Lacustrine carbonates as tracers of past climate change in NW Europe.
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
This research focuses on abrupt Holocene climatic events; their often subtle expression in the palaeo-record makes them difficult to study in the absence of a highly sensitive proxy. Reconstructing palaeo-temperature from oxygen isotopes is well-established when investigating major cold-stage abrupt events especially in the ice cores, but their use for reconstructing Holocene variability and palaeo-precipitation in the mid-latitudes is limited in lake sediment archives. When studied at a high-resolution, with a good chronology, shifts associated with subtler climatic events may be identified. The predictable relationship between lake water isotope ratio and air temperature allows unusually large shifts to be associated with other forcing factors, including precipitation. The 18O composition of precipitation is strongly controlled by atmospheric processes, allowing for their reconstruction.
This project builds on Holmes et al. (2010) work by investigating lake records across different Holocene time-slices. Nearby modern lake water isotope systematics will be used, alongside developing chronologies and comparing this data to outputs from an isotope-enabled GCM in collaboration with BAS to inform the palaeoclimatic record.
The research will assist the palaeoclimatic, climate modelling and archaeological communities in furthering understanding of the nature, mechanisms and impacts of abrupt Holocene events. It will add a body of isotopic data, produce new chronologies and provide new palaeo-precipitation, palaeo-temperature and palaeo-atmospheric reconstructions to the British Quaternary record.
This project builds on Holmes et al. (2010) work by investigating lake records across different Holocene time-slices. Nearby modern lake water isotope systematics will be used, alongside developing chronologies and comparing this data to outputs from an isotope-enabled GCM in collaboration with BAS to inform the palaeoclimatic record.
The research will assist the palaeoclimatic, climate modelling and archaeological communities in furthering understanding of the nature, mechanisms and impacts of abrupt Holocene events. It will add a body of isotopic data, produce new chronologies and provide new palaeo-precipitation, palaeo-temperature and palaeo-atmospheric reconstructions to the British Quaternary record.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jonathan Holmes (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Joanna Tindall (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE/W502716/1 | 01/04/2021 | 31/03/2022 | |||
| 1917576 | Studentship | NE/W502716/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/11/2021 | Joanna Tindall |
| Description | Identified an abrupt climatic event in the Early Holocene. Investigated how well climate model data represents proxy data in the Early and Late Holocene at study sites. Produced an isotopic record for the post-Medieval period in Hampshire. Suggested a driving mechanism behind the observed isotopic patterns of post-Medieval isotopic change. |
| Exploitation Route | Academics - further research on post-Medieval palaeo records from lakes; climate model testing. Professional - further investigation into the impact of the NAO on the climate of the British Is |
| Sectors | Environment |
| Description | Frank Carter Travel Award - was no used due to pandemic |
| Amount | £800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Department of Geography |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 05/2020 |
| Description | Quaternary Research Association INQUA Travel Fund |
| Amount | £275 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Quaternary Research Association |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | British Antarctic Survey |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of isotope proxy data to compare to model outputs. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to iHadCM3 datasets and training. |
| Impact | in progress |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | British Geological Survey - Isotope Facility - IP18110618 |
| Organisation | British Geological Survey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The core material has been processed for ostracods which were picked and cleaned ready for isotope analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Run the samples for isotope analysis |
| Impact | n/a |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | British Geological Survey - Isotope Facility - IP18511118 |
| Organisation | British Geological Survey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Processing of core material for ostracods. Collection of water samples from the lake. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Running water and ostracod samples. |
| Impact | n/a |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | University of Southampton Geography Department |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research is producing modern monitoring data, ostracod and isotopic data. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Southampton team have aided getting site access and have provided all the existing data for the sites, including core material. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | DTP Conference 2018 and 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented a poster on my research in both 2018 and 2019. A result of this activity is an awareness of other students across DTP cohorts who are working on similar research themes as myself. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Department Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation given to the department as part of my upgrade from MPhil to PhD status. Members of my supervisory team, students and other members of academic staff attended the presentation. There was a discussion afterwards, a useful outcome was the input of a member of the department who had worked on one study site previously, which we had not known beforehand. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | INQUA Poster 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was an international conference where I presented a poster on my research. Whilst more than 500 people were able to view my poster, I engaged in conversation about my research with <10. These conversations were insightful, allowed for discussion of ideas and helped to think about ways my research might develop in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk EPOCH seminar RHUL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Seminar series invited talk to share the findings of my thesis. I spoke to a range of postgraduates students and staff. Discussions around my data were had. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | London Micropaleo Talk Dec 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented a short talk on my research to date at the London Micropaleo Dec session. There was some discussion with the audience afterwards but a direct result has led to a potential collaboration with a ostracodologist from Queen Mary University of London to further my identification of ostracod species through SEM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Postgraduate Symposium at Royal Holloway, University of London (2 talks) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On both occasions I spoke about my research to the new postgraduate cohort at Royal Holloway, University of London Geography department which is my second institution. The main purpose of the talk is to provide the new students an insight into the type of work that occurs amongst the PG community and to gain practice in speaking and audience feedback. After both talks there was a good Q&A session. In both instances I found the experience rewarding in improving my confidence and ability to explain my science to an informed, but non-expert audience. The result of the talks has seen an increase of interest in ostracods, a microfossil not usually covered in the MSc taught material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | QRA Postgraduate Symposium - Glasgow 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented a poster of my initial research plans to fellow postgraduate students. This led to a discussion around my plans and resulted in me connecting with other people working on similar time-frames or site regions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | TMS Ostracod Spring Meeting 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As a committee member of The Micropaleontology Society Ostracod Group I organised the Spring Meeting to be held at UCL. Here I presented a short talk on my research to date, which allowed me to discuss ideas with more experienced members of the group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |