Olabayo Samuel Olaopa
MSc Student
Olabayo Samuel Olaopa holds a Bachelor's degree in Geology and mineral sciences from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria (2018). Upon his graduation, he interned at Lake Afrik Petroleum, as a junior field geologist, where he did a series of works in geological field mapping, core logging, and sampling in the Dahomey Basin of South Western Nigeria. During this time, he was a member of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency field team that worked on a tar sand coring project, as part of a major Dahomey Basin Bitumen Exploration Project. This experience developed his interest in basin exploration, geochemistry, and sedimentology. His MSc project focuses on “Reconstruction of the paleoenvironment and paleoclimatic conditions of the Dead Sea Region during the Pliocene”.
Olabayo enjoys playing video games and soccer.
+972-4-6647900
olaopaolabayo@gmail.com
Multipurpose bldg. #130
Current research
Reconstructing the paleoenvironment and paleoclimatic conditions of the Dead Sea Region during the Pliocene
The aim of this study is to reconstruct the environmental settings and climatic conditions of the Dead Sea region that dates back to the Pliocene. For this goal, the Bnot Lot Formation, a high-resolution lagoonal-lacustrine sedimentary sequence exposed in the Dead Sea region, will be studied. The formation encompasses an exquisite record of intercalating layers of sand, silt, and marl that span over 200 m, and an abundance of faunal and floral fossils assemblages, which makes it appropriate for providing detailed Information for reconstructing environmental and hydrological settings. This study is of high importance as the previous works done were basic descriptions (Zak, 1967) and chronological constrained using cosmogenic isotopes (Matmon et al., 2014). However, a knowledge gap on the environmental conditions surrounding its deposition still largely prevails. Therefore, this current study will improve on the pre-existing knowledge, by using modern analytical techniques to study the geochemical and sedimentological properties of the exposed sequence samples. This will provide valuable information on the general environmental settings and climatic conditions that shaped the Levant region during the Pliocene. The Pliocene is the most recent period with comparable climatic conditions to the present, where the world experienced high temperatures and high atmospheric CO2 during a prolonged time. This proposed study is vital to gaining insights into the effects of global warming on the levant region and potentially an analog for modeling future conditions.
