Kasia K. Sliwinska is an expert in climate and ecology of the geological past. She is particularly interested in major climatic transitions (e.g., the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum, the Eocene–Oligocene Transition, and the Miocene Climatic Optimum), which took place during the Paleogene and Miocene (65 to 5 million years ago). She focuses on reconstructing sea surface water temperature (using organic biomarkers such as GDGTs and alkenones) and surface water conditions (using organic-walled microfossils, primarily dinocysts). She is also an expert in biostratigraphy, providing age models for various projects (CCS, groundwater mapping, etc.). Her main research area covers the North Atlantic–Arctic region.

Keywords: palynology, dinocysts, pollen, spores, membrane lipids, TEX₈₆, alkenones, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, paleoclimate, stratigraphy

Education:

2007-2011        Ph.D. (4+4 program), Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark.

2002-2005        B.Sc. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Poland

9.2005-6.2006  Erasmus exchange student at Aarhus University (home institution: University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Poland).

2001-2004        B.Sc. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Polish Philology, Poland

Employment record:

from 2019 – Senior researcher at GEUS 

09/2017 – 11/2019        Postdoc researcher at GEUS (80% FTE)

07/2013 – 09/2017        Postdoc researcher at GEUS; (full time)

10/2011 – 03/2013        Postdoc; visiting researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Texel, the Netherlands; funded by Det Frie Forskningsråd, Grant No. 11-107497

2/2007 – 6/2011            Teaching assistant, mentor for exchange students; Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark

8/2006 – 1/2007            Lab. assistant at Micropaleontology Group; Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark

Academic awards:

2019                    Best presentation award at the FORCE Biostratigraphy seminar, Stavanger Norway

2019                    ECORD research grant award. Very competitive merit-based award for outstanding young researchers for innovative research within the IODP awarded from the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD). Title: Mid-Cretaceous climate in the High Arctic region          €3.000/20.000 DKK

2007-2011         Recipient of numerous funds/scholarships for participation in various meetings/courses: from Energistyrelsen, Oticon Fonden, NordForsk PhD Grant, Fur Museum, ESSAC, and USSP. Total amount > 85.000 DKK

2002-2004         recipient of a scientific scholarship (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Poland). The scholarship was awarded to top 2% of students based on their academic performance in an academic year.

Research funding and management experience (PI, projects over 0.5 Mill DKK) 

2024-2027          Denmark under IPCC scenarios – a view from the Eemian and Miocene past warm periods (EeMi) funded by Geocenter Denmark, 2.200.000 DKK

2019-2023         SeaLMICO₂ funded by Geocenter Denmark; 950.000 DKK; 

2011-2013         individual postdoc Grant No. 11-107497 funded by (DFF/FNU); 1.213.000 DKK

Other projects as co-investigator:

2025-2029        HORIZON-CL5-2024-D1-01-03 — Climate sciences and responses (2025-2029): P2F, funded by Horizon Europe; co-investigator in WP9 and WP12; research, supervision.

2024-2026        SUSTAIN-ART-SCI: Addressing Sustainability using Arts-Based Science Communication; funded by Novo Nordisk;  science communication

2023-2025        SVALCLIME UArctic: SVALCLIME: Deep-time Arctic climate archives: High-resolution coring of Svalbard’s sedimentary record, funded by UArctic; research

2022-2025        IODP Expedition 396: Mid-Norwegian Margin Magmatism and Paleoclimate Implications, shore-based researcher, research and supervision

2022-2023         Geocenter project: Shallow marine response and latitudinal variation across the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (PI Laura J. Cotton, SNM), research

2019-2021         Geocenter project: ENIGMA (PI Paul Knutz, GEUS); research and fieldwork.

2018                   funded by National Geographic: Cretaceous greenhouse (PI Madeleine Vickers, Plymouth University), Grant No.CP-038R-17; research and fieldwork.

2013-2019         Industry funded LoCrA consortium (PI Snorre Olaussen, University Centre in Svalbard); research, fieldwork, sample collection, supervision

International invited presentations:

• Keynote speaker at the Magellan Plus workshop NHIS – Evolution of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets: timing, drivers, and interconnections  4-7 February 2025,  Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK presentation title: “Northern Hemisphere glacial evolution from the perspective of Greenland margins paleoclimate archives”
• ECORD summer school 2023, Bremen, Germany; invited lecturer: "The Early Cenozoic  Greenhouse World - the Arctic Perspective" September 6th, 2023
• ECORD summer school 2023, Bremen, Germany; invited lecturer together with Paul Knutz: "IODP Expedition 400, North West Greenland margin - Science presentation" September 14th, 2023
• EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria; "Sea surface temperature evolution of the North Atlantic Ocean across the Eocene-Oligocene Transition", April 25th 2023
• 52nd AASP meeting, Ghent, Belgien; (keynote) "How reliable are dinocysts as a temperature proxy? A case study on Svalbardella cooksoniae and its implications for paleoclimatological studies of the late Paleogene"  July 2nd, 2019

Supervision:

Postdoc:

• Pablo Martinez Sosa website (2025-2027; EeMi)

Visiting researchers:

• Jessica (Bela) McCoy - PhD candidate from Northumbria University, Geography and Environmental Sciences Department (15.02-15.03.2025)
• Lorenzo Edoardo Monetti   - Bachelor student from University of Milan (internship) 15.08-17.10.2025

Master students:

• 2024 Laura Kellner (NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal) - now PhD-candidate at KU Leuven
• 2022-2023   Rune Bech Pedersen (AU) (SeaLMICO₂ project) - now PhD-candidate at Stockholm University 
• 2021-2022   Julie Fredborg (KU), (SeaLMICO₂ project) now PhD-candidate at Globe, Copenhagen University
• 2020-2021  Tirza Weitkamp (Vrije Universitet Amsterdam; Erazmus+)  Completed PhD at Stockholm University in 2025

Bachelor students:

• 2023 Amalie Arildsund (KU), (IODP 369/SeaLMICO₂ project) now PhD-candidate at Aarhus University
• 2020  Julie Margrethe Fredborg (KU) (LoCrA project)