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CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment, and Chronology



CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment, and Chronology:

The CHRONO Centre was established to facilitate interdisciplinary research in past climate and environmental change, the relationship between human society and the environment, and the modern environment.

The emphasis on past climate and environmental change research has been on developing records of rapid climate change and refining the use of past climate indicators, including global records from ancient pollen, insects and tree rings. Studies examining the relationship between human society and the environment include analysis of palaeodietary changes and the construction of fortifications, such as ringforts, in relation to changing economy, climate, and other factors. This research is underpinned by the development and refinement of chronological tools including accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C dating, tephrochronology, and dendrochronology.

The Centre is composed of staff from the school of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology and the Environmental Engineering Research Centre (EERC) within the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPACE).

Research on the modern environment aims to quantify natural climate variability and the potential effect of climate change on ecosystems, such as lakes, soils, and peatlands. An important applied component focuses on improved monitoring and remediation of soil and water in the UK and Ireland.

One of the principal chronological tools at the Centre is the C AMS facility with its capability of analysing several thousand samples per year. The emphasis is on developing small sample capabilities (<0.5 mg), which allow for targeted, high-resolution dating, and refining radiocarbon calibration data sets and methods.

The Centre also provides AIMS C and dendrochronological dates commercially. The development of a Holocene tephrochronology from the Greenland ice cores is underway.

Contact

Dr Paula J. Reimer

Centre Director

p.j.reimer@qub.ac.uk

http://chrono.qub.ac.uk