SUERC becomes an Endometriosis Friendly Employer

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 14:22:00 GMT

The Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) has signed up to become an Endometriosis Friendly Employer.

Summer 2022 Newsletter

SUERC Summer 2022 Newsletter

 

This issue contains:

  • The Ecology and Conservation of Pangolins - Ruth Smith
  • SUERC Collaboration with University of Zambia - Douglas Morrison
  • Surface Exposure Dating using Luminescence with the Application of Luminescence Scanning Instruments - My Spring visit to SUERC - Tristan Bench
  • Technicians Commitment and Technicians Commitment conference - Eleanor McKay
Dr Douglas Morrison, SUERC, and Ms Kanekwa Zyambo, University of Zambia, on-site at SUERC, East Kilbride.

Research visit to advance diagnosis of condition common in Sub-Saharan Africa

Scottish scientists are teaming up with researchers from Zambia to find new ways to diagnose and treat a condition which affects millions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Thermo Scientific ARGUS VI noble gas mass spectrometer
Thermo Scientific ARGUS VI noble gas mass spectrometer

Super eruptions are millions of years in the making – followed by rapid surge, scientists find

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 17:00:00 BST

New research suggests that that super-eruptions occur when huge accumulations of magma deep in the Earth’s crust, formed over millions of years, move rapidly to the surface, disrupting pre-existing rock.

Dr Lorna A Carmichael 1962-2022
Dr Lorna A Carmichael 1962-2022

Dr Lorna A Carmichael 1962-2022

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 09:00:00 GMT

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of our dear colleague Lorna Carmichael. Lorna worked at SUERC for 32 years and over that time developed to become one of the best analysts in her field.

Image of two people on a boat on Lake Suigetsu, Japan
Image of two people on a boat on Lake Suigetsu, Japan

2022 International Research Conference on Suigetsu Varves

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 17:46:00 GMT

SUERC contributes to 2022 International Research Conference on Suigetsu Varves.

part of Omo Kibish rock formation, Ethiopia
part of Omo Kibish rock formation, Ethiopia

Earliest human remains in eastern Africa dated to more than 230,000 years ago

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 17:00:00 GMT

SUERC contributes to new study dating volcanic ash layers surrounding early human fossils.

NEIF COP26 Changing Planet Competition. Submit your videos from 01/09/2021 09:00 GMT #IfWeDontActNow #NEIFBOSCORFCOP26
NEIF COP26 Changing Planet Competition. Submit your videos from 01/09/2021 09:00 GMT #IfWeDontActNow #NEIFBOSCORFCOP26

What happens If We Don’t Act Now on climate change?

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 19:00:00 BST

Climate change researchers around the world are being encouraged to create videos addressing their environmental concerns and potential solutions ahead of the COP26 conference.

Autumn 2021 Newsletter

SUERC Autumn Newsletter

This issue contains:

  • Getting real about decarbonising heating: David Walls
  • Glass Ships in Bottles, the Link to Scientific Glassblowing: Robert McLeod
  • The Geo-Biosciences Advanced E-Learning Academy (GAEA): Millie Bompard
Dr. Annemarie Pickersgill of the University of Glasgow and co-author Prof. Simon Kelley with the Boltysh rock core discussing climate implications of a medium sized impact.
Dr. Annemarie Pickersgill of the University of Glasgow and co-author Prof. Simon Kelley with the Boltysh rock core discussing climate implications of a medium sized impact.

New research brings age of 65m-year-old meteorite impact into sharper focus

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 19:00:00 BST

State-of-the-art dating techniques place meteorite impact in Ukraine after extinction of the dinosaurs, with new insights on Earth's climate history.

a bottle of whisky purported to be Talisker distilled in 1863
a bottle of whisky purported to be Talisker distilled in 1863

Everledger seals agreement with UofG to combat counterfeit Scotch whiskies

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Everledger and the Scottish Universities Environment Research Centre (SUERC) of the University of Glasgow have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to join forces to tackle fraud within the whisky industry.

SELFRAG selective fragmentation equipment
SELFRAG selective fragmentation equipment

SELFRAG facility coming soon to SUERC

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 17:30:00 BST

Darren Mark and Dan Barfod have been awarded £300k by the Natural Environment Research Council for development of a SELFRAG facility at SUERC.

a selection of EARTHTIME standard solutions
a selection of EARTHTIME standard solutions

SUERC awarded the EARTHTIME 205Pb-233U-235U tracer solution

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 17:25:00 BST

Darren Mark, Anne Kelly and Vincent Gallagher application for the EARTHTIME 5-3-5 tracer solution successful. The tracer is expected to arrive at SUERC autumn 2020 and will allow for significant improvements in accuracy and precision for U-Pb ages owing to improved fractionation control during mass spectrometric measurement.

Ludlow Bone Bed
Ludlow Bone Bed

First SUERC high-precision U-Pb study published

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 17:20:00 BST

Darren Mark along with Vincent Gallagher and Anne Kelly have published the first high-precision zircon U-Pb age data collected at SUERC in our new geochronology suite. The CA-ID-TIMS measurements were made using our 205Pb-235U inhouse spike and provide age constraints for key fossil-bearing sequences within Wales.

Thomas Bayes - Bayes' Theorem
Thomas Bayes - Bayes' Theorem

SUERC Postgraduate Student, Jack Carter, has published his first paper from his PhD research.

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 17:15:00 BST

Jack along with Marissa Tremblay and Darren Mark present a Bayesian method for the analysis and interpretation of 40Ar/39Ar step-heating spectra that result from mixing of multiple components, where a component is defined by both its age and mineral composition. This is the first of three papers that Jack will publish in the next few months.

SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory Graphitisation Lab
SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory Graphitisation Lab

Behind the Paper: Carbon Isotopes Fight Rise in Fraudulent Scotch Whisky

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 15:00:00 GMT

The history behind the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory's recent work on detecting fake whisky.

National Environmental Isotope Facility logo
National Environmental Isotope Facility logo

NEIF Short Course in Geochronology

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 18:00:00 GMT

NEIF Scientists are hosting a short course in Geochronology at SUERC from the 20th to the 22nd of April, 2020. This course is open to PhD students, PDRAs and Early Career Scientists.

a bottle of whisky purported to be Talisker distilled in 1863
a bottle of whisky purported to be Talisker distilled in 1863

Carbon Isotopes Fight Rise in Fraudulent Scotch Whisky

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 18:00:00 GMT

SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory unveils bespoke whisky calibration curve to combat rise in counterfeit old and rare Scotch whiskies.

Athena SWAN Bronze Award logo
Athena SWAN Bronze Award logo

SUERC Awarded Athena SWAN Bronze Award in 2019

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 12:00:00 BST

SUERC is proud to announce that we have received an Athena SWAN Bronze Award in 2019.

ThermoFisher ARGUS-VI
ThermoFisher ARGUS-VI

Revisiting the isotope composition of neon in air

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 17:00:00 BST

In a new paper, Dr Domokos Györe et al. at SUERC has used a state-of-the-art ThermoFisher ARGUS-VI to quantify 20NeH+ abundance, determine what controls its formation in mass spectrometers and the extent that it affects Ne isotope measurements.

First example of long-term tool-use variation outside of the human lineage

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 12:00:00 BST

Study identifies changing tool-use in capuchin monkeys.

Dating volcanic eruptions from the ‘Age of Discovery’

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:15:00 GMT

A new study led by Katie Preece and Darren Mark has revealed that the British island of Ascension is an active volcano.

Major explosive eruption identified in the Scottish Palaeogene Igneous Province

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:00:00 GMT

An international group of scientists including SUERC’s Rob Ellam have published evidence of a major explosive eruption in the Inner Hebrides.

Ancient meteorite ‘black beauty’ reveals secrets of Mars topographical evolution

Thu, 24 May 2018 15:00:00 BST

By looking at an ancient Martian meteorite that landed in the Sahara Desert, SUERC and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have determined how and when the red planet’s crustal topographic and geophysical divide formed.

The Indus civilisation and the lost river

Wed, 29 Nov 2017 09:00:00 GMT

The mystery of how an early civilisation in north-west India and Pakistan thrived without a river source may have been solved.

Kleptopredation discovered in Sea Slugs

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 17:00:00 GMT

Researchers from University of Portsmouth, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples and NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility at SUERC discover previously undocumented feeding strategy.

SUERC researchers show the public what we do at Explorathon 2017 with GAIMS!

Fri, 13 Oct 2017 13:00:00 BST

Robert McLeod, SUERC scientific glassblower, hosts international guests at BSSG Symposium.

New research reveals extraordinary lifespan of Martian volcano

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 16:00:00 BST

Analysis of Martian meteorites has uncovered 90 million years’ worth of new information about one of the red planet’s volcanoes

SUERC researchers show the public what we do at Explorathon 2017 with GAIMS!

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 09:00:00 BST

Six SUERC researchers share their love of science with the greater Glasgow community at Explorathon 2017

High helium levels in UK coal gases will help to monitor unconventional gas extraction

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 09:00:00 BST

Potentially economic levels of helium have been discovered in gases extracted from UK coal seams by a team led by Prof. Fin Stuart, with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh.

Caterpillars key to urban blue tits' low breeding

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 09:00:00 BST

Study by researchers from the University of Glasgow and NERC’s Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility at SUERC reveals reasons for drastically low breeding success.

SUERC Director Honoured by Tianjin University

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 17:00:00 BST

SUERC Director, Rob Ellam, receives Honorary Professorship from Tianjin University

The mystery of the deep Earth deepens

Wed, 10 May 2017 07:00:00 BST

High precision Nd isotope measurements of proto-Iceland plume basalts from Baffin island require that enstatite chondrites were a major component of the accreting Earth.

Australian volcanic eruption may have lived on in Aboriginal stories

Mon, 01 May 2017 09:00:00 BST

New research shows that a volcano in northeastern Australia last erupted around 7000 years ago – and stories passed down by the Gugu Badhun Aboriginal people suggest they were there to see it happen.

SUERC Student Success at COGER 2017

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 12:00:00 BST

SUERC student, Kieran Tierney, was awarded ‘best presentation’ at the 36th Open Meeting of the UK’s Co-ordinating Group on Environmental Radioactivity (COGER) this April

Inversed Climate Trends in East Asia and Europe during the Younger Dryas Stadial – Evidence from Lake Suigetsu

Sun, 02 Apr 2017 15:22:00 BST

New evidence from Lake Suigetsu (Japan) shows evidence of a bi-partition of the Younger Dryas Stadial in East Asia and implies a climatic dipole between Europe and East Asia.

Marcus makes a Big Bang in Birmingham

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 17:00:00 GMT

SUERC placement student Marcus Boyd a runner-up in UK Young Scientist of the Year at the Big Bang Fair in Birmingham.

SUERC Summer Student Samples Serengeti Seasons

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 12:00:00 BST

Calderglen High pupil Marc Caffrey has been undertaking a summer project at SUERC to see if the Serengeti seasons affect grass in a way that may influence wildebeest migration.

Climate change in equatorial Africa: testing the 'megadrought' hypothesis

Wed, 08 Feb 2017 16:00:00 GMT

NERC-funded research project. Testing the ‘megadrought’ hypothesis and its implications for human evolution.

Deep Drilling Reveals Puzzling History of Campi Flegrei Caldera

Mon, 06 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT

Results show that caldera collapse attributed to a super eruption almost 40,000 years ago was smaller than what scientists expected. So what might have really happened?

KHRONOS stage II: Provenance tools and mass spec for Mars rovers

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 21:00:00 BST

UK Space Agency (UKSA) fund KHRONOS stage II: development of in situ provenance tools and mass spectrometer technologies for rover-based exploration of Mars

PAGES project: Pleistocene Archaeology, Geochronology and Environment of the Southern Caucasus

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 21:00:00 BST

Leverhulme fund 3 year project that links traditional archaeological approaches to understanding evolution with high-precision 40Ar/39Ar geochronology: PAGES (Pleistocene Archaeology, Geochronology and Environment of the Southern Caucasus)

Where do we come from?

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 21:00:00 BST

STFC (Science and Technologies Facilities Council) fund 3 year consortium project to look at the cycling of heat, water and organics throughout the solar system, from the solar nebula to planetary bodies

SUERC Student Success at COGER 2016

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 12:00:00 BST

SUERC student, Helen Kinch, was awarded ‘best poster presentation’ at the Thirty Fifth Open Meeting of the Co-ordinating Group on Environmental Radioactivity (COGER) this week.

Orkney: 'Beside the Ocean of Time'

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 12:00:00 BST

Researchers at the Falmouth University, University of Cambridge, Brunel University London, University College London and SUERC have been awarded a £64,000 research grant by the AHRC titled: Orkney: 'Beside the Ocean of Time'.

Sensations of Roman life: Reconstructing and experiencing a multi-sensory virtual reality environment

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 12:00:00 BST

Researchers at the University of Reading, Royal Holloway and SUERC have been awarded a £64,000 research grant by the AHRC titled: Sensations of Roman life: Reconstructing and experiencing a multi-sensory virtual reality environment.

There's gold in them thar hills

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 17:00:00 GMT

Gold mineralization in Northern Ireland was emplaced during the Grampian event of the Caledonian orogeny.

The origin of the Acheulean

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 12:00:00 GMT

New research led by SUERC and Instituto de Evolución en África presents a technological study and evidence of the use of these tools on the butchery and consumption of fauna, probably by early Homo erectus sensu lato (Nature Scientific Reports, December 2015).

When did the Andes become mountains?

Thu, 12 Nov 2015 14:00:00 GMT

New research from the University of Bristol and SUERC suggests that the Andes have been a mountain chain for much longer than previously thought.

The fate of disposed carbon dioxide

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 17:00:00 BST

The fate of injected and sequestered CO2 is the focus of the recently published study by Domokos Györe and co-authors (International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 42, November, 2015).

Locking away Arctic soil carbon

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:00:00 BST

The fate of carbon eroded from Arctic soils is the focus of recently published collaborative work with the SUERC-hosted NERC/BGS Radiocarbon Facility.

SUERC takes delivery of Thermo Scientific 253 Ultra

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 12:00:00 BST

SUERC has taken delivery of the first ever 2nd generation Thermo Scientific 253 Ultra isotope ratio mass spectrometer.

Martian rocks yield important clues about life on the Red Planet

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 00:00:00 BST

Dr Darren Mark (SUERC) & collaborators publish paper (Nature Communications, Tuesday 16th June) highlighting efforts to assess the possibility of life on Mars have taken a step forward thanks to the successful extraction and measurement of methane from Martian rocks.

Derek Hamilton elected as Fellow of Society of Antiquaries of London.

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 17:00:00 BST

Derek Hamilton elected as Fellow of Society of Antiquaries of London.

SUERC paper on Martian CO2 sequestration features as part of Nature Communications Earth Science Collection

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:00:00 BST

2013 Paper (Tomkinson et al., 2013) from STFC project ‘Follow the Water’ led by SUERC selected for 2015 Nature Communications Earth Science Collection.

SUERC/University of Glasgow research selected for Royal Society exhibition 2016

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:00:00 BST

Researchers from SUERC and the University of Glasgow will present their findings from a UKSA-funded PhD project at the Royal Society (London) Exhibition (5th July onwards).

SUERC-led paper in top five most downloaded Quaternary Geochronology articles of 2014

Tue, 24 Mar 2015 12:00:00 GMT

The SUERC-led paper presents the most accurate and highest precision age for the Young Toba Super Eruption and uses the tephra that was produced from the eruption to link climate archives from around the globe.

Scientists create food ingredient that will make you feel fuller

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 14:00:00 GMT

In a study just published in Gut, scientists have developed an ingredient that can be added to foods to make them more filling.

SUERC signs MoU with Fukushima University

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:00:00 BST

On Friday October 10th a delegation from SUERC visited Fukushima University to inspect the new Institute of Environmental Radioactivity based at the University. Fukushima University President, Professor Katsumi Nakai, and SUERC Director, Professor Rob Ellam, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the on-going collaboration between our two institutions.

Stone Age Site Challenges Old Archaeological Assumptions About Human Technology

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 09:00:00 BST

Local innovation rather than population expansion explains the appearance of new technologies in Eurasia more than 300,000 years ago.

Researchers find evidence that Greenland Ice Sheet persisted for nearly 3 million years through periods of global warming

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 09:00:00 BST

A team of international scientists has found organic soil frozen to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet for 2.7 million years. The discovery provides strong evidence that the ice sheet has persisted for much longer than previously thought, enduring many periods of past global warming.

Previous rapid thinning of Pine Island Glacier sheds light on future Antarctic ice loss.

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:00:00 GMT

New research, published this week in Science, suggests that the largest single contributor to global sea level rise, a glacier of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, may continue thinning for decades to come.

Former postdoctoral Isotope Apprentice awarded prestigious Wollaston Fund

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 14:00:00 GMT

Our former postdoctoral Isotope Apprentice - Dr. Craig Barrie - has been awarded the prestigious Wollaston Fund (2014) by the Geological Society of London.

SUERC 'pivotal' in raising aspiration levels of pupils at Calderglen High

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 14:00:00 BST

SUERC's active engagement with the local community results in an "excellent" HMI evaluation for Calderglen High.

LO-RISE Project: Fully Funded PDRA and PhD Studentships Available

Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:00:00 BST

An exciting opportunity exists to join the team of LO-RISE researchers, a UK-wide research consortium into Long-lived Radionuclides in the Surface Environment.

(Re)dating Danebury hillfort and later prehistoric settlements in the environs: a Bayesian approach

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:00 BST

Researchers at the Universities of Leicester and Oxford and the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory have been awarded a £243,000 grant by the Leverhulme Trust on: (Re)dating Danebury hillfort and later prehistoric settlements in the environs: a Bayesian approach

Landscape dynamics and Bannockburn 1314: scientific answers to historical problems

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:00 BST

Researchers at the Universities of Stirling and Aberdeen and the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory have been awarded a £118,000 grant by the Leverhulme Trust on: Landscape dynamics and Bannockburn 1314: scientific answers to historical problems.

SUERC student makes a Big Bang in London

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:00:00 GMT

SUERC student Joan Miller has just returned from presenting at the Big Bang Fair in London, taking part in the largest STEM celebration for young people in the UK.

SUERC Scientists help in the identification of the remains of Richard III

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Radiocarbon and AMS laboratories help establish age of skeletal remains.

Date of dinosaur extinction fixed more accurately than ever before

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:00:00 GMT

The demise of the dinosaurs is the world’s ultimate whodunit. Was it a comet or asteroid impact? Volcanic eruptions? Climate change?

SUERC helps sharpen focus on radiocarbon dating

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:00:00 BST

Scientists have used sediment from the bottom of a Japanese lake to calibrate more effectively the tools used to determine the age of ancient materials.

How Fast Can Glaciers Respond to Climate Change?

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:00:00 BST

Scientists report that prehistoric ice sheets reacted rapidly to a brief cold snap, providing a rare glimpse of glaciers' response to past climate change

'Heavy Metal, Sex and Granites' - critical role of granite in evolution of life on Earth revealed

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:00:00 BST

It’s one of the world’s toughest forms of rock. Now scientists have discovered that granite played an important role in events which eventually led to human life on Earth.

SUERC Scientist sheds new light on size and frequency of Yellowstone super-eruptions

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:00:00 BST

A volcanic super-eruption in America’s Yellowstone National Park two million years ago was actually two smaller eruptions 6,000 years apart, new research has revealed.

SUERC Researchers Probe Martian Meteorite

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:00:00 BST

A team of SUERC researchers led by Dr Fin Stuart are to analyse a 0.2g fragment of the Tissint Meteorite named after the area of Morocco where it fell last year.