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Project title

Fingerprinting abrupt climate change in the West of Ireland: A high-resolution timeline of deglaciation and landscape evolution in West Mayo

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

Met �ireann

Lead Organisation

University of Galway

Lead Applicant

Not listed

Project Abstract

Climate change is the defining socioeconomic force of the 21st Century. An informed society is resilient; my research unites cutting-edge techniques to improve models predicting global warming. My project addresses: How do abrupt shifts in North Atlantic circulation (NAC) impact climate in Ireland and Europe? My project will refine understanding of climate dynamics and improve capacity to predict change. I will employ the glacial record covering the end of the last ice age (�Termination�: ~20,000�11,600 years ago), when NAC strength may have fluctuated rapidly. I will also examine the sedimentary record of Ireland�s lakes to establish environmental conditions during NAC events. My objective is to establish whether there is a relationship between changes in NAC and Irish climatic conditions. By assessing past climate change and identifying the causes of abrupt perturbations, we can better understand and project future changes. Oceanic fluctuations are traditionally linked to environmental disturbances in their regions. Ireland is uniquely vulnerable to NAC variability and represents the �front line� for adaptation policy. Yet, it remains debatable how abrupt NAC shifts translate to terrestrial conditions. To address this, I will reconstruct climate conditions at my site to test data reproducibility and assess conditions regionally. My approach requires three aspects of field/lab work: 1. Ireland hosts plentiful glacial landforms with which I will reconstruct past climatic/environmental conditions. I have surveyed sites and constructed maps of Termination-related glacial deposits. 2. Dating glacial deposits establishes how climatic/environmental conditions changed during NAC events. I am constraining the age of deposits via cutting-edge dating. 3. Sediment cores from post-glacial lakes/bogs provide long-term records of environmental conditions. I have extracted cores from key sites and am constructing chronologies via plant. I will then provide the first holistic, geologically constrained reconstruction of how NAC shifts impact terrestrial climate in Ireland, refining future models.

Grant Approved

�61,000.00

Research Hub

Climate Change

Research Theme

3. Climate Solutions, Transition Management and Opportunities

Start Date

01/09/2023

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/08/2025