Lauren Mansell

Lauren Mansell

Postgraduate

Email: lmansell01@qub.ac.uk

Address

Archaeology and Palaeoecology
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology (GAP)
Queen’s University Belfast
Belfast, BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland, UK

Telephone

+44 (0)28 9097 5287

Current Research: Environmental Change

Floodplain-mire Interactions and Palaeoecology: Implications for Wetland Ontogeny and Holocene climate change.

The usefulness of examining both mire and floodplain deposits to reconstruct environmental and climatic change in the past has been well documented and is largely due to the fact that these systems are controlled by strict thresholds. In other words, increased (e.g.) deforestation or precipitation will cause them to breach their thresholds, resulting in events such as flooding. Given the sensitivity of these two ecosystems to climatic and environmental change it is perhaps surprising to learn that they have been infrequently investigated within the same landscape setting as part of a multi-ecosystem research project.

The main aim of my PhD research is to examine the association between floodplain wetland development and the origins and development of raise mire (peat bog) in the same geographical region (my study area is located in the Humberhead Levels, South Yorkshire). Consequently, I aim to examine whether perceived climate and environmental changes register equally within the different ecosystem complexes and to what extent (if any) are environmental changes attributable to climate and/or sea level fluctuations on the one hand and human activity on the other. The main outcome of my research will be to contribute to our understanding of Holocene (past 10,000 years) environmental and climatic change through investigating the responses of mire and fluvial systems to changes in their wider landscape (e.g. sea level change, increased precipitation and human influences such as deforestation).

Additional Information:

I completed my undergraduate degree (BSc) in Archaeology-Palaeoecology in 2005 at Queen’s University. Between 2005 and 2006 I worked as an archaeologist with the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork (CAF), based at Queen’s University. In 2007 I completed a masters degree (MSc) in Quaternary Science, which was undertaken between Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) and University College London (UCL).