Dr. Mohd Danish

Postdoctoral researcher

Dr. Mohd Danish is a geologist with expertise in low-temperature geochemistry. He obtained his PhD in Earth Sciences from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, India. Prior to obtaining his PhD, he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in Geology from Aligarh Muslim University, India. His research primarily focuses on elucidating the mechanisms that regulate the marine budget of selected elements, which are crucial to oceanic ecosystem functioning (e.g., Fe, Mn, Ni) and serve as a proxy for understanding modern and ancient Earth’s surface processes (e.g., Ca, Mg, B, Ba, Sr, Mo, U, Re). His other area of scientific interest is in reconstructing the paleo-redox conditions, provenance, and paleo-weathering by analyzing sedimentary records. Before joining PETROLAB, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow on a collaborative project between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Open University of Israel. This project was focused on quantifying the authigenic dolomite content in recent marine sediments and how it impacts the present-day marine magnesium budget.

Danish is a cricket fan. He also enjoys cooking in his spare time.

+972-4-6647900

mdanish@campus.haifa.ac.il

Multipurpose bldg. #130

Researchgate: Mohd Danish

Current Research

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Levantine corridor during the Pliocene: insights into a multi-proxy study of the

Erk-el -Ahmar Fm.

At PETROLAB, Danish is attempting to reconstruct the prevailing environmental conditions in the Levantine Corridor (LC). As the only land bridge connecting Africa and Eurasia, the LC served as a natural corridor for migrations of fauna, already since the Pliocene. Therefore, reconstructing the environmental conditions during the Pliocene makes it crucial to understand the controlling factors of these migrations. To accomplish this goal, he will conduct research on the lacustrine Erk-el-Ahmar Formation, which is exposed in the Central Jordan Valley, Israel. Sediments from lacustrine deposits are a valuable archive for understanding the local and regional impacts of climate change and for reconstructing the environmental conditions that existed during lake evolution. He will acquire high-resolution spatial and temporal sedimentological (grain size, magnetic susceptibility) and geochemical data (Major, Trace, REEs, TOC) from sediment cores retrieved from this sedimentary sequence. These datasets will be helpful for reconstructing the provenance, intensity of chemical weathering in the catchment area, and depositional environment. Part of his project will also focus on refining the age uncertainty presented for the Erk-el-Ahmar Formation. The outcomes of his work will provide better insights into the Erk-el-Ahmar formation chronology, depositional environment, and prevailing climatic conditions. Further, this outcome will also shed light on understanding the causes of the migration of early hominins from Africa through the Levantine Corridor.

Picture of core ERK2 with the elemental geochemistry.

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