Quaternary Environments and Geoarchaeology (QEG)
Description
Quaternary Environments and Geoarchaeology (QEG) is an international group that explores the connection between Quaternary climate changes and landscape dynamics in various global systems.
Their expertise lies in studying interactions between humans and the environment, as well as past climate dynamics, across the Earth's five spheres: cryosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. They have state-of-the-art laboratory facilities to support their research endeavours. These facilities enable them to develop innovative methodologies in Quaternary science, including pollen geochemistry and portable luminescence techniques. QEG's research is globally recognised and benefits from productive partnerships with international and national collaborators, as well as access to analytical facilities.
Research Areas include:
- Dryland Systems: QEG investigates hydroclimatic and environmental changes in dryland regions throughout the Quaternary, focusing primarily on Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Their research examines surface landforms and landscapes in drylands, as well as the hydrogeological records beneath them.
Themes:
- Geomorphological and hydrological changes in the Quaternary history of the River Nile basin.
- Dynamics of Quaternary landscapes in the Namib Sand Sea and the Kalahari, Southern Africa.
- Portable luminescence reader for rapid age assessment of dryland landscape dynamics.
- The unsaturated zone as an innovative archive for Quaternary environmental change.
- Reconstruction of palaeohydrology and palaeoenvironmental change using terrestrial carbonates.
- Ecosystems: QEG investigates how ecosystems in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and North-West Europe responded to Quaternary climate change. Their research aims to understand both natural and anthropogenic drivers of past environmental changes. They analyse fossil pollen, diatoms, chironomids, and other proxies in peat, lake, and marine cores to study ecosystem transformations.
Themes:
- Environmental history of the Marrakesh High Atlas.
- Geochemical signatures of environmental change in pollen from Atlas cedar.
- Palaeoecology and human-environment relations during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition.
- Palaeoenvironmental change in open peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon.
- Palaeoenvironmental changes in the Middle Atlas, Morocco.
- Rapid vegetation and climate changes during the last glacial period in the Iberian Peninsula.
- Geoarchaeology: QEG employs palaeoenvironmental proxies and geochronology to investigate and reconstruct past physical landscapes inhabited by hominin populations. These reconstructions inform archaeological theories about hominin migration, dispersal, activities, and the impact of humans on the landscape. The group collaborates closely with the Manchester Centre for Archaeology and Egyptology (MCAE).
Themes:
- Environmental impact of Late Mesolithic (hunter-gatherer) cultures.
- Human activity and environmental change in the Nile Valley of Northern Sudan.
- Palaeolithic landscapes near Mokopane, Limpopo Province, South Africa.
- Palaeolithic landscapes of Wadi Dabsa, Saudi Arabia.
- Transition from Mesolithic hunter-gathering to Neolithic farming in North-West Europe.
- Glacial Systems: QEG focuses on reconstructing past glacial systems, ranging from alpine glaciers to continental ice sheets. Their research provides a long-term perspective on changes in glacial processes, both in the past and present. They utilise glacial landform and sediment records, glacier and climate models, as well as chronological tools like radiocarbon dating, cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating, and luminescence dating.
Themes:
- Cosmogenic nuclide dating of outwash sediments in Patagonia.
- Palaeoglaciology of the Eurasian ice sheets.
- Global glacier dynamics during 100,000-year Pleistocene glacial cycles.
- Retreat of the Western Cordilleran Ice Sheet Margin during the Last Deglaciation.
- Timing of glacial retreat in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland.
- River Systems: QEG conducts diverse research related to rivers, spanning the present, recent historical past, and the Quaternary timescale.
- River systems: they undertake a diverse range of research activities related to rivers spanning the present, recent historical past and Quaternary timescale.
Themes:
- Micro- and macro-plastics pollution in industrial rivers.
- Influence of river behaviour on landscape change in the Quaternary, with a focus on the Mediterranean region.
Offers funding
No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.
Contact details
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom
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University affiliation(s)
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
Last modified:
2023-09-20 15:00:20