Patrizia FERRETTI

I am a research scientist at the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics in Venice, where I am working under the auspices of the Project GRACEFUL, founded by Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). I received a Marie Curie European Reintegration Grant for my proposal MILLEVARIABILI at the CNR-IDPA (Italy, 2011-2014), and a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship for my proposal RACLIVAGO at the University of Barcelona (Spain, 2008-2010). Previously, I was a postdoctoral research associate and a research assistant at the Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge (U.K., 2003-2008). I earned my Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of Padova, in co-agreement with the University of Cambridge (the Godwin Laboratory, Department of Earth Sciences, U.K., 2000-2003).

I am a palaeoceanographer and my research is oriented toward identifying the role of ocean circulation in past climate change and aims to understand the mechanisms responsible for driving long and short-term changes in global climate. Work involves the study of the chemical compositions of microfossils (foraminifera) from marine sediment cores to reconstruct past changes in marine temperatures, ocean circulation, continental ice-volume, marine productivity and carbon cycling. Ultimately, my research aims to provide a geological basis for understanding our present climate.

Recent research funded by the EU, NERC and PNRA has focused on ocean-ice-climate interactions in the past 1.5 Ma in the Southern Hemisphere (FP7/3868 EPICA-MIS), development and application of Mg/Ca palaeothermometry to benthic foraminifera (MEIF-CT-2006-42169), intra-interglacial variability and astronomical signature (NE/ D521530/1, PERG-GA-2010-272134, FP7/243908 Past4Future, ARC-DP160102969) and ocean acidification (PNRA 2013/AZ2.06, PNRA16_00069).

I am author of 90 communications at international conferences, including 24 invited talks (e.g. AGU Joint Assembly, AGU Fall Meeting, EGU General Assembly, European Science Foundation Research Conference, ESF EARTHTIME-EU Scientific Meeting, Milankovitch Anniversary UNESCO Symposium, INQUA Congress), 38 articles on international journals, and 4 reports on oceanographic cruises (over 1000 citations).

Ten key publications:

[1] Capraro, C., Ferretti, P., Macrì, P., Scarponi, D., Tateo, F., Fornaciari, E., Bellini, G., Dalan, G,.  (2017). A high resolution record of the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition (MIS 21-MIS 19) in the Central Mediterranean: the Valle di Manche section revisited. Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 165, 31-48, doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.04.003.

[2] McClelland, H.L.O., Barbarin, N., Beaufort, L., Hermoso, M., Ferretti, P., Greaves, M., Rickaby, R.E.M. (2016). Calcification response of a key phytoplankton family to millennial-scale environmental change. Nature Scientific Reports 6, 34263; doi: 10.1038/srep34263.

[3] Berger, A., Crucifix, M., Hodell, D.A., Mangili, C., McManus, J.F., Otto-Bliesner, B., Pol, K., Raynaud, D., Skinner, L.C., Tzedakis, P.C., Wolff, E.W., Yin, Q.Z., Abe-Ouchi, A., Barbante, C., Brovkin, V., Cacho, I., Capron, E., Ferretti, P., Ganopolski, A., Grimalt, J.O., Hönisch, B., Kawamura, K., Landais, A., Margari, V., Martrat, B., Masson-Delmotte, V., Mokeddem, Z., Parrenin, F., Prokopenko, A.A., Rashid, H., Schulz, M., Vazquez Riveiros, N. (2016). Interglacials of the last 800,000 years. Review of Geophysics, 54, 1, 162-219. doi:10.1002/2015RG000482.

[4] Ferretti, P., Crowhurst, S.J., Naafs, B.D.A., Barbante, C. (2015). The Marine Isotope Stage 19 in the mid-latitude North Atlantic Ocean: astronomical signature and intra-interglacial variability. Quaternary Science Reviews, 108, 95-110, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.024.

[5] Elderfield, H., Ferretti, P., Greaves, M., Crowhurst, S.J., McCave, I.N., Hodell, D. and Piotrowski, A. (2012). Evolution of ocean temperature and ice volume through the Mid Pleistocene Climate Transition. Science, vol. 337, 6095, 704-709, DOI: 10.1126/science.1221294 (Research Article). See also, accompanying Perspective piece by Peter U. Clark on p. 656-657 of same issue.

[6] Naafs, B.D.A., Hefter, J., Ferretti, P., Stein, R. and Haug, G.H. (2011). Sea surface temperatures did not control the first occurrence of Hudson Strait Heinrich Events during MIS 16. Paleoceanography, vol. 26, 4, Article number PA4201, doi:10.1029/2011PA002135.

[7] Ferretti, P., Crowhurst, S.J., Hall, M.A., Cacho, I. (2010). North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variability 910 to 790 ka and the role of the equatorial insolation forcing. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 293, 28–41, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2010.02.016.

[8] Elderfield, H., Greaves, M., Barker, S., Hall, I.R., Tripati, A., Ferretti, P., Crowhurst, S., Booth, L., Daunt, C. (2010). A record of bottom water temperature and seawater d18O for the Southern Ocean over the past 440 kyr based on Mg/Ca of benthic foraminiferal Uvigerina spp. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29, 160–169, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.07.013

[9] Pena, L.D., Cacho, I., Ferretti, P., Hall, M.A. (2008). El Ninõ–Southern Oscillation–like variability during glacial terminations and interlatitudinal teleconnections. Paleoceanography, Vol. 23, 3, Article number PA3101, doi:10.1029/2008PA001620.

[10] Tripati, A., Backman, J., Elderfied, H., Ferretti, P. (2005). Early bipolar glaciation associated with global carbon cycle changes. Nature vol. 436, 7049, 341-346, doi:10.1038/nature03874 (Article). See also, accompanying News and Views piece by Lee Kump on p. 333-334 of same issue.