Addis Hailu Endeshaw

PhD Students – Swiss Governmental Excellence Scholarship (FCS)

   addis.endeshaw@unifr.ch

    +41 26 300 89 79

PER 07 bu. 1.310, Ch. du Musée 6, 1700 Fribourg

My doctoral project is “PALAEOECOLOGY OF PLEISTOCENE CORALGAL REEF TERRACES IN THE DANAKIL DEPRESSION (AFAR, ETHIOPIA)”. The Danakil depression is a rift basin, flooded by Red Sea during Pleistocene. The flooding history is documented in the coralgal reef deposits and the coral reef ecosystems. These coralgal reef terraces are developed along the western, central and eastern parts of the of Danakil Paleo-sea. The main objective is to investigate the systematics of the reef building fossil Scleractinian, to quantify the Pleistocene ecological dynamics between and within various coral reef habitats, and their response for the biotic and abiotic controlling factors in this volcano-tectonically active rift basin. Specifically, descriptions of coral specimens, analysis of fossil associations, application of geochemical proxies, and reconstruction of the paleobiogeography of the Danakil paleo-sea coralgal reef terraces will be carried out. This project will apply macromorphological, micromorphological and microstructural studies of coral specimens, geochemical analysis of coral skeletons and application of different statistical R – Packages for understanding of taxa composition and ecological changes during MIS7 and MIS5e.