Marghaleray Amini

Research Associate

PCIGR Research Associate/Snr. Lab Manager

EOS-South 062
researcher

My research interests are focused on the application of high-precision analytical tools to various fields of Earth Sciences. In particular, I am interested in developing new methodological approaches to trace biogeochemical reaction pathways and and to investigate interphases between organic and inorganic matrices and their role on the chemical and isotopic compounds. In general, I am fascinated by gateways, transitions and interlinkages between two or multiple phases or disciplines, whether on a smaller scale such as fluid-mineral interaction, on a larger scale between bio- and geochemistry or between social and physical sciences. My various research projects led me to join research cruises and field trips to remote areas such as the North Pole and the Band-e-Amir lakes in Afghanistan among others.

I am a geologist with specialization in isotope and analytical biogeochemistry. I have received my Master’s degree at the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany in 2003 where I worked on Martian meteorites and terrestrial rocks to better understand the accretion of the Earth and the composition of our planetary system. I completed my PhD in 2007 at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, where I investigated the chemical and isotopic composition of hydrothermal systems on the ocean floor in order to trace the CO2 cycle of the Earth and its effect on global climate. During my subsequent postdoctoral position and research stipend in the Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK, Canada and back in Mainz within the DFG-funded Geocycles programme, I worked on the application of metal stable isotope systems, such as Chromium and Calcium during biogeochemical cycles and biomineralization processes.  In 2011, I joined Kabul University in Afghanistan as a Scientific Advisor and lecturer within the frame of the German federal foreign aid development I joined the University of British Columbia in 2012 as a Research Associate at the Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR) in the Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science Department. I am in direct charge of the laser ablation ICP-MS lab and metal isotope analyses. I am initiating and enabling research projects and developing new methodologies for students and users.

 

  • Research Associate, Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR)/University of British Columbia, Vancouver/Canada, 2012-
  •  Scientific Advisor and Lecturer, Faculty of Geosciences/Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan, 2011-2012
  • Research Stipend, Geocycles/Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, 2010-2011
  • Posdoctoral Fellow, Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory/University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, 2007-2010
  • Dr. rer. nat. (PhD), Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research/Christian-Albrecht University Kiel, Germany, 2007 (thesis: 'The Role of High- and Low-Temperature Ocean Crust Alteration for the Marine Calcium Budget')
  • Research Assistant, Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, 2003-2004
  • Diplom (MSc) Geology, Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry/Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, 2003 (thesis: 'Geochemistry of Fresh Submarine Glasses from the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project-2 (HSDP-2)')