Biography
My central research objective is to assess past changes in large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate dynamics during past warm climates to improve our understanding of future climate change. Specifically, I focus on the response of the North Atlantic Ocean and its role in controlling, propagating, and amplifying gradual climate forcings into abrupt climate change. I'm particularly interested in determining exactly how changes in atmospheric circulation patterns control the strength (temperature, salinity) of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) on multidecadal to millennial timescales during the Quaternary.
To address these objectives my research agenda concentrates on two avenues: (1) Refining state of the arte techniques in palaeoceanography to provide more reliable reconstructions of the extent and magnitude of past changes in climate, and (2) Applying a multiproxy approach to past climate reconstructions, including isotope and trace metal geochemistry, foraminiferal assemblage counts, and sedimentological analysis of marine sediments.
Role
- Funded Investigator
Institution
- NUIG
Research Area
- Earth System Change
Expertise
- Environmental Geoscience, Geomarine Environment
