The field of Paleoceanography is a subject which combines oceanography, geology, and climate science disciplines in order to reconstruct the oceans of Earth’s past. By coring into ice and deep-sea mud deposits which have built up over thousands of years, paleoceanographers investigate the past by measuring chemical and biological signals through time. In this talk, we will explore how natural climate cycles of the past 2 million years compare to the ongoing changes in climate due to human activity. We will define natural climate variability and in particular look at how changes in ocean circulation, marine plant life, and deep ocean chemistry can interact with and respond to changes in climate.

Speaker: Dr Aidan Starr, Rutgers University

Short bio: After receiving a Masters degree in Oceanography from the University of Southampton (UK), I obtained a PhD from Cardiff University (UK) in ocean-climate interactions in the Indian Ocean during the Pleistocene epoch. I now work as a Research Associate in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, New Jersey. Over recent years I have participating in several ocean expeditions to the Indian and Southern Oceans and have published numerous peer-reviewed articles on a range of topics from African paleoclimate to Antarctic icebergs. My research has been featured in The Guardian, BBC News, the Daily Mail, The Independent and more.

Recommended reading for an introduction to Paleoceanography and natural climate cycles:

• “The Two-Mile Time Machine” by Richard B. Alley (Princeton University Press)
• “The Oceans: A Deep History” by Eelco J. Rohling (Princeton University Press)
• “Paleoclimates: Understanding Climate Change Past and Present” by Thomas M. Cronin (Columbia University Press)
• https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/paleoclimatology/education-and-outreach