International projects:

Funded projects:

ACACIA - Analysis of long-term ClimAte Change In Australia
ORMEN - Ocean Reconstruction and Modelling of the European deglaciatioN
QUEST - Deglaciation
QUEST - DESIRE - Dynamics of the Earth System and the Ice-core Record
QUEST - Dust Working Group
QUEST - PalaeoQUMP - Using palaeodata to reduce uncertainties in climate prediction
QUEST Theme 2 datasyntheses
Radiocarbon Calibration using Speleothems
Funding: NERC, Leverhulme Trust
Aim: To investigate the causes and consequences of changes in atmospheric radiocarbon production from 45 ka and 11 ka. This work is a key contribution to international radiocarbon calibration efforts (INTCAL) which are greatly improving the accuracy of radiocarbon ages over this time period.
Participants: David Richards, Pete Smart, Dirk Hoffmann, Phil Hopley
Understanding ¹⁴C gradients in space and time
Funding: NERC
Aim: This project uses a newly developed intermediate-complexity 3D Earth System Model (GENIE) to quantitatively examine the causes of ∆ ¹⁴C variability, and hence improve our understanding of the mechanisms of natural Earth system change
Participants: David Richards, Joy Singarayer, Paul Valdes
Modelling Carbonate Platforms
Funding: Exon, Shell
Aim: Predictive modelling of carbonate platform development and evolution. This work is of importance for predicting the temporal and spatial distribution of hydrocarbon reserves housed within carbonate platforms. Allied work uses computer modelling to predict the development of porosity and the migration of hydrocarbons through carbonate rocks.
Participants: Pete Smart, Graham Felce, Elkie Lonnkvist.
Fire Paradox
Funding: European Commission
Participants: Sandy Harrison, Doug Kelley.
GREENCYCLES - Biogeochemistry and Climate Change Research and Training Network
Funding: European Community, Research Training Network
Aim: This research training network will foster the education of the next generation of Earth system scientists by linking the key European centres of excellence in the field of global biogeochemical cycles. The overall research objective of the Consortium is to reduce uncertainties in the impacts of human activities on future climate and ecosystems in order to inform policy decisions. It will do this through advancing our understanding of the key biogeochemical processes that control the atmospheric content and distributions of radiatively active gases and aerosols, and assessing their interactive behaviour with the coupled land-atmosphere-ocean system.
The Consortium will achieve this through the pursuit of six key science objectives:
- Quantify feedbacks in the global carbon cycle;
- Determine the effects of changing land use on climate;
- Improve understanding of natural sources of CH4 and their responses to human activities;
- Quantify impacts of climate change and climate variability on fire-induced emissions of greenhouse gases;
- Quantify impacts of climate change on terrestrial and oceanic biogenic emissions of aerosols and chemically active gases, and their effects on tropospheric chemistry; and
- Quantify impacts of vegetation and climate changes on atmospheric dust, and its feedbacks on CO₂ and climate.
Participants: Sandy Harrison, Paul Valdes, Colin Prentice, Dan Lunt, Sarah Shannon, Adam Durant
Duration: 2004-2008
GENIE
Funding: NERC E-Science
Aim: building a new type of Earth System model
Participants: Paul Valdes, Tony Payne, Dan Lunt
Adding oxygen and deuterium to the Hadley Centre model
Funding: NERC Rapid, NERC ROPA
Aim: adding oxygen and deuterium isotope components to the Hadley Centre model and using it to model rapid climate change events in the past
Participants: Paul Valdes, Julia Tindall
Understanding sea ice variability
Funding: NERC COAPEC
Aim: Understanding seaice variability during the last 40 years and future changes
Participants: Paul Valdes, Jonathan Bamber, Joy Singarayer
Future Millennial scale changes to the cryosphere
Funding: NERC RAPID
Aim: Future Millennial scale changes to the cryosphere
Participants: Jonathan Bamber, Paul Valdes
The effects of climate change on human evolution and dispersal
Funding: NERC EFCHED
Aim: The effects of climate change on human evolution and dispersal
Participants: Paul Valdes, John Hughes
Modelling atmospheric chemistry changes
Funding: Centre for Global Atmospheric Modelling
Aim: Modelling atmospheric chemistry changes
Participants: Paul Valdes
Quantifying the role of palaeogeographic change during the last 55 million years
Funding: Oil Industry
Aim: Quantifying the role of palaeogeographic change during the last 55 million years
Participants: Paul Valdes
Modelling ancient marginal marine systems for climate data
Funding: Royal Society
Aim: To constrain precipitation and evaporation flux data in ancient semi-enclosed marine systems by combining Sr isotopes, fossil and sedimentology with hydrologic modelling.
Participants: Rachel Flecker
PEG-BOARD: Palæoclimate & Environment Data Generation - Building Open Access to Research Data
Funding: JISC
Aim: To enable access to historical climate data in a systematic, managed environment. In collaboration with UKOLN at the University of Bath, The School of Earth and Environment at Leeds University and Archæology at Southampton University
Participants: Paul Valdes, Greg Tourte
Duration: 18 Months - Until June 2011