Events

2021

December

  • There will be the final meeting at the University of Nottingham on 20th December of the Nottingham-Hanoi project working on the RCUK Newton–SEA Research Partnership Call on the Red River Project. The project has focuses on filling in knowledge gaps in understanding on relationships between hydrology, nutrients, carbon and pollutants in the Red River Delta for improved model calibration using a combination of stable isotope and organic geochemistry techniques which have rarely been applied in this area. The team including Prof Suzanne McGowan (Netherlands Institute of Ecology/University of Nottingham) with collaborators: Dr Anh Duc Trinh, Dr Do Thu Nga, Dr Thi Nguyet Minh Luu, Dr Thi Phuong Quynh LE (Vietnam Academy of Science & Technology), Dr Virginia Panizzo (UoN), Dr C Vane (BGS), Professor Melanie Leng (UoN/BGS) and Dr Minh Tien Tran (Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences). More info contact Dr Virginia Pannizo.

June

  • 1st SEGH Online Event 29–30th June 2020

    Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health

    In the current COVID-19 crisis we are all having to adapt to the new situation whilst not knowing when we can return to some sense of normality and what that new 'normal' will be. As we adjust to new ways of working the SEGH international board is working to evolve new ways of interacting with current, (hopefully) new members and encouraging back old friends. The 1st SEGH Live event via Zoom webinar was set–up in response to the COVID–19 crises and need to postpone the Kenya 2020 conference. Many of the speakers were drawn from abstracts submitted to the Kenya meeting and supplemented by additional invited speakers to increase the variety of topics and geographic contributions. Thank you to those speakers who stepped forward to provide the content to what looks like a very interesting programme. Demand for speaking slots was much greater than we had time for and therefore, we are hopeful that a 2nd SEGH Live event could follow later in 2020.

    The event is free to SEGH members. If not a member, simply join via www.segh.net and then register for the Zoom hosted SEGH Live event.

    SEGHLive Programme

2019

October

  • Collaborative workshop between the British Geological Survey and University of Nottingham on 3rd October.

    BGS have a arranged a workshop to further develop collaborative projects with the University of Nottingham’s Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre.

    If you would like to participate please email Jeremy Rushton (BGS) stating your area of expertise. To ensure we can provide appropriate support and facilitation to the workshop numbers will be limited, further details will be provided to those wishing to attend.

June

  • The Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry User Group (SIMSUG) meeting will take place from Wednesday 26th to Friday 28th June, 2019 and will be hosted by the Organic Geochemistry Unit (OGU), School of Chemistry, University of Bristol. Registration for SIMSUG 2019 is now open and can be accessed here. After selecting the appropriate registration option you will be presented with an option to 'Proceed to Checkout', you will then need to create an account with the shop. Following this you will have the option to submit an abstract (if you are just attending then please write 'Just attending' into the box). Critically, please indicate at the top of your abstract whether you wish to be considered for an ORAL or a POSTER presentation. Attendees are limited to 110, so you are strongly urged to register as early as possible to avoid disappointment. The deadline for registration and abstract submission is Friday 31st May 2019.
    More info

May

  • Prof Melanie Leng (@MelJLeng) of University of Nottingham and BGS will be giving the 2019 Rick Battarbee Lecture on 30th May at UCL (Geography): "Understanding past climates using oxygen isotopes from sediments". Tickets are free, but please register here: http://bit.ly/RWB19Leng 

2018

November:

  • Prof Murray Lark's Inaugural lecture at University of Nottingham is on Tuesday 6th November from 6.30pm at Sutton Bonington Campus (lecture theatre B01/B02). If you would like to attend can you please let Emma Hooley (sbzeah@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk) know asap. Murray was until recently within the GeoAnalytics and modelling group at the BGS and still collaborates across the institutions.
  • Principles of Stable Isotope Geochemistry in Earth and Life Sciences. The aim of this short course is to allow PhD students (non–experts) to gain an understanding of the use of stable isotopes in Earth and Life sciences, through lectures and workshops. The course location this year is SUERC, Rankine Avenue, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride, UK from 6–7 November 2018. Course presenters include Angela Lamb, Andi Smith and Jack Lacey from the BGS.
    Please contact Jason Newton for further details.

July:

  • 34th SEGH International Conference on 'Geochemistry for Sustainable Development' which will take place at Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zambia 2–7th July 2018.
    Organised by: Professor Maseke (Chair) and Dr Moola Mutondo – Copperbelt University, Dr Godfrey Sakala – Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, Dr Michael Watts – British Geological Survey.
    Themes include Urban & Industrial Development, Agriculture, Health and Technologies. Poster deadline is 13th April 2018.
    More information

2017

November:

  • Thursday 16th November. Dr Hannah O'Regan will be talking about "Who's eating who – hominins and carnivores in human evolution" at 6pm in B1, Physics Building, University Park.
    More information
  • Principles and Practice of Stable Isotope Geochemistry in Earth and Environmental Geosciences. The aim of this short course is to allow PhD students (non–experts) to gain an understanding of the use of stable isotopes in Earth and environmental geosciences, through lectures, workshops and hands–on lab work. At the end of the 2 days the participants should be able to:
    • Have an understanding of the general principles of isotope geochemistry including notation and standardization.
    • Understand the water/meteorological cycle in particular how rainfall isotope composition are determined by climate, how O, H, and C stable isotope compositions in the modern day waters provide a framework for the interpretation of these isotopes in the past archived in geological materials.
    • Understand the application of stable isotope geochemistry (O, H, C and S) to a variety of geological settings, including volcano-magmatic systems, ore deposits and geothermal systems.
    • Gain knowledge on the global cycles of C, N and S.
    • Understand how isotope data are interpreted in terms of climate/environment from some of the most common archives, including lakes, trees, oceans, speleothems, archaeological materials and from deep time geological successions.
    • Understand how N, C, S and H isotope analysis of biological tissues can be utilised to elucidate food webs and animal migration.
    • Understand how isotopes (N, O) can be used to trace nutrient cycles within both aquatic and soil systems and in doing so inform us about sources of environmental pollution and past environmental change. Laboratory practicals will allow participants to gain experience and knowledge of mass spectrometry and how isotope data is acquired. These will be tailored to delegate's own areas of interest after acquisition of the basics of stable isotope geochemistry. A full tour of SUERC isotope laboratories will be included in the course.
  • Course location: British Geological Survey in Nottingham
  • Date & Time: November 2017
  • Course presenters: Prof Adrian Boyce, Dr Angela Lamb, Prof Melanie Leng, Dr Jason Newton, Dr Andrew SmithTo register interest in attending please contact Melanie Leng (note the course maximum is 30 participants, and a minimum of 6 is required for the course to run).

July:

  • Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry User Group (SIMSUG 2017) meeting 5th-7th July 2017 at the British Geological Survey in Nottingham Meeting Aims: SIMSUG 2017 aims to be a stable isotope user group meeting that provides a dynamic forum for discussing state of the art approaches, methodologies and new applications in stable isotope research (geology, palaeoclimate, ecology and archaeology etc) and mass spectrometry. Presenters: All welcome to submit abstracts for talks or posters. We welcome contributions from early career researchers, including PhD students. Keynote lectures will be interspersed throughout the presentations. Registration: Please register your interest with Carol Arrowsmith. Facebook, SIMSUG 2017 website.

May:

  • Wednesday 17th May. Rowan Dejardin (PhD student, School of Geography, University of Nottingham). Holocene and deglacial palaeoceanography from the Subantarctic island of South Georgia. 1-2pm in A45 Sir Clive Granger Building, UoN.

April:

  • Wednesday 5th April. Sev Kender (Senior Research fellow, School of Geography, University of Nottingham).Bering Sea high latitude nutrient and CO2 upwelling since 1.5 Ma.1-2pm in A45 Sir Clive Granger Building, UoN.

March:

  • Thursday 30th March. Dr Erin McClymont, Durham University.
    'Taking the ocean's temperature for the last 4 million years: new perspectives from the Pacific'. School of Geography, UoN, LASS A4, 1 pm.
  • Wednesday 22nd March. Christine Lane (Professor, School of Geography, University of Cambridge).Late Quaternary volcanic ash records from East African lakes.3-4pm in A31 Sir Clive Granger Building, UoN.
  • Wednesday 15th March. Francizska Schrodt (Anne MaClaren Fellow, School of Geography, University of Nottingham). The biogeography of plant functional traits - from roots to space.1-2pm in A45 Sir Clive Granger Building, UoN.
  • Wednesday 1st March. Nick Primmer (PhD student, School of Geography, University of Nottingham). Mid-low latitude Holocene climate change using varve analysis.1-2pm in A45 Sir Clive Granger Building, UoN.

February:

  • Wednesday 15th February. Veerle Vanderginste (Anne MaClaren Fellow, School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham). Potential environmental impact from shale fracking activities. 1-2pm in A45 Sir Clive Granger Building, UoN.

2016

December:

  • Friday 16th December. CEG networking event: "Women in Geoscience". 9.15am – 3.15pm at the British Geological Survey. Please contact Ginnie Panizzo for further information.
  • Friday 16th December. More clean socks? (Mis)adventures in the field. Various. School of Geography, UoN, A42, Sir Clive Granger, 4 pm, followed by Staff Club.

November:

  • Wednesday 30th November. Dr Stephen Grebby, University of Nottingham, NGI.
    'Seeing the geology for the trees: overcoming the impact of vegetation of geological mapping'. School of Geography, UoN, A31, Sir Clive Granger, 1 pm.
  • Principles and Practice of Stable Isotope Geochemistry in Earth and Environmental Geosciences

    The aim of this short course is to allow PhD students (non–experts) to gain an understanding of the use of stable isotopes in Earth and environmental geosciences, through lectures, workshops and hands–on lab work. At the end of the 2 days the participants should be able to:

    • Have an understanding of the general principles of isotope geochemistry including notation and standardization.
    • Understand the water/meteorological cycle in particular how rainfall isotope composition are determined by climate, how O, H, and C stable isotope compositions in the modern day waters provide a framework for the interpretation of these isotopes in the past archived in geological materials.
    • Understand the application of stable isotope geochemistry (O, H, C and S) to a variety of geological settings, including volcano-magmatic systems, ore deposits and geothermal systems.
    • Gain knowledge on the global cycles of C, N and S.
    • Understand how isotope data are interpreted in terms of climate/environment from some of the most common archives, including lakes, trees, oceans, speleothems, archaeological materials and from deep time geological successions.
    • Understand how N, C, S and H isotope analysis of biological tissues can be utilised to elucidate food webs and animal migration.
    • Understand how isotopes (N, O) can be used to trace nutrient cycles within both aquatic and soil systems and in doing so inform us about sources of environmental pollution and past environmental change. Laboratory practicals will allow participants to gain experience and knowledge of mass spectrometry and how isotope data is acquired. These will be tailored to delegate’s own areas of interest after acquisition of the basics of stable isotope geochemistry. A full tour of SUERC isotope laboratories will be included in the course.
    • Course location: Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre in Glasgow
    • Date & Time: 2nd/3rd November 2016
    • Course presenters: Prof Adrian Boyce, Dr Angela Lamb, Prof Melanie Leng, Dr Jason Newton, Dr Andrew Smith

    To register interest in attending please contact Theresa Mankelow (BGS Training and Adrian Boyce (note the course maximum is 30 participants, and a minimum of 6 is required for the course to run).

More information

October:

  • Wednesday 26th October. Dr Patrick Byrne, Liverpool John Moores University.
    'Transport and transformation of contaminants in river systems'. School of Geography, UoN, A31, Sir Clive Granger, 3 pm.
  • Mammoth
  • Wednesday 19th October, Dr Alex Pryor, Southampton.
    'Strontium and oxygen isotope evidence for seasonal prey migrations in the European Gravettian and the origins of food storage technology' Department of Archaeology / CEG research seminar. 5pm, A2, Humanities Building, University Park campus.
  • Thursday 6th October. Professor John Andrews, University of Colorado–Boulder.
    'A Nottingham Geomorphologist goes to sea: Ice sheet instabilities as viewed from marine records'. School of Geography, UoN, A42, Sir Clive Granger, 4 pm.

September:

  • The 21st Annual Quaternary Research Associations Postgraduate Symposium will be held 14th–16th September 2016 at University of Nottingham and the British Geological Survey.
    Abstract booklet
  • Dr Artemios Oikonomou, a Marie Curie post–doctoral fellow in Archaeology at the University of Nottingham (working with Prof Julian Henderson, UoN, and Dr Simon Chenery, BGS) will be presenting research on ancient glass at the European Association of Archaeologists meeting.
    • Date & Location: 30th August–4th September in Vilnius, Lithuania
    • Background: Investigation of glass objects from Dodona Sanctuary, Epirus, Greece: an interdisciplinary approach. Dodona Sanctuary was the major religious centre of north–west Greece, in the Epirus region, connected with the cult of Zeus Dodonaios and his wife Dione. According to ancient Greek tradition it is considered to be the oldest oracle in ancient Greek world. Archaeological evidence has confirmed continuous habitation from the Bronze Age (2600–1100 BC) to the end of the 4th c. AD. The Dodona Sanctuary flourished during the Hellenistic period and especially during the reign of King Pyrrhus when major reconstruction works took place. The Dodona Sanctuary played an important role as a political, administrative and religious centre during that period and its relationship with regions outside Greece, like Alexandria in Egypt, is well attested both archaeologically and historically. Our presentation will focus on glass found in the excavations of Prytaneion and Vouleutirion which were the major political buildings at the Dodona Sanctuary. Our primary research objectives are: (1) to suggest the raw materials used to make the glasses; (2) identify any compositional contrasts between middle and late Hellenistic glass; (3) to suggest a provenance for the glass by comparing our results with other published datasets – especially whether compositions suggest both a Levantine and a non–Levantine provenances. Here we present results form 40 samples that we have analysed using SEM/EDX and LA–ICPMS analysis. The assemblages from which samples were taken consists of fragments of various vessel types (core formed vessels, ribbed bowls, cast bowls, conical engraved bowls) of a variety of colours (deep blue, olive green, green, amber, colourless). According to the chemical analyses, the glass from Dodona is a typical soda–lime–silica type with added mineral salts (natron) as a flux. Its chemical compositions are homogeneous. Small differences in various major, minor and trace elements between individual samples suggest the use of different types of raw materials and also different production zones. A comparison of these glass chemical compositions with contemporary glass artifacts thus gives new insights into the production and distribution of glass used in Greek region during the Hellenistic period.

July:

A workshop on stable isotopes in fossils and organic compounds from lake sediment records

  • Date & Location: 28th & 29th of July 2016 at the University of Southampton, UK
  • Background: Stable isotopes (with a focus on the lighter elements H, C, N, O, and S) can be measured on sedimentary remains of plants and animals. The beauty of this is that taxon–specific (identified) remains and individual compounds can be measured rather than bulk sediments. We currently witness a step–change in understanding stable isotope signals in sedimentary records, as it has become possible to link stable isotope values of remains and compounds to explicit provenances. For example, it allows the study of carbon cycling in well–defined ecosystem components over time; it provides insights in food web structure by analysing remains of organisms at different trophic levels in the food web and how they respond to each other and external drivers; it allows the study of palaeohydrology/palaeoclimatology using organisms that live in known habitats, thus identifying signal and reducing noise compared with bulk sediment palaeoenvironmental stable isotope records. Apart from highlighting potential new directions in stable isotope studies, this workshop will also address issues concerning analytical precision and reproducibility and the need for modern datasets to calibrate downcore studies.
  • Workshop aims: The aim of this workshop is to clearly formulate the research areas where stable isotope techniques can make most impact. To do so the workshop will bring together those colleagues (both senior and early career scientists) that have been pushing the boundaries of stable isotope methodologies and applications over the past years and (1) provide a state–of–the–art overview of latest developments in the field, (2) identify key issues for this emerging field and a way to address these in the next years, and (3) stimulate knowledge exchange, reaching out especially towards early career scientists and scientists from developing countries. Workshop output will be a review article on this topic in the Journal of Paleolimnology that could be part of a special issue if enough interest exists.
  • Keynote speakers: Prof. Oliver Heiri (University of Bern, Switzerland), Prof. Melanie Leng (University of Nottingham & British Geological Survey, UK), Dr. Jessica Whiteside (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK), Prof. Mat Wooller (Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, University of Alaska Fairbanks)
  • Registration and information: There is no registration fee, but please register on the workshop website.
The deadline for abstract submission (300 words) is Friday 24th of June 2016. More information on grant availability for early career researchers and scientists from developing countries will be available on the website around 15th of June.

June:

    Isotope Investigators Summer School
  • Isotope Investigators Summer School
    Come and be a part of our Isotope Investigators Summer School at The University of Nottingham and the NERC Isotope Geoscience Facility. The Department of Archaeology and CEG are teaming up to offer ten fully–funded places on a week-long training course in isotope analysis. We are investing in the brightest young scholars who want to learn isotope methods and the full interpretative potential of these scientific techniques.
    More details of how to apply

May:

  • Professor Colin Snape has been asked to talk on our Shale Gas studies at the "21st Symposium on Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis" in May 2016 in Nancy, France. The title of the talk is: Snape, C, Uguna, C, Vane, C, Meredith, W, Carr, A. 2016. Evaluation of shale gas resources using a high pressure water pyrolysis maturation method: application to the UK Bowland shale.
    More information

April:

2015

November:

  • The 2015 London Quaternary Lectures (#CQRLQL).
    • Wednesday 4th November 2015.
    • Venue: Royal Holloway University of London, Queen's Lecture Theatre.
    • Talks from 16:00 to 18:00, refreshments 17:00–17:30 and a wine reception from 18:30pm.
    • Speakers: 16:00: Professor Melanie Leng ( British Geological Survey & University of Nottingham) "How Isotopes are used to unravel a million years of Mediterranean climate history from Lake Ohrid in the Balkans"
    • 17:30: Professor Anson Mackay (University College London) "Unravelling impacts of abrupt climate change during interglacials in central Asia: an isotope approach"
    More information from Prof Danielle Schreve

October:

  • Participants of the one day workshop
    A one day workshop to discuss the issues and possibilities surrounding forming an isotope database for Archaeological isotope data was held at the British Geological Survey on Tuesday 20th October 2015. Please contact Dr Angela Lamb for more information. Participants were L-R seated: Angela Lamb, Michelle Alexander, Hazel Reade, Tamsin O’Connell, Jessica Pearson (laptop via skype), Richard Madgwick, Carolyn Chenery and L-R standing: Oliver Craig, Sarah Mallet, Andrew Millard (on screen), Holly Miller, Jane Evans, Gundula Muldner and Rhiannon Stevens. Also present were Naomi Sykes and Kate Britton (via Skype).

June:

  • Prof Martin Broadley will present his inaugural lecture entitled "Feed Me! Hidden Hunger for plants and people".

    Martin will talk about his research experience in plant nutrition and activities in the UK and overseas, including more recent work on human nutrition interventions through agricultural techniques, employing soil geochemistry knowledge through partnering with BGS. Martin is on the Centre Management Board for the University of Nottingham-BGS Centre for Environmental Geochemistry.

    6pm, Thursday 4th June, School of Biosciences, A33, Food Sciences Building, Sutton Bonington.
    For more information contact Jennifer Dewick.

  • An Isotopes in Biogenic Silica workshop will be held in London, UK. The meeting will be organised by Prof Anson W Mackay
  • A one day workshop is scheduled to discuss Science Based Archaeology research being undertaken at the British Geological Survey and the University of Nottingham. The workshop will be held at the BGS on Monday 1st June 2015. Please contact Dr Angela Lamb for more information (places open only to BGS and UoN staff).
  • Lunch time seminar, Wednesday 3rd June:"Simulating shale gas generation by high water pressure pyrolysis" by Dr Clement Uguna, Organic Geochemistry Shale Gas Research Fellow. De La Beche Conference Suite, BGS, 1-2pm. (Open to BGS and UoN staff only).

February:

  • Shale Gas and Fracking: the Politics and Science
    Hear from all sides of the fracking debate with this free online course. Understand what shale gas is and why it divides opinion… Shale gas is seen by many as a cheap, clean and plentiful source of energy; a low-carbon ‘game changer’ helping us meet the world’s rapidly growing demands for energy and offering greater energy security. Its rapid rise has not been without controversy, however. Earth tremors, surface and groundwater contamination, and the effects of fracking on human and animal health are all high profile concerns. During this four-week course, we’ll study the politics, economics, and science of shale gas. We’ll examine how shale gas was formed, and how we extract it through hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’. We will look at the impact of shale gas on energy markets and energy security. We then move on to the environmental politics of shale. What are the local effects in terms of water contamination, seismic activity, and air pollution? What are the global effects? Does shale gas offer a ‘bridge’ to a low-carbon future, or would we be walking the plank? Finally we look at the question of what the public thinks, an area where the University of Nottingham has particular expertise, having run a public opinion survey on shale gas since 2012. Why are the US and UK experiences so different? What do the public think of allowing unconventional gas to be developed? At the end of the course you will have improved you understanding of the costs and benefits of shale gas, and you will have made your contribution to the public debate on this important topic.

January:

  • A one day workshop is scheduled to discuss palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimate research being undertaken at the British Geological Survey and the University of Nottingham. The workshop will be held at the BGS on Wednesday 21st January 2015. Please contact Prof Melanie Leng for more information (places open only to BGS and UoN staff).

2014

December:

  • AGU Fall Meeting Session: Isotopes in Biogenic Silica

    This session focuses on recent developments in isotopes in biogenic silica (BSi) (including diatoms, phytoliths, sponge spicules, radiolaria and chrysophytes). The development of these proxies provides important constraints on paleoreconstructions over a range of temporal and spatial scales and we welcome abstracts that cover all aspects of this advancement, including methodological and analytical practices. The session will cover studies that use either stable (e.g., δ18O, δ30Si, δ66Zn and δ13C, δ15N in organic inclusions) or radiogenic isotopes (e.g., δ32Si, δ14C) as tracers of environmental change and biogeochemistry (e.g. precipitation, temperature, nutrient utilization). In particular we encourage contributions focusing on methodological developments as well as contemporary studies from field and laboratory experiments, which are essential in order to constrain the interpretation of paleoreconstructions.

    Sponsor(s):

    PP - Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
    B - Biogeosciences
    GC - Global Environmental Change
    OS - Ocean Sciences
    V - Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology

    Abstract submissions are open. The deadline for submissions is August 6th, 2014.

    Please contact Dr George Swann for further information.

November:

October: