Mehmet Akif
Sarıkaya
Professor of Quaternary geology at İstanbul Technical University, Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences. Cosmogenic nuclide geochronology, glacial geomorphology and paleoclimate.
Dating landforms, reading climate
I am a Quaternary geoscientist and geochronologist working on terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) dating of glacial, volcanic and tectonic landforms. My group at İstanbul Technical University reconstructs Late Quaternary paleoclimate by combining exposure-age chronologies with inverse glacier modelling and multiproxy synthesis.
Fieldwork and our in-house sample preparation laboratory have taken the work from the Mediterranean and Dinaric mountains to the Himalaya, Central Asia, Patagonia and Antarctica, with a focus on how mountain glaciers responded to climate during the last glaciation and the Holocene.
- Since 2018
- Professor, İstanbul Technical University, Türkiye
- 2024–2025
- Visiting Professor, Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, USA
- Postdoc 2010
- Postdoc & Research Associate, University of Nebraska-Omaha, USA
- PhD 2009
- Hydrology & Water Resources, University of Arizona, USA
- MSc 2001
- Geological Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
- BSc 1998
- Geological Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
Five lines of work
Where the samples come from
Select a point to see the site and the papers that came out of it.
Papers, chapters & books
Funded research, 2004–2025
Select a row for the team, funder code and original Turkish title.
İTÜ/Kozmo-Lab kozmo-lab.itu.edu.tr ↗
The Geomorphology and Cosmogenic Nuclides Laboratory at İTÜ prepares rock samples for exposure dating, from crushing and mineral separation to the chemistry that ends in AMS targets.
- ³⁶ClCarbonates, basalts and other Ca/K-rich lithologies: moraines on the Taurus and Dinaric karst, fault scarps, lava flows
- ¹⁰BeQuartz-bearing boulders and sediments: Patagonia, Antarctic Peninsula, catchment-wide erosion rates
- SHDSchmidt-hammer exposure dating, calibrated against ³⁶Cl ages
Lab members
Paper counts are co-authored entries in the publication list.
Appointments
- 2024–2025Visiting ProfessorHydrology & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, USA
- 2018 –Professorİstanbul Technical University
- 2013Associate Professorİstanbul Technical University
- 2010Postdoc & Research AssociateUniversity of Nebraska-Omaha, USA
- 2009Technical ExpertCosmogenic Isotope Lab, University of Arizona, USA
- 2004Research & Teaching AssistantHydrology & Water Resources, University of Arizona, USA
- 1998Research & Teaching AssistantGeological Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara
Education
- 2009PhD, Hydrology & Water ResourcesUniversity of Arizona, USA
- 2001MSc, Geological EngineeringHacettepe University, Ankara
- 1998BSc, Geological EngineeringHacettepe University, Ankara
PhD dissertation (2009). Late Quaternary glaciation and paleoclimate of Turkey inferred from cosmogenic ³⁶Cl dating of moraines and glacier modeling. University of Arizona, Tucson.
MSc thesis (2001). Structural investigation of the contact between the Menderes metamorphic core complex and the Tertiary units of Gediz graben in the Alaşehir–Salihli region (near Karadut). Hacettepe University, Ankara. In Turkish.
Get in touch
Prospective MSc and PhD students
If you would like to join the group, email me your CV and a short note on your research interests.
masarikaya@itu.edu.trmehmetakifsarikaya@gmail.comOffice
İstanbul Teknik ÜniversitesiAvrasya Yerbilimleri Enstitüsü
(Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences)
34469 Maslak, İstanbul, Türkiye
Phone
+90 (212) 285 6108 (office)
+90 (212) 285 6210 (fax)