Juan Pablo Corella Aznar

Tenured scientist

pablo.corella@mncn.csic.es

0000-0001-5127-9011

Juan Pablo Corella Aznar

applied sedimentology; environmental geochemistry; hydrogeomorphological hazards; legacy pollution; natural archives; polar and alpine regions

I am a senior researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) since 2023, where I lead activities in applied sedimentology and environmental geochemistry. Degree in Geology (University of Zaragoza). PhD in Geology (University of Zaragoza).

Before joining CSIC, I developed my career through successive national and European research contracts that allowed me to work across 12 research institutions. These appointments included research periods at CSIC, the Spanish Research Center for Technology, Energy and Environment, University Grenoble Alpes, the French Institute of Geosciences, University of Geneve, California State University, the German Research Centre for Geosciences, Cardiff University, and the University of Manchester.

My research focuses on the integrated analysis of hydrological dynamics, sedimentary processes, and environmental geochemistry in continental systems. Thanks to this work, I investigate how climate variability, extreme events, and human activities influence erosion, sediment transfer, contaminant dynamics, and long-term environmental change, with applications in risk assessment, environmental monitoring, sustainable resource management, and the evaluation of strategic mineral resources, including critical raw materials.

My recent work includes scientific advisory activities for the United Nations Environment Programme in the field of mercury contamination and environmental monitoring. I am currently the Vice-President of the Spanish Association of Petroleum Geologist and Geophysicist, helping strengthen links between academia, industry, and applied geosciences, particularly in areas related to environmental sustainability and responsible resource management.

2026

  • Doyle C, Corella JP, Behnsen J, Morellón M, Martín-Puertas C, Valero-Garcés BL, Schroeder S. 2026. Development of Holocene lacustrine microbialites on the Iberian Peninsula: Insights into environmental and depositional controls using X-Ray CT and petrography. Sedimentology. (2/7) https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.70097

  • Jódar J, Schmid T, Corella JP, Garralón A, Sánchez L, Lambán LJ, Moreno I, Urrutia J, Herrera C, Duque C, Silva-Busso A, López-Martínez J. 2026. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 64, 103296. (3/12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103296

  • Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Sacristán-Soriano O, Borrego CM, Corella JP, Errea P, Buchaca T, Rull V. 2026. Five centuries of lake deoxygenation and microbial shifts revealed by sedimentary DNA. Anthropocene 53, 100504. (4/7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2025.100504

  • Ortega-Becerril JA, Schmid T, Corella JP, Carcavilla L, Calle M, López Martínez J. 2026. Stream channel morphology and water flow in ice-free areas of Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Geomorphology 494, 110101. (3/6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.110101

2024

  • Schröder S, Corella JP, Pellicer XM, Rook P, Kara A, Comas X. 2024. Characterizing the heterogeneous nature of tufa mounds by integrating petrographic, petrophysical, acoustic, and electromagnetic measurements. The Depositional Record 10, 70–90. (2/6).

    https://doi.org/10.1002/dep2.259

  • Valero-Garcés BL, Corella JP, Elustondo D, Mata-Campo MP, Santos-González J, González-Gutiérrez B, Galofre M, Oliva B, Pey J. 2024. Polvo sahariano durante el Holoceno en los Pirineos occidentales y centrales: los registros de la turbera de Arxuri y el ibón de Marboré. Geotemas 20.

2023

  • Benito G, Greenbaum N, Medialdea A, Calle M, Sánchez-Moya Y, Machado M, Ballesteros-Cánovas JA, Corella JP. 2023. Late Pleistocene–Holocene multi-decadal patterns of extreme floods in NW Iberia: The Duero River palaeoflood record. Quaternary Science Reviews 321, 108356. (8/8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108356

  • Segato D, Saiz-Lopez A, Mahajan AS, Wang F, Corella JP, Cuevas CA, Erhardt T, Jensen CM, Zeppenfeld C, Kjær HA, Turetta C, Cairns W, Barbante C, Spolaor A. 2023. Climate control on Arctic mercury variability during the Last Glacial Termination. Nature Geoscience 16(5), 439–445. (5/14). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01172-9

2022

  • Corella JP, Maffezzoli N, Spolaor A, Vallelonga P, Cuevas CA, Scoto F, Müller J, Vinther B, Kjær HA, Cozzi G, Edwards R, Barbante C, Saiz-Lopez A. 2022. Climate changes modulated the history of Arctic iodine during the Last Glacial Cycle. Nature Communications 13, 88. (1/13). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27642-5

  • Corella JP, Martín-Puertas C. 2022. Dating techniques in Quaternary annually laminated sediments. Examples from the Iberian Peninsula. Cuaternario y Geomorfología 36(3–4), 73–86. (1/2). https://doi.org/10.17735/cyg.v36i3-4.94057

  • Doyle C, Corella JP, Schroeder S, Strauss H, Bishop T, Yarwood J, Valero-Garcés BL. 2022. Spatio-temporal variations in the geochemistry of Laguna Salada de Chiprana, NE Spain. Geosciences 12, 1–18. (2/7). https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12100381

  • Doyle C, Schroeder S, Corella JP, Valero-Garcés BL. 2022. Facies variability and depositional settings of Laguna Salada de Chiprana, an Iberian hypersaline lake. Sedimentology 69, 2615-2641. (3/4). https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13005

  • Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Corella JP, Sigró J, Rull V, Dorado-Liñán I, Valero-Garcés BL, Gutiérrez E. 2022. Regional precipitation trends since 1500 CE reconstructed from calcite sublayers of a varved Mediterranean mountain lake (Central Pyrenees). Science of the Total Environment 826, 153773. (2/7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153773

  • Wilhelm B, Amann B, Corella JP, Rapuc W, Giguet-Covex C, Merz B, Støren E. 2022. Reconstructing paleoflood occurrence and magnitude from lake sediments. Quaternary 5(1), 9. (3/7). https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5010009

2019

  • Corella JP, Benito G, Monteoliva AP, Calle M, Valero-Garcés BL, Stefanova V, Rico E, Favre AC, Wilhelm B. 2021. A 1400-years flood frequency reconstruction for the Basque Country (N Spain): Integrating geological, historical and instrumental datasets. Quaternary Science Reviews 262, 106963. (1/9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106963

  • Corella JP, Sierra MJ, Garralón A, Millán R, Rodríguez-Alonso J, Mata MP, Vicente de Vera A, Moreno A, González-Sampériz P, Duval B, Amouroux D, Vivez P, Cuevas CA, Adame JA, Wilhelm B, Saiz-Lopez A, Valero-Garcés BL. 2021. Recent and historical pollution legacy in high altitude Lake Marboré (Central Pyrenees): A record of mining and smelting since pre-Roman times in the Iberian Peninsula. Science of the Total Environment 751, 141557. (1/17). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141557

  • Moreno A, Bartolomé M, López-Moreno JI, Pey J, Corella JP, García-Orellana J, Sancho C, Leunda M, Gil-Romera G, González-Sampériz P, Pérez-Mejías C, Navarro F, Otero-García J, Lapazaran J, Alonso-González E, Cid C, López-Martínez J, Oliva-Urcía B, Faria SH, Sierra MJ, Millán R, Querol X, Alastuey A, García-Ruiz JM. 2021. The case of a southern European glacier which survived Roman and medieval warm periods but is disappearing under recent warming. The Cryosphere 15, 1157–1172. (5/24). https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1157-2021

  • Rull V, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Corella JP, Trapote MC, Montoya E, Valero-Garcés BL. 2021. A unique Pyrenean varved record provides a detailed reconstruction of Mediterranean vegetation and land-use dynamics over the last three millennia. Quaternary Science Reviews 268, 107128. (3/6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107128

  • Rull V, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Corella JP, Valero-Garcés BL. 2021. Bronze Age to Medieval vegetation dynamics and landscape anthropization in the southern-central Pyrenees. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 571, 110392. (3/4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110392

  • Santos-González J, Gómez-Villar A, González-Gutiérrez RB, Corella JP, Benito G, Redondo-Vega JM, Melón-Nava A, Valero-Garcés BL. 2021. Geomorphological impact, hydraulics and watershed-lake connectivity during extreme floods in mountain areas: The 1959 Vega de Tera dam failure, NW Spain. Geomorphology 375, 107531. (4/8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107531

  • Spolaor A, Burgay F, Fernandez RP, Turetta C, Cuevas CA, Kim K, Kinnison DE, Lamarque JF, De Blasi F, Corella JP, Vallelonga P, Barbante C, Saiz-Lopez A. 2021. Antarctic ozone hole modifies iodine geochemistry on the Antarctic Plateau. Nature Communications 12, 5836. (10/13). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26109-x

  • Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Rull V, Trapote MC, Cao M, Rosell-Melé A, Buchaca T, Gomà J, López P, Sigró J, Safont E, Cañellas N, Garcés-Pastor S, Giralt S, Corella JP, Pérez-Zanón N. 2020. Modern analogue approach applied to high-resolution varved sediments—A synthesis for Lake Montcortès (Central Pyrenees). Quaternary 3(1), 1. (14/15). https://doi.org/10.3390/quat3010001

  • Corella JP, Benito G, Wilhelm B, Montoya E, Rull V, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Valero-Garcés BL. 2019. A millennium-long perspective of flood-related seasonal sediment yield in Mediterranean watersheds. Global and Planetary Change 177, 127–140. (1/7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.03.016

  • Corella JP, Maffezzoli N, Cuevas CA, Vallelonga P, Spolaor A, Cozzi G, Müller J, Vinther B, Barbante C, Kjær HA, Edwards R, Saiz-Lopez A. 2019. Holocene atmospheric iodine evolution over the North Atlantic. Climate of the Past 15, 2019–2030. (1/12). https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-2019-2019

  • Corella JP, Valero-Garcés BL. 2019. Varve chronology. En: López-Varela, S. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences pp. 1–6. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119188230.saseas0592

  • Pérez-Rodríguez M, Margalef O, Corella JP, Saiz-Lopez A, Pla-Rabes S, Giralt S, Martínez-Cortizas A. 2018. The role of climate: 71 ka of atmospheric mercury deposition in the Southern Hemisphere recorded by Rano Aroi mire, Easter Island (Chile). Geosciences 8(10), 374. (3/7). https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8100374

  • Wilhelm B, Ballesteros-Cánovas JA, Corella JP, Kämpf L, Swierczynski T, Stoffel M, Støren E, Toonen W. 2018. Recent advances in paleoflood hydrology: From new archives to data compilation and analysis. Water Security 3, 1–8. (3/8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2018.07.001

  • Wilhelm B, Baker V, Ballesteros-Cánovas JA, Barriendos M, Benito G, Brauer A, Corella JP, Deniston R, Glaser R, Ionita M, Hahle M, Lütscher M, Macdonald M, Macklin M, Muñoz S, Mudelsee M, Schulte L, St George S, Stoffel M, Willem T, Wetter O. 2019. Interpreting historical, botanical and geological evidence to aid preparations for future floods. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 6, e1350. (7/21). https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1318

  • Corella JP, Saiz-Lopez A, Sierra MJ, Mata MP, Millán R, Morellón M, Cuevas CA, Moreno A, Valero-Garcés BL. 2018. Trace metal enrichment during the Industrial Period recorded across an altitudinal transect in the Southern Central Pyrenees. Science of the Total Environment 645, 761–772. (1/9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.160

  • Cuevas CA, Maffezzoli N, Corella JP, Spolaor A, Vallelonga P, Kjær HA, Simonsen M, Winstrup M, Winther B, Horvat C, Fernandez RP, Kinnison D, Lamarque J-F, Barbante C, Saiz-Lopez A. 2018. Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century. Nature Communications 9, 1452. (3/15). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03756-1

  • Montoya E, Rull V, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Corella JP, Giralt S, Valero-Garcés BL. 2018. Grazing activities in the Southern Central Pyrenees during the last millennium as deduced from the non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) record of Lake Montcortès. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 254, 8–19. (4/6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2018.04.005

  • Trapote MC, Rull V, Giralt S, Corella JP, Montoya E, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T. 2018. High-resolution (sub-decadal) pollen analysis of varved sediments from Lake Montcortès (South-Central Pre-Pyrenees): a fine-tuned record of landscape dynamics and human impact during the last 500 years. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 259, 207–222. (4/6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2018.10.002

  • Trapote MC, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, López P, Puche E, Gomà J, Buchaca T, Cañellas N, Safont E, Corella JP, Rull V. 2018. Modern sedimentary analogues and integrated monitoring to understand varve formation in the Mediterranean Lake Montcortès (Central Pyrenees, Spain). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 496, 292–304. (9/10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.046

  • Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Corella JP, Pérez-Zanón N, Buchaca T, Trapote MC, López P, Sigró J, Rull V. 2018. Historical shifts in oxygenation regime as recorded in the laminated sediments of Lake Montcortès (Central Pyrenees) support anoxia as a continental-scale phenomenon. Science of the Total Environment 612, 1577–1592. (2/8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.148

  • Benito G, Balasch C, Barriendos M, Rico MT, Ruiz-Bellet JL, Corella JP. 2017. Palaeofloods and historical flood records of the Segre River. PAGES OSM 2017 – Fieldtrip guide, pp. 1–21. PAGES.

  • Corella JP, Valero-Garcés BL, Wang F, Martínez-Cortizas A, Cuevas CA, Sáiz-Lopez A. 2017. 700 years reconstruction of mercury and lead atmospheric deposition in the Pyrenees (NE Spain). Atmospheric Environment 155, 97–107. (1/6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.02.018

  • Gascon E, Corella JP, Thevenon F, Adatte T, Girardclos S, Loizeau J-L. 2017. High-resolution reconstruction of the 20th century history of trace metals, major elements and organic matter in sediments in a contaminated area of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Applied Geochemistry, 78, 1–11. (2/6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2016.12.007

  • González-Sampériz P, Aranbarri J, Pérez-Sanz A, Gil-Romera G, Moreno A, Leunda M, Sevilla-Callejo M, Corella JP, Morellón M, Oliva B, Valero-Garcés B.L. 2017. Environmental and climate change in the southern Central Pyrenees since the Last Glacial Maximum: A view from the lake records. Catena 149, 668–688. (8/11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.07.041

  • Rodríguez-Lloveras X, Corella JP, Benito G. 2017. Modelling the hydro-sedimentary dynamics of a Mediterranean semiarid ungauged watershed beyond the instrumental period. Land Degradation & Development 28, 1506-1528. (2/3). https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2678

  • Vallelonga P, Maffezzoli N, Moy AD, Curran MAJ, Vance TR, Edwards R, Hughes G, Barker E, Spreen G, Saiz-Lopez A, Corella JP, Cuevas CA, Spolaor A. 2017. Sea ice-related halogen enrichment at Law Dome, coastal East Antarctica. Climate of the Past 13, 171–184. (11/13). https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-171-2017

  • Corella JP, Loizeau JL, Kremer K, Hilbe M, Gerard J, LeDantec N, Stark N, González-Quijano M, Girardclos S. 2016. The role of mass-transport deposits and turbidites in shaping modern lacustrine deepwater channels. Marine and Petroleum Geology 77, 515–525. (1/9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.07.004

  • Corella JP, Valero-Garcés BL, Vicente-Serrano S, Brauer A, Benito G. 2016. Three millennia of heavy rainfalls in Western Mediterranean: frequency, seasonality and atmospheric drivers. Scientific Reports 6, 38206. (1/5). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38206

  • Mir X, Corella JP, Gutiérrez F, Roqué C, Linares R, Carbonel D, Zarroca M, Guerrero J, Comas X. 2016. Sedimentological and paleohydrological characterization of Late Pleistocene and Holocene tufa mound paleolakes using trenching methods in the Spanish Pyrenees. Sedimentology 63(6), 1786–1819. (2/9). https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12290

2021

2020

2018

2017

2016

  • Benito G, Ballesteros Cánovas JA, Bartolomé M, Corella JP, Grodek T, Machado MJ, Medialdea A, Muñoz Torrero A, Sánchez Moya Y, Tejedor E. 2025. Changes in flood hazards: Insights from palaeoflood studies. Estudios Geológicos 81(2), 1135. (4/10). https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.45727.1135

  • Duval B, Corella JP, Enrico M, Sáiz-Lopez A, Cuevas CA, Adame JA, Millán R, Sierra MJ, Bérail S, Valero-Garcés BL, de Diego A, Morellón M, Rodríguez-Alonso J, Amouroux D. 2025. Mercury Isotope Variability in Pyrenean Lake Sediments during the Late Holocene: Sources, Deposition, and Environmental Controls. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 9(6), 1488–1500. (2/14). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.4c00402

  • Segato D, Spolaor A, Corella JP, Cuevas CA, Burgay F, Fernández RP, Turetta C, Cairns W, Kjær HA, Spagnesi A, Lee K, Erhardt T, Jensen CM, Zeppenfeld C, Barbante C, Saiz-López A. 2025. High resolution Arctic iodine variability since the Last Glacial Termination. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 130 (24), e2025JD044552. (3/16). https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JD0445

2025

Publications (last 10 years)