Société Française de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie

Her thesis, "Properties of Late Carboniferous paleosols as indicators of paleoenvironmental conditions," explored soils formed over 300 million years ago in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin.By analyzing mineralogy, chemistry, and soil micromorphology from six drill cores, she reconstructed the ancient environment, revealing evidence of warm, humid tropical conditions, episodic sediment accumulation, and fluctuating groundwater levels.Micromorphological studies proved particularly important, allowing certain features to be identified such as root traces, soil aggregates, and illuviation structures that preserve a record of soil formation processes, even in poorly developed profiles.Patrycja's work demonstrates that even subtle soil features can provide key insights into past landscapes, highlighting the lasting value of paleosols for reconstructing Earth's environmental history.