Ocean and Climate Systems
The Ocean and Climate Research Group (OCS RG) works on a variety of processes and timescales within the ocean-climate system.
The Ocean and Climate Systems Research Group (OCS RG) works on a variety of processes and timescales within the ocean-climate system.
Our research has focused on:
- use of long-lived marine shells to extend the instrumental ocean temperature record
- ice sheet stability and sea level rise
- the relationship between global temperature and atmospheric CO2
- impacts of sea level and coastal change
- ocean and coastal governance
- mechanisms of abrupt climate change
- ocean acidification
- global water cycle.
We also look to the future, using climate models to study impacts of climate change on weather extremes, water resources and coastal communities.
Funding
Lear, C.H. and Pearson, P. N. Super Warm Early Eocene Temperatures. NERCNE/P019102/1. October 2017-September 2022, £722,067
Pearson, P. N., Barker, S. and Wade, B. S. Ocean carbon cycling since the Miocene: testing the metabolic hypothesis. NERC standard grant NE/N001621/1. January 2016-January 2019, £747,000
Cuthbert, M. O. Groundwater recharge in global drylands: processes, quantification & sensitivities to environmental change. NERC NE/P017819/1. August 2017-July 2022, £717,000
Pearson, P. N. Expedition 363 West Pacific Warm Pool: planktonic foraminifer biostratigraphy and the evolution of Pulleniatina. NERC IODP Moratorium proposal. Submitted September 2016; already accepted for expedition, £43,720, including 2 months full time FEC plus 1 hour per week FEC
Pearson, P. N. Tanzania Onshore Paleogene Integrated Coring (TOPIC). Approved ICDP grant, $1,000,000
Pearson, P. N. and Saraswati, P. K. Developing records of Paleogene greenhouse climate states from geological sections in India. Royal Society India - UK Scientific Seminar Scheme. 2014, £5,000
Pike, J. IODP Exp. 362-Carbonate accumulation events in the Eocene Indian Ocean. NERC/UK IODP Moratorium Award. NE/P021182/1. February 2017-July 2017, £24,930
Pearson, P. N., Hudson, W., Nicholas, C. J., Thomas, E. and Wade, B. S. Tanzania Onshore Paleogene Integrated Coring. International Continental Scientific Drilling Project Workshop. 2014, $65,000, £43,000
Pearson, P. N., Foster, G. L., Bown, P., Gibbs, S., Pälike, H. and Sexton, P. Abrupt Ocean Acidification Events. NERC / DERFA / DECC grant NE/H017518/1. January 2011– December 2014, £690,000
Pearson, P. N., and Lear, C. Descent into the Icehouse. NERC Standard grant NE/I005870/1. May 2011– November 2014, £378,000 to Cardiff
Bailey, T. R., and Lear, C. Raising public awareness of Ocean Acidification via a pop-up museum. NERC. 2016-2017, £16,400
Lear, C. Pliocene Palaeoclimate off SE Africa. NERC UK IODP Moratorium Grant. 2016-2017, £70,694
Lear, C. A revised record of ice volume change through the Neogene and its impact on carbonate reservoirs offshore Kenya. NERC and BG Group. 2014-2018, £117,504
Lear, C. Paleoceanographic records from the NW Pacific. NERC UK IODP Moratorium Grant. 2014-2015, £44,397
Barker, S. Glacial terminations of the Plio-Pleistocene. IODP Exp 361 SAFARI Moratorium grant. UK NERC directed grant. NERC ref NE/P000878/1. 2016-2019, £48,887
Abbott, P., Barker, S. and Jaccard, S. SHARP “Southern Ocean and Antarctic Climatic Phasing: Tephrochronological Correlation of Southern Ocean Marine Records and Antarctic Ice-cores”. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship. 2016-2019, £213,718
Skov, M., Ballinger, R. C., Beaumont, N., Bouma, T., Fowler, M., Garbutt, A., Griffin, J. and Litt, E. RESILCOAST, Integrating ecosystem resilience into coastal planning for the persistence of natural flood protection and wetland ecosystem services. NRN-LCRE Project. 2014-2018, £568,000 (Cardiff £223,000)
Ballinger, R. C. Current understanding of saltmarsh habitat in the Severn Estuary and perceptions of managed realignment. NERC Marine Renewable Energy Knowledge Exchange Programme. 2015-2016, £12,379
Ballinger, R. C. Evaluation of terrestrial planning documents for the Wales National Marine Plan. 2015-2016, £12,000
Mossman, H., Dunk, R., Thomson, C., Haigh, I. Ballinger, R. C. and McKinley, E. M. Engagement with contemporary issues in coastal management. NERC Engagement Pilot. 2016-2017, £3,350
Ballinger, R. C. Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset, Wessex Water, Environment Agency and Sedgemoor District Council. 2015-2018, £99,507
McKinley, E. M., Taylor, L. and Ballinger, R. C. UK SEAS Project. WWF. 2017-2018, £12,484
Beaumont, N., Read, S., Day, B., Ballinger, R. C., Griffin, J., Skov, M., Henwood, K., Pidgeon, N. and Moller, I. CoastWEB: Valuing the contribution which Coastal habitats make to human health and Wellbeing, with a focus on the alleviation of natural hazards. Valuing Nature (Health and Wellbeing). SEP 15 NERC. 2016- 2019, £1,060,267 (£555,962 Cardiff)
Selected publications
- Anagnostou, E. et al., 2020. Changing atmospheric CO2 concentration was the primary driver of early Cenozoic climate. Nature 533 , pp.380-384. (10.1038/nature17423)
- Earlie, C. , Masselink, G. and Russell, P. 2018. The role of beach morphology on coastal cliff erosion under extreme waves. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 43 (6), pp.1213-1228. (10.1002/esp.4308)
- McKinley, E. , Ballinger, R. C. and Beaumont, N. J. 2018. Saltmarshes, ecosystem services, and an evolving policy landscape: a case study of Wales, UK. Marine Policy 91 , pp.1-10. (10.1016/j.marpol.2018.01.021)
- Detlef, H. et al. 2018. Sea ice dynamics across the Mid-Pleistocene transition in the Bering Sea. Nature Communications 9 941. (10.1038/s41467-018-02845-5)
- Cuthbert, M. O. et al. 2017. Modelling the role of groundwater hydro-refugia in East African hominin evolution and dispersal. Nature Communications 8 15696. (10.1038/ncomms15696)
- Swann, G. E. A. et al., 2017. Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Nature Communications 8 14645. (10.1038/ncomms14645)
- Reynolds, D. J. et al. 2016. Annually-resolved North Atlantic marine climate over the last millennium. Nature Communications 7 13502. (10.1038/ncomms13502)
- Lear, C. H. et al. 2016. Breathing more deeply: deep ocean carbon storage during the mid-Pleistocene climate transition. Geology 44 (12), pp.1035-1038. (10.1130/G38636.1)
- Barker, S. et al. 2015. Icebergs not the trigger for North Atlantic cold events. Nature 520 (7547), pp.333-336. (10.1038/nature14330)
Ocean carbon cycling since the middle Miocene
This project focuses on marine carbon cycling since the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum (MMCO) 15 million years ago.
Find out more about the 'ocean carbon cycling since the middle Miocene' project
Academic staff
Professor Ian Hall
Head of School, Earth and Ocean Sciences
Research Professor
- hall@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 5612 / +44 (0)29 2087 6689
Dr Mark Cuthbert
Principal Research Fellow and Lecturer
- cuthbertm2@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 4051
Postgraduate students
Associated staff
Dr Sandra Nederbragt
Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometer Specialist
- nederbragta@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 6665
Lindsey Owen
Palaeoclimate Research Lab Manager
- owenl5@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 6665 (6689 for lab)
Dr Michael Nairn
Senior Technician in Laser Ablation ICPMS Analysis
- nairnmg@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 20874 573
CELTIC facility
The Cardiff Environmental Laboratory for Trace Element and Isotope Chemistry hosts a Nu Plasma II MC-ICP-MS for radiogenic and stable isotope analyses. It is also equipped with a Thermo Scientific™ ELEMENT XR™ HR-ICP-MS. The Element XR is a double focusing mass analyser (magnetic sector and electrostatic sector), which benefits from high resolution, a large dynamic range and precise analysis at low concentrations (ppt-ppq).
The Facility also hosts an Excimer Laser Ablation System (ASI Resolution), which can be coupled to either mass spectrometer. The Facility has two class 1000 clean rooms dedicated for low blank processing of geological samples for isotope measurements.
Stable isotope facility
The facility is equipped with a Finnigan MAT 252 and 253 mass spectrometer attached to a Kiel carbonate device, and Delta V advantage mass-spectrometer coupled with a GasBench-II and Flash EFCt Elemental Analyser.
Find out more about the Stable Isotope facility
Electron microbeam facility
The Electron Microbeam facility in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences houses two Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and an X-ray Diffractometer. The SEM is used for characterisation, imaging and analysis of sub-micron features in materials. The X-ray Diffractometer is used for identifying and characterising minerals, either alone or in complex mixtures.
