In late January, I attended one of the top conferences in my scientific career: the International Sedimentological Congress 2026. The meeting was beautifully organized, the atmosphere was welcoming and energetic, and the science was outstanding. I am especially grateful to the local organizing committee for inviting me to deliver a plenary lecture. It was a real honor, and I truly appreciate the effort to include early-career researchers in keynote roles. Many thanks to my coauthors and to the Independent Research Fund Denmark for supporting this work. I am also very thankful to Marta Marchegiano for being such a great partner in the International Association of Sedimentologists Early Career Researchers activities, and to all the judges who helped run the student poster and PICO competitions.

Great science, great people, and great conversations, all set in an incredible landscape.

Before the end of 2025, someone caught me having a good time back in the US at the amazing pO₂ Workshop at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh!

Huge thanks for the invitation to be a featured speaker! I really enjoyed sharing what we’re doing here in Denmark, together with Tais W. Dahl at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, on developing proxies to track anoxia—and the great discussions that followed! Many thanks as well to the Independent Research Fund Denmark for the financial support of this project!