February 29, 2024
The 14th Mapping Ancient Africa seminar took place on Thursday 28th February 2024. The seminar was delivered by Mathias Vinnepand (Leibniz-Institute for Applied Geophysics Hannover, Germany) and presented recent advances in developing a chronology for the Lake Bosumtwi sediment record over the last c. 1 million years.
Details of this seminar can be found here. You can find more Mapping Ancient Africa seminar videos on the “Ecology of the Past” YouTube channel.
February 28, 2024
The first Mapping Ancient Africa online seminar of 2024 will take place on 28 February (17:00 CET).
The seminar will be delivered via Zoom. The link for the seminar can be obtained from the MAA Slack channel or by contacting the chair of this seminar (Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr). If you want to know more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project visit our web pages and please do not hesitate to get in contact if you want to get involved.
March 15, 2022
Ludgate, N. (2014) Organic matter preserved in cave sediments: A new environmental proxy. PhD thesis, Department of Environment, Earth & Ecosystems, The Open University.
Abstract
Exploring new terrestrial archives to investigate past climate and the resultant impact on ecosystems is key to assessing changing climate within large continents, where major records are limited. This study presents the first comprehensive geochemical investigation of clastic cave sediments, a previously under-explored field, demonstrating the effective use of caves as an environmental archive, and recovering useable records of moisture and vegetation regime within the complicated monsoonal system of South East Asia.
Clastic cave sediments were recovered from a 2.4 m deep archaeological trench covering ~24 ka to ~12 ka within Hang Trõng, Vietnam. Clay mineral, bulk carbon, pollen, terrestrial snail shells and plant-derived lipid biomarkers were analysed to provide a multi-proxy approach. No diagenetic alteration was found below 20 cm despite clay mineral and bulk carbon δ13C analysis demonstrating microbial action and weathering of surface sediments. As previously observed in cave sediments, poor preservation lead to limited pollen recovery, however δ13C values from CSIA and shell carbonate indicates C3 vegetation persisted around the cave during the last glacial maximum.
The time-series δ18O record from recovered shells shows clear fluctuations corresponding to global climatic events including the LGM and Heinrich 1. It is hypothesised that these reflect moisture availability, with heavier isotopic values indicating drier periods. Most higher plant lipid biomarkers provide evidence for a stable forest composition, however a shift in n-alkane lipid from C31 to C27 can also be linked with the Heinrich 1 event. The warm Greenland interstadial 1 event is also expressed within the record by low δ18O shell values attributed to more available moisture and higher bulk δ13C values, which indicate greater micro-organism action.
Hang Trõng’s multi-proxy record adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating the importance of global teleconections when assessing the impact of climate change on monsoons and local vegetation. The data collected here proves clastic cave sediments can hold valuable climatic proxies; something which is of especial importance as palaeoenvironmental archives rely on limited capture and preservation for long term environmental records.
Supervisors: Dr. Alison Blyth (The Open University/Curtin University), Dr. William D. Gosling , and Dr. Iain Gilmore (both The Open University)
Examined by: Prof. Frank McDermot (University College Dublin), and Dr. Victoria Pearson (The Open University).
To borrow a copy from The Open University Library click here.
February 28, 2022
In June there will be a “European Pollen Database in Neotoma” meeting in Prague. For full details visit the European Pollen Database web site, click here.
July 28, 2017
If you have exciting new research on past ecological change please consider submitting it to Vegetation History & Archaeobotany.
Two articles recently published on-line in the journal Vegetation History & Archaebotany (of which I am an Associate Editor) recently caught my attention.These explore:
For more detailed thoughts on these papers read on…
July 1, 2014
Well, we’ve heard from Wes and Adele, and now it’s my turn (Phil Jardine) for a bit of a chat on the “Ecology of the past” YouTube channel. Similar to the previous interview videos, I’m talking about my role on the Bosumtwi pollen chemistry project, and what I’ve done (academically speaking) prior to coming to the Open University. Enjoy!
For more videos check out the “Ecology of the past” YouTube channel.
October 2, 2013
Section of fossil wood from Ecuador
Having been away for half of the month I asked people to provide a summary of what they have been up to. Here is what they admitted to…
Natalie Ludgate and Lottie Miller have submitted their theses! Well done.
Hayley Keen: “Continual pollen counting, second lot of Argon dating done, and first set of wood macrofossils back and ready for identification!”
Frazer Bird: “At the start of September I began working as a technician as part of Encarni’s project. I am looking at the midges from the core we collected together on our last field trip. Things are going well, although the midges are hard to find in the older sections the preservation in early sequences is great. The resolution of this core looks to be fantastic also so and hopefully we will get some interesting results when we compare all the proxies. Away fromthe lab I presented at INTECOL 2013 in London, The talk seemed to go down well and was noted as highly commended by the judging panel. Great publicity all round for the midges!!!”
Bryan Valencia: Has been on field work in Peru during this time he presented a talk on climate change to the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica, and gave interviews to local journalists and two TV stations. He also collected sediments from two locations, and manged to obtain a new US visa. He is now working on the final stages of submitting his thesis.
Phil Jardine: Phil has been busy ordering in microscopes and other equipment for the Lake Bosumtwi project (the first of which arrived today), and setting up the trip to Ghana that he’ll be going on with new PhD student Adele Julier in late October. He’s also been attempting to learn more about geochemistry, which has proved challenging.
William Gosling: “I have been promoted to Senior Lecturer (hooray), started work on the new level 2 environmental science module, been working on a new paper from the Erazo study site, and had a holiday!”
March 29, 2013
Full time Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Temporary contract for 36 months, £27,854 – £36,298
Department of Environment, Earth & Ecosystems, Faculty of Science, The Open University
Closing date : 25/04/2013
The PDRA project will descover more about past vegetation and climate change in Lake Bosumtwi (Ghana)
We are seeking a PDRA to study past climate and vegetation change in tropical West Africa as part of the NERC-funded “500,000 years of solar irradiance, climate and vegetation changes” project. You will join a multidisciplinary collaborative research team and will work with an international network of project partners. The project will utilise cutting-edge organic geochemical techniques to generate the longest continuous record of fossil pollen chemistry change. The study will build upon previous research into the sediments recovered from Lake Bosumtwi (Ghana). The data generated will shed new light on the role of climate in driving vegetation change in the tropics.
You will already hold a PhD, or be near to completing your PhD, in a relevant scientific discipline with a background in the Earth or Environmental sciences. You must have substantial experience of organic geochemistry or tropical palynology, with well-developed self-management skills and the ability to prioritise effectively.
The PDRA will work with an associated PhD student looking at modern pollen-vegetation relationships in the same region.
Co-Investigators:
Dr Barry Lomax (University of Nottingham)
Dr Wesley Fraser (Oxford Brookes University)
Project partners:
Prof . Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)
Prof. Mark Sephton (Imperial College London)
Dr Tim Shanahan (University of Texas, Austin)
Dr Stephen Abu-Bredu (Forestry Research Institute of Ghana)
For further particulars click here.
For information on how to apply click here visit The Open University jobs web site.
The PDRA will be part of an international team; partners based at University of Nottingham, Oxford Brooks University, Imperial College London, Oxford University, University of Texas at Austin and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana
March 21, 2013
William Gosling pollen trapping in west Africa. A studentship on the new grant will investigate modern pollen-vegeation relationships
Fully funded NERC PhD studentship tied to 500,000 years of solar irradiance, climate and vegetation changes project.
To start October 2013 now avaliable with the Palaeoenvironmental Change Research Group.
Title: Tropical vegetation, environment and climate: The present is the key to the past
Supervisors:
William D. Gosling (The Open University),
Wesley Fraser (Oxford Brookes University),
Barry Lomax (University of Nottingham),
Mark Sephton (Imperial College London) &
Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)
Making pollen traps on field work in Ghana
Understanding how vegetation responded to past climate change requires the development of well constrained relationships between living floras, environment and climate. This project will help constrain the great uncertainty which exists as to how tropical ecosystems are represented in the fossil record by examining the relationship between modern vegetation and the pollen it produces. The project will analyse modern pollen rain using a combination of traditional microscopic analysis [1] and cutting edge geochemical techniques [2]. We anticipate that the findings will provide new insight into past vegetation and climatic change.
For further information on the project and how to apply see the full advert: NERC PhD advert. Prior to applying please check eligibility for NERC funding by clicking here.
Closing date: 25th April, interviews will be held at The Open University during May.
To find out more about the department, research environment and student life at The Open Univerity visit the Department of Environment, Earth & Ecosystems, the Centre for Earth, Planetry, Space & Astronomical Research (CEPSAR) and OU RocSoc web pages.
Work as part of a larger research team in the UK and abroad.
References:
[1] Gosling, W.D., et al., Differentiation between Neotropical rainforest, dry forest, and savannah ecosystems by their modern pollen spectra and implications for the fossil pollen record. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2009. 153(1-2): p. 70-85.
[2] Lomax, B.H., et al., Plant spore walls as a record of long-term changes in Ultraviolet-B radiation. Nature Geoscience, 2008. 1(9): p. 592-596.
February 20, 2013
William Gosling pollen trapping in west Africa. A studentship on the new grant will investigate modern pollen-vegeation relationships from tropical West Africa.
I am delighted to be able to report that the PCRG has recently obtained a NERC standard grant to investigate “500,000 years of solar irradiance, climate and vegetation changes” (NE/K005294/1).
Investigators on the project are:
Supported by project partners:
Much thanks to the many people who have supported and helped us in the development of this proposal. Now time to do some fun science…
Ecology of the past 