Research themes
My research focuses on the interactions between tectonics and sedimentation at regional scales (10–100 km) and over geological timescales (1–10 Ma), through an integrated approach to sedimentary systems, from eroding source areas to depositional sedimentary basins. I use an approach based on field geology combined with the integration of subsurface data, including reflection seismic profiles and borehole data.
I work in a range of geodynamic settings, from continental rifts, such as the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, to mountain belts, such as the western Kunlun Range in China, as well as continental margins in southern Africa, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique, and intra-cratonic sedimentary systems in the Massif Central and Paris Basin.
My research also includes a geo-resources component related to new energy resources, such as geothermal energy and CO₂ storage, as well as mineral resources, particularly MVT systems.
Professional experience
Since 2025 – Associate Professor, Université Bourgogne Europe, Laboratoire Biogéosciences.
2023–2025 – Research Scientist, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
2021–2023 – Postdoctoral Researcher, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, “Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the eastern Red Sea margin.” Project leader: Abdulkader M. Afifi.
2019–2021 – Postdoctoral Researcher, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, “Quantifying the long-term (1–10 Ma) kinematics of tectonic deformation along the western Kunlun mountain front.” Project leader: Martine Simoes.
2017–2019 – Postdoctoral Researcher, Géosciences Rennes, “Investigation of large-wavelength deformation in Western Europe during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic through a source-to-sink approach.” Project leader: François Guillocheau.
2013–2017 – PhD in Earth Sciences, Université de Rennes 1, Géosciences Rennes, “Vertical movements of the passive margins of southern Africa since 130 Ma: a coupled basin stratigraphy–landform analysis approach.” Supervisor: François Guillocheau.
PhD supervision
[1] 2026–2030 – Co-supervision (30%) of Tristan Bize’s PhD thesis with Amir Kalifi (co-supervisor, KAUST), Frans Van Buchem (supervisor, KAUST), and Max Frenzel (co-supervisor, KAUST), entitled “Miocene tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Midyan Basin (northern Red Sea rift) and its implications for carbonate-hosted Zn–Pb–Ba mineralization.” The PhD is funded by KAUST as part of the CRG project “Unlocking Saudi Arabia’s strategic Zinc-Lead resources: Multi-disciplinary characterization of the world’s youngest MVT system in the Red Sea Rift.”
Supervision of Master’s research projects
2026 – Mathys Desmarest (ENSTA – Brest): “Investigating Miocene marine deposits in the western Amazon Basin using 2D seismic lines.” Co-supervised with Daniel Aslanian (Ifremer), Marina Rabineau (CNRS), Gabriel R. Moizinho (Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc).
2026 – Tristan Bize (M2 Géobiosphère – UBE): “Early Miocene tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Midyan Basin (northern Red Sea rift) and its implications for carbonate-hosted Zn–Pb–Ba mineralization.” Co-supervised with Amir Kalifi (KAUST), Emmanuelle Vennin (BGS), and Frans Van Buchem (KAUST).
2024 – Arman Kudbanov (Visiting Student Research Program – KAUST): “Sedimentology and geomorphology of the drowned carbonate platforms of the southern Red Sea.” Co-supervised with Thomas Teillet (CEREGE) and Antoine Delaunay (KAUST).
2022 – Jordania Zerpa (Master of Science – KAUST): “Syn-rift stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution of the Midyan Basin: from geological observations to predictive stratigraphic modelling (forward stratigraphic modelling).” Co-supervised with Jing Ye (Saudi Aramco) and Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST).
2021 – Flavio Di Michele (Master in Earth and Planetary Sciences – IPGP): “Kinematics of Cenozoic shortening across the Yecheng-Pishan anticline, western Kunlun Range, China.” Co-supervised with Martine Simoes (IPGP) and Laurie Barrier (IPGP).
2016 – Julien Morin (Master in Earth and Planetary Sciences – Université de Rennes 1): “Post-rift stratigraphic evolution of the southwest African margin and associated sediment volumes: implications for vertical motions of the South African Plateau.” Co-supervised with François Guillocheau (Géosciences Rennes) and Massimo Dall’Asta (Total).
2015 – Carl Boulogne (Master in Earth and Planetary Sciences – Université de Rennes 1): “Stratigraphic evolution of the oblique margin of southern Africa – Outeniqua Basin.” Co-supervised with François Guillocheau (Géosciences Rennes) and Massimo Dall’Asta (Total).
2013 – Jonas Ressouche (Master in Earth and Planetary Sciences – Université de Rennes 1): “Cenozoic stratigraphic evolution of the northern Namibian margin.” Co-supervised with François Guillocheau (Géosciences Rennes) and Olivier Broucke (Total).
Global Tectonics – L1 STE (12 h lectures)
This course introduces the main principles of Earth dynamics, from the internal structure of the Earth to the functioning of plate tectonics. It covers the Earth’s layers, plate kinematics, isostasy, lithospheric deformation and the Wilson cycle, in order to understand how continents, oceans and major reliefs form and evolve.
Structural Geology – L2 STE (10 h lectures / 5 h tutorials / 10 h practicals)
This course presents the fundamentals of the analysis of rock and lithospheric deformation. Based on the concepts of stress, rheology, and brittle and ductile deformation, it enables students to identify, describe and interpret the main geological structures, from outcrop scale to geological maps and cross-sections.
Major Geological Systems – L3 STE (10 h lectures / 5 h tutorials / 10 h practicals)
This course presents the main geodynamic settings that structure the lithosphere: continental rifts, oceanic accretion, subduction zones, collisional orogens and transform systems. The aim is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the formation, evolution and destruction of major geological domains. Tutorials and practicals provide an integrated approach to constructing geological cross-sections in various geodynamic settings, combining map analysis with the use of subsurface data, particularly reflection seismic profiles and borehole data.
Basin Tectonics – M1 SP2G (20 h lectures / 30 h tutorials)
This course explores the mechanisms of formation, subsidence and infill of sedimentary basins in different geodynamic settings, including extension, strike-slip tectonics, rifted margins, subduction, loading, salt tectonics and gravitational tectonics. It relies extensively on practical exercises in the interpretation of seismic profiles, both on paper and using specialized software, in order to provide a concrete understanding of the geometry, architecture and evolution of different basin types.
Peer-reviewed international journals
*supervised students, @corresponding author
[31] Zaki, A.S.@, Baby, G., Delaunay, A., Schmidt, C., King, G.E., Amstrong, E., Petraglia, M., Schuster, M. Madof, A., Alshakr, A., Drake, N., Garzanti, E., Jotheri, J., Peyrotty, G., Vimpere, L., Kouzmanov, K., Wani, O., Heggy, E., Ali, M., Abo Elkhier, M., Afifi, A.M., Castelltort, S., Recurrent humid pulses over 150,000 years routed Arabian rivers toward the Euphrates. Under revision at Nature Communications.
[30] Zerpa, J. @*, Ye, J., Baby, G., Lozano, M., Afifi, A.M., From forward stratigraphic modeling to 3D static geomodeling: A process-based workflow for CO₂ sequestration assessment in the Midyan half-graben, Northeast Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Under revision at Marine Geoscience and Energy Resources.
[29] Mathian, M. @, Baby, G., Dietrich, P., Guillocheau, F., Fillon, C., Chindandali, P., Pinna, R., Haurine, F., Delbes, L., Baptiste, B., Quantin, C., Gautheron, C., A memory of Paleozoic to Quaternary greenhouse climates recorded in Southern African regolith. Under revision at Communications Earth & Environment.
[28] Pensa, T. @*, Baby, G., Teillet, T., Delaunay, A., Afifi, A. M., Middle Miocene carbonate outcrops along the Red Sea: analogue for subsurface fault-block carbonate reservoir systems. Accepted at AAPG Memoir.
[27] Aslanian, D. @, Pellen, R., Rabineau, M., Moulin, M., Leroux, E., Thicot, E., Delaunay, A., Baby, G., Courgeon, S., Linol, B., Suc, J.-P., Popescu, S., Fauquette, S., Mazza, P.P.A., Couette, S., Delpero, M., Huck, T., Penven, P., Le Hir, T., Zhang, Y., Génin, F., Masters, J., Mammals Insular Dispersal on Madagascar: Land bridges and rafting theories, a counterpoint review. Accepted at Annual Review of Marine Science.
[26] Ash Shiddiqi, H.@, Parisi, L., Valero Cano, E., Fittipaldi, M., Augustin, N., Baby, G., Mai, P.M., Jonsson, S. (2025). Transform Faulting in the Northern Red Sea Revealed by Ocean Bottom Seismometers Deployed in the Zabargad Fracture Zone. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 26 (8), e2025GC012253.
[25] Kalifi, A.@, Haj Messaoud, J., Baby, G., Ibrahim, K., Powell, J.H., Van Buchem, F.@ (2025). Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene of Jordan and implications for the Arabian Plate active margin phase. Marine and Petroleum Geology 181, 1075252025.
[24] Dietrich, P.@, Guillocheau, F., Amin Douillet G., Griffis, N.P., Baby, G., Le Heron, D.P., Barrier, L., Mathian, M., Montañez, I.P., Robin, C., Gyomlai, T., Kettler, C., Hofmann, A. (2025). The Glacial Paleolandscapes of Southern Africa: the Legacy of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Earth Surface Dynamics 13 (3), 495-529.
[23] Zaki, A.S.@, Delaunay, A., Baby, G., Haghipour, N., Blanchet, C., Dallmeyer, A., Sternai, P., Woor, S., Wani, O., Khalil, H., Schuster, M., Petraglia, M., Sylvestre, F., Peyrotty, G., Ali, M., Van Buchem, Afifi, A.M., Castelltort, S. (2025). Monsoonal imprint on late Quaternary landscapes of the Rub' al Khali Desert. Communications Earth & Environment 6 (255).
[22] Pensa, T.*, Baby, G.@, Teillet, T., Delaunay, A., Delgado-Huertas, A., Afifi, A.M. (2025). Evolution of carbonate platforms in the northeast Red Sea during the last 23 million years. Scientific Reports 15 (1), 10332.
[21] Guilbaud, C., Simoes, M.@, Van der Woerd, J., Baby, G., Barrier, L., Li, H., Pan, J. (2025). Kinematics of Active Deformation and Possible Segmentation of Seismic Slip along the Foothills of the Western Kunlun (China). Tectonics 44, e2024TC008284.
[20] Baby, G.@, Delaunay, A., Aslanian, D., Afifi, A.M. (2024). The tectonostratigraphic latitudinal record of the eastern Red Sea margin. BSGF – Earth Sciences Bulletin 195 (12), 15.
[19] Delaunay, A.@, Baby, G., Paredes, E.G.*, Fedorik, J., Afifi, A.M. (2024). Evolution of the Eastern Red Sea Rifted margin: morphology, uplift processes and source-to-sink dynamics. Earth-Science Reviews 250, 104698.
[18] Baby, G.@, Delaunay, A., Rouby, D., Ye, J., Pensa, T.*, Afifi, A.M. (2024). Sediment routing systems of the eastern Red Sea rifted margin. Earth-Science Reviews 249, 104679.
[17] Clavijo, S.P.@, Dash, A., Baby, G., Afifi, A.M., Finkbeiner, T. (2024). Modeling principal stress orientation in the Arabian Plate using plate velocities. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 546 (1), 2022-327.
[16] Aslanian, D.@, Pellen, R., Rabineau, M., Moulin, M., Leroux, E., Delaunay, A., Baby, G., Courgeon, S., Linol, B., Suc, J-P., Popescu, S., Fauquette, S., Mazza, P.P., Couette, S., Delpero, M., Huck, T., Penven, P., Le Hir, T., Zhang, Y., Génin, F., Masters, J. (2023). The postulation of intermittent land bridges as an explanation for reiterated colonization events of Madagascar by African vertebrates: An in-depth review and novel insights in honor of the late Judith Masters and Fabien Génin. Earth-Science Reviews 246, 104679.
[15] Ye, J., Afifi, A.M., Rowaihy, F., Baby, G., De Santiago, A., Tasianas, A., Hamieh, A., Khodayeva, A., Juaied, M.A., Meckel, T.A., Hoteit, H.@ (2023). Evaluation of geological CO2 storage potential in Saudi Arabian sedimentary basins. Earth-Science Reviews 244, 104539.
[14] Delaunay, A.@, Baby, G., Fedorik, J., Afifi, A.M., Tapponnier, P., Dyment, J. (2023). Structure and morphology of the Red Sea, from the mid-ocean ridge to the ocean-continent boundary. Tectonophysics 849, 229728.
[13] Castelltort, S.@, Fillon, C., Lasseur, E., Ortiz, A., Robin, C., Guillocheau, F., Tremblin, M., Bessin, P., Guerit., L., Dekoninck, A., Allanic, C., Gautheron, C., Barbarand, J., Loget, N., Uzel, J., Yans, J., Briais, J., Al-Reda, M., Baby, G., Francois, T., Roig, J-Y., Calassou, S. (2023). The Source-to-Sink Vade-mecum: History, Concepts and Tools | Vade-mecum de l'approche Source-To-Sink: Histoire, Concepts et Outils. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), Volume CSP 16.
[12] Schobe, C.M.@, Braun, J., Yuan, X., Campforts, B., Gailleton, B., Baby, G., Guillocheau, F., Robin, C. (2022). Inverting passive margin stratigraphy for marine sediment transport dynamics over geologic time. Basin Research 34 (6), 2111-2134.
[11] Baby, G.@, Simoes, M., Barrier, L., Guilbaud, C., Li, H., Van der Woerd, J. (2022). Kinematics of Cenozoic shortening of the Hotan anticline along the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (Western Kunlun, China). Tectonics 41, e2021TC006928.
[10] Stanley, J.R.@, Braun, J., Baby, G., Guillocheau, F., Robin, C., Flowers, R., Brown, R., Wildman, M., Beucher, R. (2021). Constraining plateau uplift in southern Africa by combining thermochronology, sediment flux, topography, and landscape evolution modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 126 (7), e2020JB021243.
[9] Poblete, F.@, Dupont-Nivet, G., Licht, A., van Hinsbergen, D.J.J., Roperch, P., Mihalynuk, M.G., Johnston, S.T., Guillocheau, F., Baby, G., Fluteau, F., Robin, C., Van der Linden, T., Ruiz, D., Baatsen, M. (2021). Global paleogeographic maps through the Greenhouse-Icehouse transition at 60, 40 and 20 Ma. Earth Science Reviews 214, 103508.
[8] Fauquette, S.@, Suc, J-P., Popescu, S-M., Guillocheau, F., Violette, S., Jost, A., Robin, C., Briais, J., Baby, G. (2020). Pliocene uplift of the Massif Central (France) constrained by the paleoelevation quantified from the pollen record of sediments preserved along the Cantal Stratovolcano (Murat area). Journal of the Geological Society 177 (5).
[7] Baby, G.@, Guillocheau, F., Braun, J., Robin, C., Dall'Asta, M. (2020). Solid sedimentation rates history of the southern African continental margins: implications for the uplift history of the South African plateau. Terra Nova 32 (1), 53-65.
[6] Mourlot, Y., Calvès, G.@, Clift, P.D., Baby, G., Chaboureau, A-C., Raisson, F. (2018). Seismic stratigraphy of cretaceous eastern central Atlantic Ocean: Basin evolution and paleoceanographic implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 499, 107-121.
[5] Baby, G.@, Guillocheau, F., Morin, J.*, Ressouche, J.*, Robin, C., Broucke, O., Dall'Asta, M. (2018). Post-rift stratigraphic evolution of the Atlantic margin of Namibia and South Africa: implications for the vertical movements of the margin and the uplift history of the South African Plateau. Marine and Petroleum Geology 97, 169-191.
[4] Baby, G.@, Guillocheau, F., Boulogne, C.*, Robin, C., Dall'Asta, M. (2018). Uplift history of a transform continental margin revealed by the stratigraphic record: The case of the Agulhas transform margin along the Southern African Plateau. Tectonophysics, 731, 104-130.
[3] Guillocheau, F.@, Simon, B., Baby, G., Bessin, P., Robin, C., Dauteuil, O. (2018). Planation surfaces as a record of mantle dynamics: The case example of Africa. Gondwana Research, 53, 82-98.
[2] Braun, J.@, Guillocheau, F., Robin, C., Baby, G., Jelsma, H. (2014). Rapid erosion of the Southern African Plateau as it climbs over a mantle superswell. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 119(7), 6093-6112.
[1] Pujos, F.@, Salas-Gismondi, R., Baby, G., Baby, P., Goillot, C., Tejada, J., Antoine, P.O. (2013). Implication of the presence of Megathericulus (Xenarthra: Tardigrada: Megatheriidae) in the Laventan of Peruvian Amazonia. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 11(8), 973-991.