Matthias López Correa

Dipl.-Geol. Matthias López Correa

GeoZentrum Nordbayern
Chair of Palaeontology (Prof. Dr. Kießling)

Löwenichstr. 28
91054 Erlangen

Phone number: +49 9131 85-24786
Fax number: +49 9131 85-22690
Email: matthias.lopez@fau.de
Website: https://www.gzn.nat.fau.de/palaeontologie/team/assoziierte-wissenschaftler/matthias-lopez-correa/

Forschungsschwerpunkte

Geochronology and geochemistry of deep-sea corals

The aragonitic and calcitic skeletons of azooxanthellate corals in the deep-sea have emerged as faithful archives of oceanographic changes. Their skeletons can be precisely dated with radiocarbon and U-series and reveal reservoir ages (e.g. Δ14C) of the deep ocean, while radiogenic tracers like Neodymium isotopes (εNd) can be applied as powerful tracers of past water mass constellations. Further, boron isotopes (δ11B) have recently unveiled them as archives of ongoing ocean acidification, while stable isotopes (δ18O, δ13C) and trace elements can be used as temperature (e.g. Sr/Ca, Li/Mg) and nutrient concentration proxies (P/Ca). In particular, the centennial scale life-span of different coral taxa, make them prime research targets for high-resolution paleoceanography. My research encompasses Mediterranean and Atlantic cold-water corals for proxy development and fossil material for paleoceanographic reconstructions. Gravity cores from cold-water coral mounds in the North Atlantic (Norway, Irish Sea, Gulf of Cadiz, Mauritanian margin) and the Mediterranean (Apulian Bank) have been subject to paleoceanographic, geochronological and sedimentological investigations (e.g. López Correa et al. 2012; Quaternary Science Reviews).

Matthias López Correa: Tilly-Edinger-Award (German Paleontological Society) – 2007

Journal Articles

Belkhedim S., Munnecke A., Benaaoume HM., López Correa M., Nemra A., Bradai MEA., Benhamou M.:
Lateral facies heterogeneity and carbonate productivity changes during the Lower Jurassic of the Traras Mountains (NW Algeria): local versus regional controls
In: Facies 71 (2025), Article No.: 1
ISSN: 0172-9179
DOI: 10.1007/s10347-024-00691-0
Belkhedim S., Eberli GP., López Correa M., Sadji R., Nemra A., Benhamou M., Munnecke A.:
Microbial micritic cementation in deep time: Implications for early marine lithification and paleoenvironmental reconstruction
In: Sedimentary Geology 471 (2024), Article No.: 106727
ISSN: 0037-0738
DOI: 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2024.106727
Cocozza di Montanara A., Baldrighi E., López Correa M., Chianese E., Appolloni L., Simoncini N., Sandulli R., Zeppilli D., Semprucci F., Gambi MC., Ferrigno F., Donnarumma L.:
Meiobenthos and ocean acidification: Effects on meiobenthic communities inhabiting Mediterranean cold shallow CO2-vents
In: Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 300 (2024), Article No.: 108730
ISSN: 0272-7714
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108730
Leja F., Knolle F., López Correa M.:
Die fossile Burggrabenhöhle und ihr Aragonitvorkommen auf dem Wolfstein, Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Bayern
In: Mitteilungen - Verbandes der Deutschen Hohlen- und Karstforscher 70 (2024), p. 72-75
ISSN: 0505-2211
Lu Y., Paulmann C., Mihailova B., Malcherek T., Birgel D., López Correa M., Lin Z., Lu L., Milker Y., Peckmann J.:
Fibrous dolomite formation at a Miocene methane seep may reflect Neoproterozoic aragonite-dolomite sea conditions
In: Communications Earth & Environment 4 (2023), Article No.: 346
ISSN: 2662-4435
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-023-01021-y
Lombardi C., Kuklinski P., Spirandelli E., Bruzzone G., Raiteri G., Bordone A., Mazzoli C., López Correa M., van Geldern R., Plasseraud L., Thomas J., Marin F.:
Antarctic Bioconstructional Bryozoans from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea): Morphology, Skeletal Structures and Biomineralization
In: Minerals 13 (2023), Article No.: 246
ISSN: 2075-163X
DOI: 10.3390/min13020246
URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/2/246
López Correa M., Teichert S., Ragazzola F., Cazorla Vázquez S., Engel F., Hurle K., Mazzoli C., Kuklinski P., Raiteri G., Lombardi C.:
Structural and geochemical assessment of the coralline alga Tethysphytum antarcticum from Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica
In: Minerals 13 (2023)
ISSN: 2075-163X
DOI: 10.3390/min13020215
Dworczak PG., López Correa M., Jakubowicz M., Munnecke A., Joachimski M., Mazzoli C., Berkowski B.:
Carbon and oxygen isotope fractionation in the Late Devonian heterocoral Oligophylloides: Implications for the skeletogenesis and evolution of the Heterocorallia
In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 598 (2022), p. 111017
ISSN: 0031-0182
DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111017
Müller T., Tomašových A., López Correa M., Mertz-Kraus R., Mikuš T.:
Mapping intrashell variation in Mg/Ca of brachiopods to external growth lines: Mg enrichment corresponds to seasonal growth slowdown
In: Chemical Geology 593 (2022), Article No.: 120758
ISSN: 0009-2541
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2022.120758
Dworczak PG., Jarochowska E., López Correa M., Berkowski B.:
3D MORPHOLOGY OF POST MORTEM ACROTHORACICAN BORINGS IN FAMENNIAN HETEROCORALS – A MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSIFICATION OR A CONTINUUM ICHNOSPECIES?
In: Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 92 (2022), p. 233-252
ISSN: 0208-9068
DOI: 10.14241/asgp.2022.12
López Correa M., Pasda K., Stojakowits P., Häck B., Prieto J., al-Fudhaili N., Mayr C.:
Cave finds indicate elk (Alces alces) hunting during the Late Iron Age in the Bavarian Alps
In: E&G : Quaternary Science Journal 69 (2020), p. 187-200
ISSN: 0424-7116
DOI: 10.5194/egqsj-69-187-2020
URL: https://egqsj.copernicus.org/articles/69/187/2020/
Amitai Y., Yam R., Montagna P., Devoti S., López Correa M., Shemesh A.:
Spatial and temporal variability in Mediterranean climate over the last millennium from vermetid isotope records and CMIP5/PMIP3 models
In: Global and Planetary Change 189 (2020), Article No.: 103159
ISSN: 0921-8181
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2020.103159
Chaabane S., López Correa M., Ziveri P., Trotter J., Kallel N., Douville E., McCulloch M., Taviani M., Linares C., Montagna P.:
Elemental systematics of the calcitic skeleton of Corallium rubrum and implications for the Mg/Ca temperature proxy
In: Chemical Geology 524 (2019), p. 237-258
ISSN: 0009-2541
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.06.008
Oppelt A., López Correa M., Rocha C.:
Biogeochemical analysis of the calcification patterns of cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa along contact surfaces with calcified tubes of the symbiotic polychaete Eunice norvegica: evaluation of a mucus calcification hypothesis
In: Deep-Sea Research Part I-Oceanographic Research Papers 127 (2017), p. 90-104
ISSN: 0967-0637
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2017.08.006
Chaabane S., López Correa M., Montagna P., Kallel N., Taviani M., Linares C., Ziveri P.:
Exploring the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of the Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum) for seawater temperature reconstructions
In: Marine Chemistry 186 (2016), p. 11-23
ISSN: 0304-4203
DOI: 10.1016/j.marchem.2016.07.001
Jakubowicz M., Berkowski B., López Correa M., Jarochowska E., Joachimski M., Belka Z.:
Stable isotope signatures of Middle Paleozoic ahermatypic rugose corals - deciphering vital effects, alteration patterns, and palaeoecological implications
In: PLoS ONE 10 (2015), p. e0136289 (29p.)
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136289
Taviani M., Franchi F., Angeletti L., Correggiari AM., López Correa M., Masselli V., Mazzoli C., Peckmann J.:
Biodetrital carbonates on the Adriatic continental shelf imprinted by oxidation of seeping hydrocarbons
In: Marine and Petroleum Geology 66 (2015), p. 511-531
ISSN: 0264-8172
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.03.015
Titschack J., Baum D., De Pol-Holz D., López Correa M., Forster N., Flögel S., Hebbeln D., Freiwald A.:
Aggradation and carbonate accumulation of Holocene Norwegian cold-water coral reefs
In: Sedimentology 62 (2015), p. 1873-1898
ISSN: 0037-0746
DOI: 10.1111/sed.12206
Gazeau F., Alliouane S., Bock C., Bramanti L., López Correa M., Gentile M., Hirse T., Pörtner HO., Ziveri P.:
Impact of ocean acidification and warming on the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis)
In: frontiers in Marine Science 1 (2014), p. 1-12
ISSN: 2296-7745
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2014.00062
URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2014.00062/full
Montagna P., McCulloch M., Douville E., López Correa M., Trotter J., Rodolfo-Metalpa R., Dissard D., Ferrier-Pagès C., Frank N., Freiwald A., Goldstein S., Mazzoli C., Reynaud S., Rüggeberg A., Russo S., Taviani M.:
Li/Mg systematics in scleractinian corals: Calibration of the thermometer
In: Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 132 (2014), p. 288-310
ISSN: 0016-7037
DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2014.02.005
Henry LA., Frank N., Hebbeln D., Wienberg C., Robinson L., van de Flierdt T., Dahl M., Douarin M., Morrison CL., López Correa M., Rogers AD., Ruckelshausen M., Roberts JM.:
Global ocean conveyor lowers extinction risk in the deep sea
In: Deep-Sea Research 88 (2014), p. 8-16
ISSN: 0146-6291
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2014.03.004
Raddatz J., Liebetrau V., Rüggeberg A., Hathorne E., Krabbenhöft A., Eisenhauer A., Böhm F., Vollstaedt H., Fietzke J., López Correa M., Freiwald A., Dullo WC.:
Stable Sr-isotope, Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, Li/Ca and Mg/Li ratios in the scleractinian cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
In: Chemical Geology 352 (2013), p. 143-152
ISSN: 0009-2541
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2013.06.013
Joseph N., López Correa M., Schönfeld J., Rüggeberg A., Freiwald A.:
Subarctic Holocene climatic and oceanographic variability in Stjernsund, Northern Norway: evidence from benthic foraminifera and stable isotopes
In: Boreas 42 (2013), p. 511-531
ISSN: 0300-9483
DOI: 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00303.x
Marali S., Wisshak M., López Correa M., Freiwald A.:
Skeletal microstructure and stable isotope signature of three bathyal solitary cold-water corals from the Azores
In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 373 (2013), p. 25-38
ISSN: 0031-0182
DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.06.017
McCulloch M., Trotter J., Montagna P., Falter J., Dunbar R., Freiwald A., Försterra G., López Correa M., Maier C., Rüggeberg A., Taviani M.:
Resilience of cold-water scleractinian corals to ocean acidification: Boron isotopic systematics of pH and saturation state up-regulation
In: Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 87 (2012), p. 21-34
ISSN: 0016-7037
DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2012.03.027
López Correa M., Montagna P., Joseph N., Rüggeberg A., Fietzke J., Flögel S., Dorschel B., Goldstein S., Wheeler A., Freiwald A.:
Preboreal onset of Norwegian cold-water coral growth beyond the Arctic Circle revealed by radiocarbon and U-series dating and neodymium isotopes
In: Quaternary Science Reviews 34 (2012), p. 24-43
ISSN: 0277-3791
DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.12.005
Taviani M., Vertino A., López Correa M., Savini A., De Mol B., Remia A., Montagna P., Angeletti L., Zibrowius H., Alves T., Salomidi M., Ritt B., Henry P.:
Pleistocene to Recent scleractinian deep-water corals and coral facies in the Eastern Mediterranean
In: Facies 57 (2011), p. 579-603
ISSN: 0172-9179
DOI: 10.1007/s10347-010-0247-8
URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10347-010-0247-8
Frank N., Freiwald A., López Correa M., Wienberg C., Eisele M., Hebbeln D., van Rooij D., Henriet JP., Colin C., van Weering T., de Haas H., Buhl-Mortensen P., Roberts JM., De Mol B., Douville E., Blamart D., Hatté C.:
Northeastern Atlantic cold-water coral reefs and climate
In: Geology 39 (2011), p. 743-746
ISSN: 0091-7613
DOI: 10.1130/G31825.1
Aguilar R., López Correa M., Calcinai B., Pastor X., de la Torriente A., Garcia S.:
First records of Asbestopluma hypogea Vacelet and Boury-Esnault, 1996 (Porifera, Demospongiae, Cladorhizidae) on seamounts and in bathyal settings of the Mediterranean Sea
In: Zootaxa 2925 (2011), p. 33-40
ISSN: 1175-5326
URL: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/
Raddatz J., López Correa M., Rüggeberg A., Dullo WC., Hansteen T.:
Bioluminescence in deep-sea isidid gorgonians from the Cape Verde archipelago
In: Coral Reefs 30 (2011), p. 579
ISSN: 0722-4028
DOI: 10.1007/s00338-011-0743-5
URL: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00338-011-0743-5.pdf
Frank N., Wienberg C., Hebbeln D., López Correa M., Douville E., Freiwald A., Eisele M.:
Productivity controlled cold-water coral growth periods during the last glacial off Mauritania
In: Marine Geology 280 (2011), p. 143-149
ISSN: 0025-3227
DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2010.12.007
D'Oriano F., Angeletti L., Capotondi L., Laurenzi MA., López Correa M., Taviani M., Torelli L., Trua T., Vigliotti L., Zittelini N.:
Coral Patch and Ormonde seamounts as a product of the Madeira hotspot, Eastern Atlantic Ocean
In: Terra Nova 22 (2010), p. 494-500
ISSN: 0954-4879
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00973.x
URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00973.x/full
McCulloch M., Taviani M., Montagna P., López Correa M., Remia A., Mortimer G.:
Proliferation and demise of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean during the Younger Dryas
In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters 198 (2010), p. 143-152
ISSN: 0012-821X
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.07.036
López Correa M., Montagna P., Taviani M., Vendrell-Simón B., McCulloch M.:
Stable isotopes (δ18O and δ13C), trace and minor element compositions of Recent scleractinians and Last Glacial bivalves at the Santa Maria di Leuca deep-water coral province, Ionian Sea
In: Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography 57 (2010), p. 471-486
ISSN: 0967-0645
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2009.08.016
Nuetzel A., Joachimski M., López Correa M.:
Seasonal climatic fluctuations in the Late Triassic tropics - high-resolution oxygen isotope records from aragonitic bivalve shells (Cassian Formation, Northern Italy)
In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 285 (2010), p. 194-204
ISSN: 0031-0182
DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.11.011
Wisshak M., López Correa M., Zibrowius H., Jakobsen J., Freiwald A.:
Skeletal reorganisation affects geochemical signals, exemplified in the stylasterid hydrocoral Errina dabneyi (Azores Archipelago)
In: Marine Ecology-Progress Series 397 (2009), p. 197-208
ISSN: 0171-8630
DOI: 10.3354/meps08165
URL: http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v397/p197-208/
Wienberg C., Hebbeln D., Hiske F., Mienis F., Dorschel B., Vertino A., López Correa M., Freiwald A.:
Scleractinian cold-water corals in the Gulf of Cádiz - First clues about their spatial and temporal distribution
In: Deep-Sea Research Part I-Oceanographic Research Papers 56 (2009), p. 1873-1893
ISSN: 0967-0637
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2009.05.016
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063709001204?via%3Dihub
Wisshak M., López Correa M., Gofas S., Salas C., Taviani M., Jakobsen J., Freiwald A.:
Shell architecture, element composition, and stable isotope signature of the giant deep-sea oyster Neopycnodonte zibrowii sp n. from the NE Atlantic
In: Deep-Sea Research Part I-Oceanographic Research Papers 66 (2009), p. 374-407
ISSN: 0967-0637
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2008.10.002
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063708002045?via%3Dihub
Taviani M., López Correa M., Zibrowius H., Montagna P., McCulloch M., Ligi M.:
Last Glacial deep water corals from the Red Sea
In: Bulletin of Marine Science 81 (2007), p. 361-370
ISSN: 0007-4977
Open Access: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2007/00000081/00000003/art00006
URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2007/00000081/00000003/art00006#
Rosendahl W., Döppes D., Joger U., Laskowski R., López Correa M., Nielbock R., Wrede V.:
New radiometric datings of different cave bear sites in Germany - results and interpretations
In: Bulletin de la Société d'histoire naturelle de Toulouse 141 (2005), p. 39-46
ISSN: 0758-4113
URL: http://www.einhornhoehle.de/Forsch/dating.pdf

Book Contributions

Strafella P., López Correa M., Pyko I., Teichert S., Gomiero A.:
Distribution of Microplastics in the Marine Environment
In: Handbook of Microplastics in the Environment, Cham: Springer, 2021, p. 1 - 35
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-10618-8_43-1
Taviani M., Angeletti L., Antolini B., Ceregato A., Froglia C., López Correa M., Montagna P., Remia A., Trincardi F., Vertino A.:
Geo-biology of Mediterranean deep-water coral ecosystems
In: Marine Research at CNR, Rom: National Research Council of Italy, 2011, p. 705-719
Open Access: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232628431_Taviani_et_al_2011_Marine_Research_at_CNR
URL: https://issuu.com/cnr-dta
López Correa M., Taviani M., Freiwald A., Hall-Spencer J.:
Distribution and habitats of Acesta excavata (Bivalvia: Limidae) with new data on its shell ultrastructure
In: Freiwald A., Roberts JM- (ed.): Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2005, p. 173-205
URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/3-540-27673-4_9

Conference Contributions

Strafella P., al-Fudhaili N., de Winter N., López Correa M., Teichert S., Scarcella G., Nohl T.:
Sclerochronological insights into the environmental response of Corbula gibba from the Adriatic Sea
EGU General Assembly 2022 (Wien, 23. May 2022 - 27. May 2022)
DOI: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-9165
Beuck L., López Correa M., Freiwald A.:
Biogeographical distribution of Hyrrokkin (Rosalinidae, Foraminifera) and its host-specific morphological and textural trace variability
5th International Bioerosion Workshop (Erlangen, 12. September 2006 - 13. September 2006)
In: Wisshak M.; Tapanila L. (ed.): Current Developments in Bioerosion, Berlin, Heidelberg: 2008
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-77598-0-17