Research
I investigate Quaternary environmental change using loess–palaeosol sequences and complementary archives to resolve the timing, sources and processes of sedimentation and dust fluxes. My work integrates robust geochronology and multi-proxy geochemistry with field-based stratigraphy to address questions of landscape evolution, atmospheric circulation, and human–environment interactions over millennial to orbital timescales. Understanding past environmental dynamics also helps predict future drivers of landscape activation and dust emissions under progressively drier climates—a critical factor in assessing the impacts of modern climate change and ongoing aridification.
I actively collaborate with geomorphologists, geochemists, archaeologists, and climate modellers linking sedimentary records research with palaeoclimate modelling, archaeology, and environmental change. I welcome enquiries from colleagues seeking: field partnerships, co-supervision of postgraduate students, method-development collaborations, and grant proposals. For collaboration or data/ sample-sharing requests, please use the email above — brief project outlines are helpful.
Postgraduate Researcher - Niall Auckland
Bio:
I hold a BSc (Hons) from the University of Liverpool in Geography and a MSc from the University of Manchester in Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Reconstruction and where I received the Faculty of Humanities PGT Dean’s Award for Achievement.
Project:
My PhD project, TIMELOESS: Temporal Investigation of Moisture and Environmental change in the Tagus Basin using loess sequences, is supervised by Dr Kaja Fenn, Dr John Boyle and Dr Theodoros Karampaglidis and funded by an ACCE+ DLA.
My research investigates understudied loess-paleosol sequences in the Tagus River Basin in Central Iberia to develop a continuous record of changes in hydroclimatic variability over the last interglacial cycle. Through stratigraphic, sedimentological, geomorphic, and geochemical analysis I will reconstruct past humidity and wind conditions and utilise luminescence dating to provide chronological controls to link the reconstructed hydroclimate to wider external forcing.
Email - N.Auckland@liverpool.ac.uk
Loess Archives: Dust Deposition, Transport, Environmental Change and Humans
Loess–palaeosol sequences are exceptional terrestrial archives of past dust activity, landscape stability and environmental variability. My research uses multi-proxy datasets underpinned by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to test hypotheses of stratigraphic continuity, regional synchronicity and climate–loess coupling. I focus on linking local depositional histories to regional palaeoclimatic drivers to better quantify when and why landscapes became active sources of dust. This work constrains both the timing and magnitude of environmental shifts that matter for interpreting long-term climate dynamics.
Combining stratigraphic, chronological, and geochemical evidence allows for detailed reconstruction of dust fluxes and their environmental context. These insights improve our understanding of atmospheric circulation patterns, sediment production, and landscape evolution — essential for interpreting both past climate dynamics and modern environmental challenges related to dust emissions and air quality.
I am expanding my research into human–environment interactions, providing high-resolution environmental context for archaeological investigations. By applying stratigraphy, geochronology and provenance geochemistry to archaeological landscapes. This work aims to constrain environmental conditions during human occupations, assess how landscape dynamics influenced site formation, and integrate environmental records with archaeological chronologies to reconstruct human–landscape interactions over time. Current and forthcoming projects focus on archaeological landscapes in Africa, the Caucasus, and northwest Europe, linking sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental data to broader questions of human history and environmental change.
Sediment provenance (geochemistry & single-grain approaches)
Determining sediment source is central to reconstructing past landscapes and transport pathways. I apply bulk geochemistry, single-grain detrital U–Pb zircon–Hf fingerprinting to trace proto-sources and transport histories of loess and related sediments. These methods allow us to separate immediate geomorphological sources from distal geological contributors and to test hypotheses about sediment production, routing and catchment evolution. Recent work emphasises integrating elemental/isotopic fingerprints with stratigraphy and geochronology to provide temporally constrained provenance models that are comparable across regional networks
Research collaborations
Rachel Smedley
Luminescence dating of Quaternary sediments
Ian Millar
British Geological Survey
Geochemistry and provenance
Jacek Skurzyński
Wrocław University
Geochemistry of European loess
Daniel Veres
Romanian Academy Institute of Speleology
Loess of the Lower Danube