Celebrating 150 years of the periodic table

Symbolic picture for the article. The link opens the image in a large view. — Dr. Sebastian Teichert, Chair of Palaeontology, is researching coralline red algae. His field of work is the seabed of the Arctic. (Image: Jürgen Schauer / Geomar in Kiel)

For the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, we asked our scientists about their favourite element

July 30, 2019

Dr. Sebastian Teichert, Chair of Palaeontology, on magnesium:

“My favorite element is magnesium (Mg), which can be found in numerous minerals. Even my main research object, the coralline red algae, incorporate it into their calcite skeleton – namely in dependence of the environmental conditions. Furthermore, as they develop an annual rhythm such as trees, I can, for example, indicate earlier temperatures or the advancing ocean acidification with the help of the magnesium concentration – exactly to the year and partly more than 100 years back in the past. To collect the respective sample material from the ocean floor of the Arctic Zone, my work area, is a special pleasure, of course.”

Further interviews within the framework of the “150 Jahre Periodensystem” series as well as more exciting stories about FAU can be found on our website and the FAU Facebook page.