Dr Satya Ilindra

I am a geochemist and graduated from the University of Hyderabad where I completed my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Earth Science, before going on to complete my PhD at the Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India.

Since my early research, I have worked with advanced mass spectrometry techniques, particularly ICP-QQQ-MS and MC-ICP-MS, which I developed and refined during my doctoral work in the Geochemical Research Unit at IISc. I have applied these techniques across a wide range of systems and sample types: from biogenic carbonates such as foraminifera and corals, to natural waters, soils, and biological matrices including human blood and teeth. My shipborne experience includes participation in the Southern Ocean Expedition (SOE-11), where I collected samples for geochemical analysis to address questions in palaeoclimate and sediment biogeochemistry.

My doctoral research focused on quantifying ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange in the Southern Ocean during the Last Deglaciation using boron isotopes as a proxy for seawater pH and pCO2. After completing my PhD, I moved to the UK and joined the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge as a Postdoctoral Researcher. I am currently part of the Leverhulme-funded Building Shells: Towards a Mechanistic Understanding of Biomineralisation project, where I lead the geochemical component, conducting trace element and isotope measurements across coral, foraminifera, and coccolithophore samples cultured under varying environmental conditions to unravel the mechanisms of shell formation and refine the use of biogenic carbonates as palaeoclimate archives.

I am fascinated by the precision and sensitivity that modern isotope and trace element methods bring to questions about Earth's past climate, and by the idea that a fragment of coral or a single foraminifera can carry a detailed record of ocean conditions from thousands of years ago. Beyond my laboratory and sea-going research, I enjoy engaging with early-career scientists through workshops and mentoring, and I am passionate about communicating the importance of carbon cycle science to broader audiences at a time when understanding CO2 in the Earth system has never been more urgent.