaction since A.D. 1660. International Journal of Earth Sciences 98, Special Volume. doi:10.007/s00531-008-0365-5.

Crueger, T., Zinke, J. and Pfeiffer, M. 2009. Dominant Pacific SLP and SST variability recorded in Indian Ocean corals. International Journal of Earth Sciences 98, Special Volume. doi:10.007/s00531-008-0324-1.

Pfeiffer, M., Dullo, W.C., Zinke, J. and Garbe-Schoenberg, D. 2009. Three monthly coral Sr/Ca records from the Chagos Archipelago covering the period of 1950 to 1995.: Reproducibility and implications for quantitative reconstructions of sea surface temperature variations. International Journal of Earth Sciences 98, Special Volume, doi:10.007/s00531-008-0326-z.

Zinke, J., Timm, O., Pfeiffer, M., Dullo, W.-Chr., Kroon, D. and Thomassin, B. A. 2008. Mayotte coral reveales hydrological changes in the western Indian between 1865 to 1994. Geophysical Research Letters 35, L23707, doi:10.1029/2008GL035634.

Hetzinger, S., Pfeiffer, M., Dullo, W.-Chr., Keenlyside, N., Latif, M. and Zinke, J. 2008. Caribbean Brain coral tracks the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Past Hurricane Intensity. Geology 36 (1), 11-14, doi:10.1130/G24321A.1.

Zinke, J., Reijmer, J. J. G., Taviani, M., Dullo, W.-Chr. & Thomassin, B. A. 2005. Facies and faunal assemblage changes in response to the Holocene transgression in the lagoon of Mayotte (Comoro Archipelago, SW Indian Ocean). Facies 50 (3-4), 391-408.

Zinke, J., Pfeiffer, M., Timm, O., Dullo, W.-Chr. And Davies, G. R., 2005. Atmosphere-Ocean dynamics in the western Indian Ocean recorded in corals. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society A 363, 121-142.

Zinke, J., Dullo, W.-Chr., Heiss, G. A. & Eisenhauer, A. 2004. ENSO and subtropical dipole variability is recorded in a coral record off southwest Madagascar for the period 1659 to 1995. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 228 (1-2), 177-197.

Zinke, J., Reijmer, J. J. G. & Thomassin, B. A. 2003, Systems tracts sedimentology in the lagoon of Mayotte associated with the Holocene transgression. Sedimentary Geology, 160, 57-79.

Zinke, J., Reijmer, J. J. G., Thomassin, B. A., Dullo, W. Chr. 2003. Postglacial flooding history of Mayotte Lagoon (Comoro Archipelago, southwest Indian Ocean). Marine Geology, 194, 181-196.

Zinke, J., Reijmer, J.JG. & Thomassin, B. A. 2001. Seismic architecture and sediment distribution within the Holocene barrier reef-lagoon complex of Mayotte (Comoro archipelago, SW Indian Ocean). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 175, 343-368.

Zinke, J., Reijmer, J.JG., Dullo, W-Ch. & Thomassin, B.A. 2000. Paleoenvironmental changes in the lagoon of Mayotte associated with the Holocene transgression. GeoLines, 11, 150-153.

Zinke, J. 1998. Small theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic coal mine of Guimarota (Portugal). Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 72 (1/2), 179-189, Stuttgart.

Zinke, J. & Rauhut, O. W. M. 1994. Small theropods (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of the Iberian Penninsula. Berliner geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, E 13, 163-177, Berlin.

Books, or contributions to books (peer-reviewed)
Zinke, J., von Storch, H., Mueller, B., Zorita, E., Rein, B., Mieding, B., Miller, H., Luecke, A., Schleser, G. H., Schwab, M., Negendank, J. F. W., Kienerl, U., Gonzalez-Rouco, J.-F., Dullo, W.-Chr. And Eisenhauer, A. 2004. Evidence for the climate during the Late Maunder Minimum from proxy data and model simulations available within KIHZ. In: von Storch, H., Raschke, E. and Floeser, G. (eds.) The Climate in Historical Times - Towards a synthesis of Holocene proxy data and climate models. Springer Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, pp. 397-414.

Roles, responsibilities and expertise

coordinate research activities between UWA School Earth and Environment, Oceans Institute and AIMS

Future research

I welcome applications from Australian and international students with a strong background in environmental science, geoscience, geochemistry or reef ecology, together with an enthusiasm for the coastal ocean to conduct research projects (Honours).
Projects include 1) the analysis of coral growth parameters and its link to environmental change; 2) Coral geochemistry to reconstruct ocean temperatures and 3) Ocean data analysis of temperature, salinity, currents.

Funding received

WIOMSA-MASMA (2011-2014) international application; 150,000 US$
CNRS France Ilse Eparses Marion Dufresne Research Cruise (2011-2014); 420,000 Euro ‘REEFCORES’
WIOMSA-MASMA international application (2010-2012) for 150,000 US $ ‘Coral Reefs and Global Change’
FCT Portugal (2010-2013), 250,000 Euro ‘Less Coral- Indonesia biodiversity and climate change’
NWO Open Round project (NL) (2010-2013); 280,000 Euro, ‘CLIMATCH- Climatic and anthropogenic change in seasonal river runoff and impacting cyclones resolved by novel spectral geochemistry of giant corals in Indian Ocean catchments’
KNAW-SPIN (NL) (2007-2009) mobility grants; 31,000 Euro, ‘Seribu island corals as recorders of environmental impact of the large metropolitan area of Jakarta, Indonesia’
NWO-ALW “Climate Variability” (NL) (2006-2009); 540,000 Euro, 1 postdoc, 1 PhD project funded ‘SINDOCOM- Southern Indian Ocean-Pacific climate teleconnections from corals’
KNAW Schure-Beijerinck Popping Fund (NL) (2005); 2,500 Euro fieldwork grant funded

Languages

English
German
Dutch

Memberships

Associate Member of IAPSO SCOR working group 136 “Climatic Importance of the Agulhas Current System”

Honours and awards

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society London 2004-2005

Previous positions

1.8.1997-30.7.2000Marine Geoscientist, GEOMAR Kiel, Germany
A position within the carbonate sedimentology group with the opportunity for a PhD degree.

1.9.2000-31.3.2003Marine Geoscientist, GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany
A Postdoc within German climate research initiative „KIHZ“.

1.5.2003-30.04.2006 Marine Geoscientist, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
A Postdoc in EU-Research and Training network „STOPFEN“.

1.5.2006-30.04.2009 Marine Geoscientist, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
A Postdoc within the NWO programme “Klimaatvariabiliteit” within the petrology, paleoclimatology and geomorphology group at VU Amsterdam.

since 15.6.2009Marine Geoscientist, Royal NIOZ
A postdoc within the INATEX programme funded by the Dutch NWO, and now senior scientist with funded NWO project CLIMATCH (2010-2013), supervision of 3 PhD and 1 Masters students on coral paleoclimatology.

New and noteworthy

•The BBC team films our group during coral drilling at Zanzibar, Tanzania on November 28th 2007. I organized the funding for 4 researchers by the BBC. The coral drilling was part of a new BBC series Oceans launched in November 2008 on BBC2 and Discovery Channel. Our team was shown in the December episode “Indian Ocean coastal”. See the website for more information.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/oceans/locations/spiceislands/coral_coring.shtml

Current projects

Climate change of Australia’s NW marine environment: 200-300 year records from geochemical proxies in massive corals and its implications for Australian rainfall patterns

This study proposes to examine the spatial and temporal environmental and climatological changes affecting coral reef ecosystems across the northwestern shelf of Australia over the past 300 years. To meet this goal I will examine several biological (growth rate, density, calcification) and environmental parameters (luminescence, trace elements, stable isotopes) in massive coral skeletons of the species Porites sp. which continuously grow for up to 300 years. As an overarching objective, I aim to determine how basin-wide Indian Ocean (IO) climate phenomena affect Australian and circum IO climate, i.e. Indian Ocean Dipole Mode (IOD), Subtropical Dipole Mode (SDM), by combining my previous and ongoing research on corals from the western Indian Ocean with those newly obtained off Australia from the eastern Indian Ocean.

CLIMATCH - Climatic and anthropogenic change in seasonal river runoff and impacting cyclones resolved by novel spectral geochemistry of giant corals in Indian Ocean catchments (Dutch NWO-ALW project)

Changing river runoff into marine catchments is recorded by giant corals that incorporate soil-derived humic acids in their carbonate skeleton. We developed novel, rapid techniques of spectral geochemistry to fingerprint skeletal growth banding in cores taken from giant, centuries old Porites with unprecedented, weekly resolution. As a primary objective, CLIMATCH will determine the climatic baselevel changes in runoff due to multi-decadal climate variability and extreme erosion events along the path of cyclones over the past 350 years and for Holocene time slices. As a second objective, CLIMATCH will assess anthropogenic impacts on river runoff in Indian Ocean catchments as offsets from these climatic baselevels in hotspots of land degradation, i.e. Mauritius, iconic Madagascar and Mozambique.

Coral reefs and global change – a historical perspective spanning the western Indian Ocean (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) – MASMA grant)

This study proposes to examine the spatial and temporal environmental changes affecting coral reef ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean. In this multi-disciplinary project, environmental geochemists dealing with the direct data acquisition on biological archives (corals), will work in partnership with climate scientists, environmental modellers and ecologists. This will allow direct comparison of the geochemical data obtained by the geochemist with models of river discharge and pollution and ecological changes. Integration of these data should provide a far better understanding of the entire ecosystem in the region investigated and lead to improved sustainable management of the coastal environment.

Evaluating current responses and projecting the effects of climate change on WIO coral reef ecosystems from historical environmental variability (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) – MASMA grant)

Projecting and predicting the future effects of climate change is the first step in preparing a response that can evaluate the potential impacts on coral reef social-ecological systems. The opportunity to improve future projections is based on the accumulating information contained in coral cores and satellite data that have been collected during the past decade, which can form a basis for determining the temporal and spatial variability and how this is likely to change in the coming years. These data can, in principle, be priors in Bayesian predictive models that can be used to make predictions on future states of the environment. Additionally, the ability to predict current temperature stresses and bleaching has improved such that the probabilities of bleaching can be predicted for certain places at periods of 2 to 3 months before the impact. The proposed work will use these sources of information to develop a map of the projected changes in environmental conditions and to undertake field research in areas prior to and after the temperature anomalies to determine the impacts of current stresses on key metrics of the coral reef ecosystem including coral health, symbionts, reproduction, recruitment, and fish populations. These two studies, when combined, can be used to parameterize an existing coral reef ecosystem model to generate projections of regional ecosystem responses to future climate change scenarios.

Research profile

Research profile and publications