Paul Bown

I am a Professor of Geology at University College London. My research focuses on the palaeobiology and geological applications of marine plankton, known as coccolithophores (or more broadly calcareous nannofossils). These miniscule single-celled algae (~10µm) produce exquisite armoured exoskeletons from calcite plates (coccoliths) and these are transported to the sea-floor after death to form marine sedimentary oozes and an inconceivably abundant fossil record stretching back 220 million years (Triassic). These fossils are used to reconstruct ocean-climate history and to provide precise age dates for sedimentary rocks.