New Centre for Environmental Geochemistry opens in Nottingham

The British Geological Survey (BGS) and the University of Nottingham have announced a new research facility, the Centre for Environmental Geochemistry. It brings together existing facilities and groups within the two institutions to do research that addresses some of the most pressing environmental problems we face, as well as offering teaching and training. Initially it’s focusing on three main themes – reconstructing past environmental and climate change; understanding how chemicals cycle through soils and bodies of water; and developing new tools to research the underground environment

Palaeoecological and possible evolutionary effects of early Namurian (Serpukhovian, Carboniferous) glacioeustatic cyclicity

Early Namurian (Serpukhovian, Carboniferous), sedimentary cycles in the Throckley and Rowlands Gill boreholes, near Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, consist of fossiliferous limestones overlain by (usually unfossiliferous) black mudstone, followed by sandstones and often by thin coal seams. Sedimentological and regional geological evidence suggests that the largest are high-amplitude cycles, probably of glacioeustatic origin. 13C (bulk organic matter) delineates marine and non-marine conditions because of the large difference between terrestrial and marine 13C, and indicates that full marine salinity was only intermittent and resulted from glacioeustatic marine transgression superimposed on a background of inundation by freshwater from large rivers, which killed off the marine biota. Palynology suggests that plant groups, including ferns and putative pteridosperms, were affected by changing sea level, and that there is a theoretical possibility of connection between cyclicity and the first appearance of walchiacean conifer-like monosaccate pollen such as Potonieisporites. Long-term terrestrial and marine increasing 13C (organic) may reflect the onset of major glaciation in Gondwana, as there is evidence to suggest that the two are coeval, but no specific mechanism can be suggested to link the trends

Oxygen isotopes in Molluscan shell: applications in environmental archaeology

Oxygen isotope geochemistry of Molluscan shell is an essential part of environmental archaeology and over the last decade has contributed significantly to the understanding of the past inhabitants of our planet. From the analysis of collected (and disposed of) shells we can gain information on environmental data from the species assemblages and also from the shell chemistry. In particular, intra-seasonal information can be gained from shells by analysing the isotope composition of the shell from successive growth increments. Here, we describe some of the recent developments in the use of oxygen isotopes in environmental archaeology. In particular, we consider preservation and sampling and describe how δ18O can provide us with information on seasonal climate, season of collection as well as changes in global climate

Is there an isotopic signature of the anthropocene?

We consider whether the Anthropocene is recorded in the isotope geochemistry of the atmosphere, sediments, plants and ice cores, and the time frame during which any changes are recorded, presenting examples from the literature. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios have become more depleted since the 19th century, with the rate of change accelerating after ~ad 1950, linked to increased emissions from fossil fuel consumption and increased production of fertiliser. Lead isotope ratios demonstrate human pollution histories several millennia into the past, while sulphur isotopes can be used to trace the sources of acid rain. Radioisotopes have been detectable across the planet since the 1950s because of atmospheric nuclear bomb tests and can be used as a stratigraphic marker. We find there is isotopic evidence of widespread human impact on the global environment, but different isotopes have registered changes at different times and at different rates

Investigating the Bowland Shale

The Bowland Shale (late Mississippian, early Carboniferous) has potential for the unconventional extraction of hydrocarbons in the UK and in equivalent successions that extend across Europe to the Lublin Basin, Poland. The Bowland Shale was deposited in a marine epicontinental seaway and in a basinal setting. This study seeks to characterise the controls (sedimentological, geochemical, biological, preservation) on the spatial and temporal distribution of organic matter in the Bowland Shale within the Craven Basin (UK) and link this to resource potential

Snail shells provide detailed records of environmental change

The shells of molluscs from all over the world – on land, in lakes, and in the ocean – contain very detailed imprints of past climate change. Using isotope analysis, we can extract these signals and start to piece together long-term climate variations. You will never look at a garden snail in the same way again

A high resolution Late Glacial to Holocene record of climatic and environmental change in the Mediterranean from Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania)

Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania) is one of the world’s oldest lakes and is renowned for its high degree of biological diversity. It is the target site for the ICDP SCOPSCO (Scientific Collaboration on Past Speciation Conditions in Lake Ohrid) project, an international research initiative to study the links between geology, environment and the evolution of endemic taxa. In 2011 a 10-meter core was recovered from the western shore of Lake Ohrid adjacent to the Lini Peninsula