

The Quaternary has been characterised by alternations between warm (interglacial) and cold (glacial) climate. Interglacial periods, particularly the temperature and sea level, influence human occupation and dispersal. Polar ice core and deep-sea sediment records only give a general picture of temperature variations for specific localities on land, owing to latitudinal temperature gradients and land-sea contrasts. Previous estimates of warm stage temperatures from terrestrial sites in Britain and NW Europe have been derived mainly from plant and animal remains preserved in sediments using the modern ecological preferences of different species. However, such temperatures reconstructions often have wide ranges and large uncertainties. Moreover, seasonal temperatures, which may play an especially important role in human movement, are difficult to reconstruct using palaeoecological techniques. This project aims to reconstruct middle Pleistocene interglacial temperatures for British sites (with a focus on MIS 7, 9, 11) using the geochemistry of calcite shells. The project will use paleotemperature approaches including oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca as well as exploring the potential for novel clumped isotope temperature reconstructions. Palaeotemperature reconstructions will be used alongside published information about potential factors controlling human occupation of Britain.
The student will receive training in:
- Operation of instruments for the analysis of geochemical composition of calcites (one-to-one instruction by the supervisory team and laboratory technical staff)
- Identification of biological proxies (one-to-one instruction by the supervisory team)
- Interpretation of palaeotemperature, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological records (one-to-one instruction by the supervisory team; via external archaeology partners)
The potential career pathway post-PhD will be in academia as a postdoc within paleoclimate and archaeology or as technical staff in geochemistry facilities. Outside of academia, the PhD graduate would be well equipped for a role at a geoarchaeology consultancy or industrial laboratories.