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Biological and Organic Geochemistry Lab
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A lab that reads the history of the Earth and life from organic molecules in strata and fossils.
AboutAbout the lab
Tracing the history of life on Earth through molecular fossils.
The Biological and Organic Geochemistry Lab conducts research aimed at clarifying the evolution and changes of the Earth's biosphere over geological timescales.
Focusing mainly on strata (sediments) and fossils, the lab combines organic chemical analysis with geoscience field surveys.
From these, the lab reconstructs past global environments and ecosystems, and seeks to clarify long-term environmental change and material cycling systems.
The lab welcomes students who are strong in chemistry or geology and are interested in the history of life on Earth and in environmental and climate change.
Key terms
- Biomarker
- An organic molecule derived from a specific organism. It remains in strata and serves as a clue to past organisms and environments
- Alkenone thermometer
- A method for estimating past seawater temperature from the proportions of molecules produced by marine microalgae
- Diagenesis
- The gradual change of deposited organic matter and strata underground under the effects of temperature and pressure
NewsLab news
A paper describing steroids preserved in bone fossils from strata in Ashoro was published in Organic Geochemistry
A paper reporting a new genus and new species of scale-covered palmophyte alga, from joint research with the University of Fukui Prefecture, was published in Journal of Phycology
A paper summarizing plant terpenoids contained in deep-sea sediments off Japan was published in Applied Geochemistry
A paper on a newly developed method for separating and analyzing kerogen in fine fractions was published in Geochemical Journal
A paper reconstructing the paleoenvironment and paleovegetation from the oceanic anoxic event horizon of the Yezo Group, from joint research with Tohoku University and others, was published in Communications Earth and Environment
ResearchResearch themes
Using organic molecules (biomarkers) contained in strata and fossils as clues, the lab reconstructs past global environments and ecosystems. By combining organic chemical analysis with geoscience field surveys, it investigates the mechanisms of long-term environmental change and material cycling.
*Illustrative imagePaleoenvironmental and paleoclimate research
From biologically derived molecules in seafloor and lakebed sediments, the lab reconstructs past water temperature, salinity, and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and analyzes short-term climate variations on decadal to centennial scales. It also conducts research on developing proxies such as the alkenone thermometer.
*Illustrative imageEarth history research
The lab reconstructs the history of environmental change on the Earth over long timescales. It focuses on the roughly 450 million years since terrestrial ecosystems emerged, and clarifies which ecosystems persisted, and how they recovered, when the environment was severely disrupted and mass extinctions occurred.
*Illustrative imagePaleobiochemistry research
Using geochemical methods, the lab clarifies physiological changes such as the evolution of land plants and their responses to environmental change. It extracts information from charcoal, wood fragments, and macromolecular organic matter in plant fossils commonly found in sedimentary rocks, and reads biological evolution and environmental change from it.
*Illustrative imageOrganic sedimentology research
The lab clarifies how organic particles such as plant fragments in sedimentary layers are transported, deposited, and altered by diagenesis. Studying sediments formed by events such as floods and tsunamis helps reconstruct the history of past disasters, and is also useful for disaster prevention.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Biological and Organic Geochemistry Lab consist of a professor and students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs, including working-professional doctoral students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKen Sawada
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Misc pollen colorized” Dartmouth Electron Microscope Facility, Dartmouth College / Public domain (cropped)
- Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate research: “Basaltlake-coring hg” Hannes Grobe/AWI / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Earth history research: “K-T-boundary” Zimbres - Attribute it to Eurico Zimbres / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Paleobiochemistry research: “Bois pétrifié J1” Jamain / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Organic sedimentology research: “Interbedded metagraywacke-slate (Lake Vermilion Formation, Neoarchean, Ga; Pike River Bridge outcrop, just north of Peyla, Minnesota, USA) )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Biogeochemistry Ikeda Lab): “Eau Claire Formation (Middle to Upper Cambrian; Warren County core, Ohio, USA) 1” James St. John / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Watanabe Lab): “Porites lobata Maldives” Julien Bidet for MDC Seamarc / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Petrology and Volcanology Lab): “Sarychev Volcano edit” Sarychev_Volcano.jpg: NASA derivative work: Avenue (talk) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Environmental Change Analysis Lab): “View of geological strata in Capadocia” Wokege / CC0 (cropped)
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