I began my isotope apprenticeship with NERC Isotopes GeosciencesLaboratory
(part of the British Geological Survey) in September
2011, following completion of my PhD thesis at Loughborough University.
The post provided training in several aspects of
stable isotope geoscience. I started out on sample preparation for organics and
bulk carbonate isotope analysis. After several weeks of sample preparation I
was trained on the carbonate line for extracting the isotopes and mass
spectrometer for the actual analysis. The carbonate line provided essential
training on manual analysis before I moved on to more automated advanced mass
spectrometry. I gained experience in both organic and inorganic analysis, data
that is heavily used in palaeoclimate/ palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.
The NIGL isotope apprenticeship was a fantastic,
enjoyable experience and I would certainly recommend this position to any early
career researcher with an interest in isotopes in environmental science and
wishing to pursue a career either within academia, or in any environmental
science laboratory. The job is excellent for career development, particularly
for honing old, and learning new laboratory and research skills. I personally
feel that I have greatly expanded my knowledge of stable isotope application in
environmental change and have gained invaluable experience working as part of a
highly skilled team in a professional laboratory (and friendly group) that processes
thousands of samples yearly. Special thanks to the Stable Isotope Group within
NIGL, especially Chris, Hilary, and Carol for the patient hours invested in
training and helping me throughout. Finally, the British Geological Survey at
Keyworth must be acknowledged. It’s world class facilities, excellent research
reputation, welcoming atmosphere and numerous employee benefits (e.g. on-site
gym, social club, canteen etc.) make it an extremely impressive institute and
attractive workplace for future geologists.
I now have started a three year post doctoral
position at LoughboroughUniversity working on a
Leverhulme funded project titled “Stories of subsistence: People and coast over
the last 6,000 years in Denmark”. This project examines links between environmental
change in coastal Denmark with changes in human diet within the Neolithic time
period. I will be primarily involved in reconstructing past environmental change
using a multiproxy approach (diatoms, foraminifera, sediments, isotopes) from
sedimentary archives collected from Danish estuaries.
Dr Jonathan Lewis (J.P.Lewis@lboro.ac.uk; @lewis_jp)
Here
are my outputs during my time at the British Geological Survey:
Leng, M.J., and Lewis,
J.L. (submitted) Carbon Isotopes and C/N ratios in Esturies. DPER book
series, in review.
Lewis,
J.P.,
Ryves, D.B., Rasmussen, P., Knudsen, K.L., Petersen, K.S., Olsen, J., Leng,
M.J., Kristensen, P., McGowan, S. and Phillipsen, B. (submitted) Environmental
change in the Limfjord, Denmark (ca.5,500 BC – AD 500): a multiproxy study.
Submitted to Quaternary Science Reviews.
Philippsen, B., Olsen, J., Lewis, J.P., Rasmussen, P., Ryves, D.B., Knudsen, K.L. (in press).
Mid- to late-Holocene reservoir age variability and isotope-based
palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Limfjord, Denmark. The Holocene.
Lewis, J.P., Rasmussen, P., Ryves, D.B.,
(submitted). Land and sea at Norsminde Fjord and human-environment interactions
between ca. 7,000-2,000 BC: a synthesis. To be published in ‘The Norsminde shell midden,
the landscape and the fjord. An interdisciplinary study of a Stone Age
environment, 7000-2000 BC’ (S. Andersen, ed.).
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