Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment, University of Aberdeen

ABSTRACT

Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Aberdeen can be traced back to pollen-analytical (palynological) and geomorphological collaborations in the early 1970s. The research has generally been nested within Quaternary science and it features strong interdisciplinary links with archaeology, chronostratigraphy, climate change and ecology more generally. The pollen-based emphasis has been augmented by multi-proxy approaches including plant macro- and microfossils, geochemistry and pedology. There has always been techniques- and methodologically-orientated output and the chronological focus has spanned especially the period from the Lateglacial through to the present. With an emphasis upon research since the year 2000, the account is structured around such themes as environmental change in Scotland and the rest of the British Isles, human-environment interactions in the North Atlantic region, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, atmospheric pollution and metals in prehistory, and carbon sequestration and chronologies. A final section looks briefly and selectively at future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Palaeoecology
• palynology
• human-environment
• pollution
• climate change
• chronology

Acknowledgements

It is not feasible here to thank all the research colleagues and students who have contributed to the development of palaeoecology at Aberdeen, but the names of many appear in this paper. Our thanks also extend to supportive technical, cartographic and administrative colleagues of whom Jill Barber, Audrey Innes, Jamie Bowie and Jenny Johnston are current and long-lasting representatives. We are grateful to the faith shown by many funding bodies whose support has facilitated much of the research reported here, especially the Leverhulme Trust and the Natural Environment Research Council.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

ORCID

Kevin J. Edwards http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7205-066X