Dr. Liz Thomas - Profile
Contact Dr. Liz Thomas
+44 (0)1223 221658
Biography
My research is focused on climate variability in the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica over the past 100-2000 years.
I am currently principle investigator on a NERC research grant “Reconstructing wind strength and atmospheric circulation in West Antarctica over the past 300 years”. We are developing a novel proxy for past wind conditions based on diatoms preserved in ice cores and combining this with known proxies for long-range atmospheric circulation.
I have been fortunate to take part in three field campaigns in the Antarctic; the first as part of an international ice core drilling team that reached bedrock (~1000 m) at Berkner Island (79°S,45°W) 2004/05 and leading two ice core drilling projects to the Antarctic Peninsula (73°S, 70°W) in 2006/07 and Ellsworth Land, West Antarctica 2010/11. I joined the NEEM drilling project in North East Greenland in 2010 and have undertaken drilling projects in Svalbard.
Education:
PhD: High-resolution analysis of rapid climate change from Greenland ice cores
British Antarctic Survey and Open University (2004-2006)
Combined Honours: Chemistry with Oceanography
University of Southampton (1998-2001)
Employment:
2009- present Palaeoclimatologist (Chemistry and Past Climate)
British Antarctic Survey
Part of the ice core group investigating Antarctic climate variability over the past 2000 years from ice cores.
2006 -2009 Palaeoclimatologist (Climate)
British Antarctic Survey
Part of the meteorology group investigating circulation changes on the Antarctic Peninsula.
2003 –2006 Ice core analyst/ chromatographer
British Antarctic Survey
RAPID climate change programme Investigating Holocene and Glacial abrupt climate change from the Greenland ice cores.
