University of Nottingham staff who are Visiting Research Associates at the British Geological Survey
School of Biosciences
Dr Barry Lomax's research is focused on quantifying how the Earth's climate has changed over geologic time, how these changes have influenced the Earth's terrestrial biosphere and how in turn the Earth's terrestrial biosphere has influenced climate. Particular interests include palaeopolyploidy and plant genome size over geological time, plant responses to CO2, and sporopollenin chemistry as a palaeoclimate proxy.
Professor Sofie Sjogersten's research interests to date have been the impact of climate, vegetation and soil processes on the cycling of carbon and nutrients and quantifying trace gas fluxes to the atmosphere in terrestrial ecosystems. A key area of her research focuses on the impact of environmental change on biogeochemical cycling in natural and semi-natural ecosystems, and is particularly interested in quantifying the potential loss of stored organic matter and nutrients from ecosystems, as well as loss of plant productivity.
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Will Meredith's background is in petroleum geochemistry and environmental science, with research interests in oil generation and biodegradation, together with fate of carbon in the environment.
School of Geography
Dr Matt Jones' research interests are based around reconstructing climate variability from lake sediments, particularly using physical and chemical proxies of change and understanding the controls on these proxies. Current and recent projects in association with BGS include stable isotope systematics of lakes through monitoring and modelling recent records of stable isotope change in lake systems; climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular in Iran, Jordan and Turkey and understanding the interactions between people and their hydro-environment through the late Quaternary; Holocene climate change in Mexico using high resolution records of chemical change in lake sediments. Matt undertook his MSc and PhD research in association with the stable isotope laboratory at BGS.
Professor Sarah Metcalfe is a physical geographer with interests in climate change and air pollution. She is particularly interested in climate change in low latitudes, especially the monsoon regions, working on reconstructing climate and its impacts over a range of timescales using lake sediment cores and diatom and isotope data, the latter in collaboration with the stable isotope laboratory at BGS. She also works on modelling of air pollution (especially sulphur, nitrogen, particulates and ozone) across the UK looking at source attribution, the effects of changes in emissions and climate and the importance of uncertainty in model inputs and parameterisations. Sarah has been a VRA with BGS for more than a decade and has previously chaired the NERC Isotope Geosciences Facility Steering Committee.
Dr Virginia Panizzo from the School of Geography, University of Nottingham, has been appointed as a Visiting Research Associate (VRA) with the British Geological Survey (BGS). Ginnie has recently been appointed as an Anne McLaren Fellow at UoN (from April 2015), and she will be researching into global budgets of silicon cycling, by providing the first estimates of its sources, sinks and fluxes in coastal mangrove systems. Silicon acts as the building blocks for primary algal productivity and, as a result, has a strong control on global carbon cycles and the inventory of CO2 in the atmosphere. The implications of this research are crucial for the mitigation of future climate change and builds on Ginnie’s previous Si cycling research. Her Fellowship is in conjunction with Dr Matthew Horstwood and Dr Christopher Vane (both BGS), Dr Barry Lomax UoN, Dr Suzanne McGowan (UoN Malaysia Campus) and Prof Rozainah Zakaria and Prof Chong Ving Ching (University of Malaysia).
Dr George Swann works on reconstructing past environmental changes from marine and lake sediment cores in association with the isotope laboratory at BGS. George has current projects in association with BGS on developing and applying diatom isotopes in environmental reconstructions; investigating Quaternary changes in meltwater influx; reconstructing Pliocene palaeoceanography during the onset of major Northern Hemisphere Glaciation and reconstructing the Quaternary/Pliocene climatic and environmental history of lacustrine systems in Siberia. George had previously held an isotope apprenticeship and NERC Fellowship at BGS before he moved to Nottingham.
Department of Archaeology
Prof Julian Henderson’s research interests include understand the sources and roles of geological and environmental materials such as sand, plants or clays in the production and trade of ancient materials including glass and pottery and investigating the impact of ancient mining and material production on the environment both in the past and in the present. Julian works closely with Prof Jane Evans and Dr Simon Chenery at the BGS.
Prof Christopher Loveluck is the Department of Archaeology rep on the CEG Centre Management Board. His research interests focus on the development of societies in northwest Europe, between Late Antiquity and the Central Middle Ages (AD 400 and 1350), with particular reference to coastal communities, landscape and settlement archaeology and geoarchaeology (metal economies, pollution and climate change).
Dr Holly Miller's research interests include the use of isotopes in archaeological faunal material and is currently a research fellow on an AHRC Fallow Deer Project which aims to facilitate the integration of archaeology, history, geography and anthropology along with genetics and osteological research to examine the circumstances and cultural significance of this species' diffusion across Europe. Holly's other interests include lithic (chipped stone) analysis; prehistory of the Near East; origins of nomadic pastoralism in the Southern Levant; material culture of the Near East; the development of lithic technologies, beads and personal adornment and bead technology.
Professor Hannah O'Regan has very wide ranging research interests including the history of zoos, cave archaeology, burial practises and human evolution/palaeoecology.