Adi Torfstein is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a resident scientist at the Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences of Eilat who works in the fields of geochemistry, oceanography and paleoclimate. He is also head of the Oceanography program at HUJI.
Main interests: Isotope and trace element geochemistry of seawater and sediments, seawater biogeochemistry, marine export production, dust and sediment provenance, U-decay series, paleoclimate, paleoceanography, geochronology.
Our research focuses on the signal transfer between the modern atmosphere and oceans to the geological record, the impact of abrupt events on primary and export production in the oceans, trace element cycles, and reconstruction of Quaternary paleoclimate from lacustrine and marine archives. We combine between time series of modern marine and terrigenous particulate fluxes, coeval seawater compositions, and biogeochemical cycles in the oceans (see the REDMAST project).
A list of current and recent research projects in our group:
Oceanography
Trace element cycles in the oceans, with a focus on short term perturbations (dust storms, floods)
Marine productivity and export production efficiency
Dust sources, temporal patterns and impact on marine biogeochemistry
Planktonic foraminifera seasonality and daily dynamics
Biomonitoring in the marine environment
Paleoceanography, paleoclimate
Late Quaternary history of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba
The Late Quaternary history of the Dead Sea basin lacustrine bodies (e.g., Kinneret deep drilling)
The chemostratigraphy of Miocene despoits in the East Mediterranean Levant Basin
Holocene history of Eilat coral reefs
Geochemistry
Provenance and weathering patterns of sediments in the Dead Sea basin
U-series disequilibrium in fine terrigenous material in the Red Sea
Comminution dating of glacio-marine sediments in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
U-Th dating systematics of "dirty carbonates"
Pictures from our field and lab work can be found in the Gallery
Research opportunities
We have open research opportunities. Individuals interested in undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral research are encouraged to contact: adi.torf@mail.huji.ac.il
