Professor Paul Pearson

Honorary Professor

School of Earth and Ocean Sciences

: pearsonp@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2087 4579

Interests

Cenozoic palaeoclimate
climate proxies
micropalaeontology
evolutionary palaeobiology
stratigraphy

Professor– School of Earth & Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, UK (2003 – present)
Royal Society University Research Fellow and Reader in Geology – Bristol University (1995-2002)
Research Fellow, Natural Environment Research Council – University of Cambridge (1990 – 1995)
PhD – Earth Sciences, Cambridge University (1990)
BA – Geology, Oxford University (1986)

2013

Pearson, P. N. and Ezard, T. H. G. 2013. Evolution and speciation in the Eocene planktonic foraminifer Turborotalia. Paleobiology 40(1), pp. 130-143. (10.1666/13004)
Pancost, R. D.et al. 2013. Early Paleogene evolution of terrestrial climate in the SW Pacific, Southern New Zealand. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 14(12), pp. 5413-5429. (10.1002/2013GC004935)
John, E. H.et al. 2013. Warm ocean processes and carbon cycling in the Eocene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 371(2001), article number: 20130099. (10.1098/rsta.2013.0099)
Aze, T.et al. 2013. Identifying anagenesis and cladogenesis in the fossil record [Letter]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110(32), article number: E2946. (10.1073/pnas.1307562110)
Birch, H.et al. 2013. Planktonic foraminifera stable isotopes and water column structure: Disentangling ecological signals. Marine Micropaleontology 101, pp. 127-145. (10.1016/j.marmicro.2013.02.002)

2012

Hollis, C. J.et al. 2012. Early Paleogene temperature history of the southwest Pacific Ocean: reconciling proxies and models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 349-50, pp. 53-66. (10.1016/j.epsl.2012.06.024)
Birch, H. S., Coxall, H. K. and Pearson, P. N. 2012. Evolutionary ecology of Early Paleocene planktonic foraminifera: Size, depth habitat and symbiosis. Paleobiology 38(3), pp. 374-390. (10.1666/11027.1)
Etienne, R. S.et al. 2012. Diversity-dependence brings molecular phylogenies closer to agreement with the fossil record. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B: Biological Sciences 279(1732), pp. 1300-1309. (10.1098/rspb.2011.1439)
Ezard, T. H. G.et al. 2012. The meaning of birth and death (in macroevolutionary birth-death models). Biology Letters 8(1), pp. 139-142. (10.1098/rsbl.2011.0699)
Handley, L.et al. 2012. Changes in the hydrological cycle in tropical East Africa during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 329-30, pp. 10-21. (10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.02.002)
Knox, R. W.et al. 2012. Examining the case for the use of the Tertiary as a formal period or informal unit. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 123(3), pp. 390-393. (10.1016/j.pgeola.2012.05.004)
Cotton, L. J. and Pearson, P. N. 2012. Larger benthic foraminifera from the Middle Eocene to Oligocene of Tanzania. Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences 105(1), pp. 189-199.
Pearson, P. N. 2012. Oxygen isotopes in foraminifera: Overview and historical review. Paleontological Society Papers 18, pp. 1-38.
Lloyd, G. T.et al. 2012. Sampling bias and the fossil record of planktonic foraminifera on land and in the deep sea. Paleobiology 38(4), pp. 569-584. (10.1666/11041.1)

2011

Aze, T.et al. 2011. A phylogeny of Cenozoic macroperforate planktonic foraminifera from fossil data. Biological Reviews 86(4), pp. 900-927. (10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00178.x)
Wade, B. S.et al. 2011. Review and revision of Cenozoic tropical planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and calibration to the geomagnetic polarity and astronomical time scale. Earth-Science Reviews 104(1-3), pp. 111-142. (10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.09.003)
Zalasiewicz, J.et al. 2011. Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 369(1938), pp. 1036-1055. (10.1098/rsta.2010.0315)
Ezard, T. H. G.et al. 2011. Interplay between changing climate and species' ecology drives macroevolutionary dynamics. Science 332(6027), pp. 349-351. (10.1126/science.1203060)
Cotton, L. J. and Pearson, P. N. 2011. Extinction of larger benthic foraminifera at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 311(3-4), pp. 281-296. (10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.09.008)

2010

Pearson, P. N. 2010. Increased Atmospheric CO2 During the Middle Eocene. Science 330(6005), pp. 763-764. (10.1126/science.1197894)
Ezard, T. H. G., Pearson, P. N. and Purvis, A. 2010. Algorithmic approaches to aid species' delimitation in multidimensional morphospace. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10(1), article number: 175. (10.1186/1471-2148-10-175)

2009

Jones, T. D., Bown, P. R. and Pearson, P. N. 2009. Exceptionally well preserved upper Eocene to lower Oligocene calcareous nannofossils (Prymnesiophyceae) from the Pande Formation (Kilwa Group), Tanzania. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 7(4), pp. 359-411. (10.1017/S1477201909990010)
Pearson, P. N., Foster, G. L. and Wade, B. S. 2009. Atmospheric carbon dioxide through the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition. Nature 461(7267), pp. 1110-1113. (10.1038/nature08447)
Pearson, P. N. and Wade, B. S. 2009. Taxonomy and stable isotope paleoecology of well-preserved planktonic foraminifera from the uppermost oligocene of Trinidad. The Journal of Foraminiferal Research 39(3), pp. 191-217. (10.2113/gsjfr.39.3.191)
Spezzaferri, S. and Pearson, P. N. 2009. Distribution and ecology of catapsydrax indianus, a new planktonic foraminifer index species for the late oligocene-early miocene. The Journal of Foraminiferal Research 39(2), pp. 112-119. (10.2113/gsjfr.39.2.112)
Brown, P. and Pearson, P. N. 2009. Calcareous plankton evolution and the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum event: new evidence from Tanzania. Marine Micropaleontology 71(1-2), pp. 60-70. (10.1016/j.marmicro.2009.01.005)
Purvis, A.et al. 2009. Temporal patterns in diversification rates. In: Butlin, R., Bridle, J. and Schluter, D. eds. Speciation and Patterns of Diversity. Ecological Reviews Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 278-300.

2008

Lear, C. H.et al. 2008. Cooling and ice growth across the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Geology 36(3), pp. 251-254. (10.1130/G24584A.1)
Burgess, C. E.et al. 2008. Middle Eocene climate cyclicity in the southern Pacific: implications for global ice volume. Geology 36(8), pp. 651-654. (10.1130/G24762A.1)
Handley, L.et al. 2008. Large terrestrial and marine carbon and hydrogen isotope excursions in a new Paleocene/Eocene boundary section from Tanzania. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 275(1-2), pp. 17-25. (10.1016/j.epsl.2008.07.030)
Zalasiewicz, J.et al. 2008. Are we now living in the Anthropocene?. GSA Today 18(2), pp. 4-8. (10.1130/GSAT01802A.1)
Pearson, P. N. and Burgess, C. E. 2008. Foraminifer test preservation and diagenesis: comparison of high latitude Eocene sites. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 303(1), pp. 59-72. (10.1144/SP303.5)
Wade, B. S. and Pearson, P. N. 2008. Planktonic foraminiferal turnover, diversity fluctuations and geochemical signals across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary in Tanzania. Marine Micropaleontology 68(3-4), pp. 244-255. (10.1016/j.marmicro.2008.04.002)
Kasemann, S. A.et al. 2008. Biological and ecological insights into Ca isotopes in planktic foraminifers as a palaeotemperature proxy. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 271(1-4), pp. 292-302. (10.1016/j.epsl.2008.04.007)
Pearson, P. N.et al. 2008. Extinction and environmental change across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in Tanzania. Geology 36(2), pp. 179-182. (10.1130/G24308A.1)
Dunkley Jones, T.et al. 2008. Major shifts in calcareous phytoplankton assemblages through the Eocene-Oligocene transition of Tanzania and their implications for low-latitude primary production. Paleoceanography 23(4), article number: PA4204. (10.1029/2008PA001640)
Bown, P.et al. 2008. A Paleogene calcareous microfossil Konservat-Lagerstätte from the Kilwa Group of coastal Tanzania. Geological Society of America Bulletin 120(1-2), pp. 3-12. (10.1130/B26261.1)

2007

Coxall, H. K.et al. 2007. Iterative evolution of digitate planktonic foraminifera. Paleobiology 33(4), pp. 495-516. (10.1666/06034.1)
Ni, Y.et al. 2007. A core top assessment of proxies for the ocean carbonate system in surface-dwelling foraminifers. Paleoceanography 22(3), article number: PA3212. (10.1029/2006PA001337)
Nicholas, C. J.et al. 2007. Structural evolution of southern coastal Tanzania since the Jurassic. Journal of African Earth Sciences 48(4), pp. 273-297. (10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2007.04.003)
Pearson, P. N.et al. 2007. Stable warm tropical climate through the Eocene epoch. Geology 35(3), pp. 211-214. (10.1130/G23175A.1)
Coxall, H. K. and Pearson, P. N. 2007. The Eocene-Oligocene transition. In: Williams, M. et al. eds. Deep-Time Perspectives on Climate Change: Marrying the Signal from Computer Models and Biological Proxies. Micropaleontology Society Special Publication London: Geological Society, pp. 351-387.
Pearson, P. N. and Nicholas, C. J. 2007. 'Marks of extreme violence': Charles Darwin's geological observations at St Jago (São Tiago), Cape Verde islands. In: Wyse Jackson, P. N. ed. Four Centuries of Geological Travel: The Search for Knowledge on Foot, Bicycle, Sledge and Camel. Geological Society Special Publication Vol. 287. London: Geological Society, pp. 239-253., (10.1144/SP287.19)

2006

Sexton, P. F., Wilson, P. A. and Pearson, P. N. 2006. Microstructural and geochemical perspectives on planktic foraminiferal preservation: “Glassy” versus “Frosty”. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 7(12), article number: Q12P19. (10.1029/2006GC001291)
Nicholas, C. J.et al. 2006. Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene Kilwa Group, southern coastal Tanzania. Journal of African Earth Sciences 45(4-5), pp. 431-466. (10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2006.04.003)
Pearson, P. N.et al. 2006. Further Paleogene and Cretaceous sediment cores from the Kilwa area of coastal Tanzania: Tanzania Drilling Project Sites 6-10. Journal of African Earth Sciences 45(3), pp. 279-317. (10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2006.02.005)
Sexton, P. F., Wilson, P. A. and Pearson, P. N. 2006. Palaeoecology of late middle Eocene planktic foraminifera and evolutionary implications. Marine Micropaleontology 60(1), pp. 1-16. (10.1016/j.marmicro.2006.02.006)
van Dongen, B. E.et al. 2006. Well preserved Palaeogene and Cretaceous biomarkers from the Kilwa area, Tanzania. Organic Geochemistry 37(5), pp. 539-557. (10.1016/j.orggeochem.2006.01.003)
Pearson, P. N.et al. 2006. Overview of eocene planktonic for aminiferal taxonomy, paleoecology, phylogeny, and biostratigraphy. In: Pearson, P. N. et al. eds. Atlas of Eocene Planktonic Foraminifera. Cushman Foundation, pp. 11-28.
Pearson, P. N. et al. eds. 2006. Atlas of eocene planktonic foraminifera. Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research Special Publication Vol. 41. Fredericksburg, USA: Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research.
Flower, B. P., Zachos, J. C. and Pearson, P. N. 2006. Astronomic and oceanographic influences on global carbon cycling across the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. In: Sinha, D. K. ed. Micropaleontology: Application in Stratigraphy and Paleoceanography. New Delhi: Narosa Publishing House

2005

Berggren, W. A. and Pearson, P. N. 2005. A revised tropical to subtropical Paleogene planktonic foraminiferal zonation. The Journal of Foraminiferal Research 35(4), pp. 279-298. (10.2113/35.4.279)
Heuser, A.et al. 2005. Calcium isotope (δ44/40Ca) variations of Neogene planktonic foraminifera. Paleoceanography 20(2), article number: PA2013. (10.1029/2004PA001048)
Kasemann, S. A.et al. 2005. Boron and calcium isotope composition in Neoproterozoic carbonate rocks from Namibia: evidence for extreme environmental change. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 231(1-2), pp. 73-86. (10.1016/j.epsl.2004.12.006)

2004

Pearson, P. N.et al. 2004. Paleogene and Cretaceous sediment cores from the Kilwa and Lindi areas of coastal Tanzania: Tanzania Drilling Project Sites 1-5. Journal of African Earth Sciences 39(1-2), pp. 25-62. (10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2004.05.001)
Stewart, D. R. M.et al. 2004. Miocene tropical Indian Ocean temperatures: evidence from three exceptionally preserved foraminiferal assemblages from Tanzania. Journal of African Earth Sciences 40(3-4), pp. 173-189. (10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2004.09.001)

2003

Coxall, H. K., Huber, B. T. and Pearson, P. N. 2003. Origin and morphology of the Eocene planktonic foraminifera Hantkenina. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 33(3), pp. 237-261. (10.2113/33.3.237)
Palmer, M. R. and Pearson, P. N. 2003. A 23,000-year record of surface water pH and pCO2 in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean. Science 300(5618), pp. 480-482. (10.1126/science.1080796)
Pearson, P. N. 2003. In retrospect [Commentary]. Nature 425(6959), pp. 665. (10.1038/425665a)

2002

Pearson, P. N., Ditchfield, P. and Shackleton, N. J. 2002. Palaeoclimatology (Communication arising): tropical temperatures in greenhouse episodes. Nature 419(6910), pp. 898. (10.1038/419898a)

2001

Pearson, P. N.et al. 2001. Warm tropical sea surface temperatures in the Late Cretaceous and Eocene epochs. Nature 413(6855), pp. 481-487. (10.1038/35097000)
Winter, C. J. and Pearson, P. N. 2001. Coiling directions in some Miocene planktonic Foraminifera. Journal of Micropalaeontology 20, pp. 29-30. (10.1144/jm.20.1.29)
Harcourt-Brown, K. G., Pearson, P. N. and Wilkinson, M. 2001. The imbalance of paleontological trees. Paleobiology 27(2), pp. 188-204. (10.1666/0094-8373(2001)027<0188:TIOPT>2.0.CO;2)
Benton, M. J. and Pearson, P. N. 2001. Speciation in the fossil record. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 16(7), pp. 405-411. (10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02149-8)

2000

Pearson, P. N. and Palmer, M. R. 2000. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 60 million years. Nature 406(6797), pp. 695-699. (10.1038/35021000)
Pearson, P. N. and Palmer, M. R. 2000. Estimating Paleogene atmospheric pCO(2) using boron isotope analysis of foraminifera. Geologiska Foereningen i Stockholm Foerhandlingar 122(1), pp. 127-128. (10.1080/11035890001221127)
Coxall, H. K.et al. 2000. Hantkeninid depth adaptation: an evolving life strategy in a changing ocean. Geology 28(1), pp. 87-90. (10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<87:HDAAEL>2.0.CO;2)

1999

Pearson, P. N. and Palmer, M. R. 1999. Middle eocene seawater pH and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Science 284(5421), pp. 1824-1826. (10.1126/science.284.5421.1824)
Pearson, P. N. 1999. Apomorphy distribution is an important aspect of cladogram symmetry. Systematic Biology 48(2), pp. 399-406. (10.1080/106351599260373)

1998

Palmer, M. R., Pearson, P. N. and Cobb, S. J. 1998. Reconstructing past ocean pH-depth profiles. Science 282(5393), pp. 1468-1471. (10.1126/science.282.5393.1468)
Pearson, P. N. 1998. Speciation and extinction asymmetries in paleontological phylogenies: evidence for evolutionary progress?. Paleobiology -Chicago- 24(3), pp. 305-335.

1997

Pearson, P. N., Shackleton, N. J. and Hall, M. 1997. Stable isotopic evidence for the sympatric divergence of Globigerinoides trilobus and Orbulina universa (planktonic foraminifera). Journal of the Geological Society 154(2), pp. 295-302. (10.1144/gsjgs.154.2.0295)

1996

Pearson, P. N. 1996. Cladogenetic, extinction and survivorship patterns from a lineage phylogeny: The Paleogene planktonic foraminifera. Micropaleontology 42(2), pp. 179-188. (10.2307/1485869)

1993

Arnaud-Vanneau, A.et al. 1993. Carbonate build-up of atolls and guyots in the Northwestern Pacific: Preliminary results from ODP Leg 144. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series II 317(7), pp. 947-954.
Pearson, P. N., Shackleton, N. J. and Hall, M. A. 1993. Stable isotope paleoecology of middle Eocene planktonic foraminifera and multi-species isotope stratigraphy, DSDP Site 523, South Atlantic. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 23(2), pp. 123-140. (10.2113/gsjfr.23.2.123)
Pearson, P. N. 1993. A lineage phylogeny for the Paleogene planktonic foraminifera. Micropaleontology 39(3), pp. 193-232.

1992

Pearson, P. N. 1992. Walking traces of the giant myriapod Arthropleura from the Strathclyde Group (Lower Carboniferous) of Fife. Scottish Journal of Geology 28(2), pp. 127-133. (10.1144/sjg28020127)
Pearson, P. N. 1992. Survivorship analysis of fossil taxa when real-time extinction rates vary: the Paleogene planktonic foraminifera. Paleobiology 18(2), pp. 115-131.
Pearson, P. N. and Nicholas, C. J. 1992. Defining the base of the Cambrian: the Hicks-Geikie confrontation of April 1883. Earth Sciences History 11(2), pp. 70-80.

I am Degree Scheme Convenor for Geology. I currently teach Year 1 Earth Surface Processes, Year 2 Formation of the British Isles and Geological Field Trip to Arran, and NERC Doctoral Training Programme on planktonic foraminifer taxonomy, stratigrapjy and evolution at the Natural History Museum. I also supervise students and Masters and PhD level.

I am interested in extracting climatic information from deep sea cores and sediments. I specialize in evolutionary and geochemical studies of planktonic foraminifera, and what they tell us about the long history of climate change on Earth. I have helped develop new proxies for determining past seawater pH and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and hence the history of the greenhouse effect. My studies range from the Cretaceous period to Recent. I am currently lead investigator on a proposal to the International Continental Drilling Project to recover the Eocene succession in Tanzania which is well known for its exceptional microfossil preservation. I was author of a recent UN report on the impacts of ocean acidification on marine life and chapter co-author of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

The following externally funded research projects are currently underway:'Carbon Cycling Since the Middle Miocene', 'Adaptive Zones and Macroevolution', 'Super-warm early Eocene temperatures', and 'IODP Expedition 363 Western Pacific Warm Pool'.

Cenozoic climate change
Planktonic foraminifer taxonomy, stratigraphy and evolution

Past projects

Dr Laura Cotton - Large benthic foraminifera of Tanzania
Dr Amina Mweneinda - Aptian / Albian of Tanzania
Dr Tracy Aze - Macroevolution of Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera
Dr Heather Birch - Ocean recovery from the Cretaceous / Paleogene mass extinction
Dr Catherine Burgess - Middle Eocene climate of New Zealand
Dr Luke Handley (Bristol) - Paleogene Organic geochemistry and climate
Dr Tom Dunkley Jones (UCL) - Tanzania nanoplankton evolution
Dr Yunyan Ni (Bristol) - Boron isotopes in foraminifera
Dr Phil Sexton (Southampton) - foraminifer geochemistry and preservation
Dr Duncan Stewart (Bristol) - Evolution of globorotaliid foraminifera
Dr Stewart Knott (Bristol) - Extinction in the oceans
Dr Kate Harcourt-Brown (Bristol) - Phlogenetic tree balance and macroevolution
Dr Helen Coxall (Bristol) - Evolution of hantkeninid planktonic foraminifera

Professor Paul Pearson

Interests

2020

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2014