Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

The hunting ground for this precious organic matter was to bethe soils and sediments from the Gulf of Lions, a wide inlet in theMediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France.The project lasted two years. During the fi rst she conducteda geochemical analysis. This involved looking at the totalnitrogen, organic carbon concentrations and stable carbonisotopic composition of terrestrial and marine samples. Inthe second year, analysis focused on the spatial distributionpatterns of the Branched and Isoprenoid Tetraether (BIT) index,which was tested for appropriateness as a tool to indicatepalaeofl ood events.‘Our results from the Têt watershed (France) and the Gulf ofLions (NW Mediterranean) showed that the BIT index, indicatorof soil input from land into the ocean, has a potential for tracingfl ood events that occurred in the past and thus for providingpalaeofl ood records on geological scales. Such palaeofl oodrecords as responses to past global climate changes canprovide valuable information to indicate the potential impact ofthe present greenhouse global climate change and thereforecontribute to the design of strategies for water and riskmanagement,’ explains Dr Kim.Speaking scienceDuring her fellowship, Dr Kim was interviewed for an articlein Nature on high-calibre foreign researchers working in theNetherlands. This was an excellent opportunity for her tocommunicate to a wider audience the importance of herresearch as well as her experience and contribution to thefi eld of physical science in her host country. Being selectedfor such an article was no doubt a great honour.Dr Kim describes the Netherlands as an ideal training groundfor young researchers. She explains that although fi nding apermanent position in the country is a fi ercely competitiveventure, ideally her next career objective is to build up anindependent research team of her own.Dr Kim has also been communicating science through othermediums. She has presented her fi ndings to the media as wellas academics and government representatives. And in the fi rstyear of her fellowship alone, she published papers in numerousacclaimed journals, including Organic Geochemistry, PaleogeographyPaleoclimatology Paleoecology and Geochimica et CosmochimicaActa, three journals renowned for publishing articles on cutting-238