Biography
Lucy Blennerhassett is a PhD student in Environmental Geochemistry. Lucy graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree (First Class Hons) in Earth Science from Trinity College Dublin in 2017 and is now based in Trinity through iCRAG, under the supervision of Dr. Emma Tomlinson.
The impacts of climate change and global warming on the Earth system are hugely diverse. My research focuses on the effect that climatic warming and deglaciation may have on the frequency of volcanic eruptions, with particular reference to Iceland. I am also interested in further understanding the relationship between volcanic aerosols and the climate system. My research will comprise mostly of using innovative approaches in analysing peat bogs as atmospheric records to reconstruct a comprehensive history of past volcanism and environmental change, so we can better predict possible outcomes for our future on a warming planet.
The core of this research will be focused mostly on using Icelandic tephra horizons found in peat cores across Ireland, the UK and Faroe Islands to better understand the volcanism-climate relationship. A combination of tephra picking, a new Electro-Thermal Vaporisation (ETV) approach for identifying altered basaltic tephra horizons and aerosols, coupled with published tephra records; will allow for a detailed reconstruction of past volcanism for the Holocene. The focus is on the last 7000 years BP (under current climatic conditions) and between 7000-10000 years BP (under conditions of increased warming and extensive deglaciation), helping us to better understand the cause and effect relationship between volcanic activity and climate change. Analytical methods involve major element analysis of tephra by SED-EDX and LA-ICP-MS; bulk peat analysis by ETV-ICP-OES and radiocarbon dating along with tephrochronology practices. A central research goal is also to better constrain the basaltic tephra record from Iceland, which is poorly represented in the tephra archives at present.
Role
- Postgraduate Researcher
Institution
- TCD
Research Area
- Earth System Change
Expertise
- Environmental Geoscience
