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Stepping from Science into Policy – Dorothea Moser on interning with the Government Office for Science

Dorothea is a fourth-year PhD student and polar ice core scientist based jointly between Cambridge’s Department of Earth Science and the British Antarctic Survey, where she investigates the characteristics of melt layers in ice cores and their potential for paleoclimate reconstruction. In Autumn 2023, Dorothea spent three months on an internship with the Government Office for Science. In this blog post, she talks about her experience.

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The deep ocean is closer than you think: scientific research and life at sea

Nick Reynard is a postdoc in the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge, working with Ali Mashayek’s research group at the Department of Earth Sciences. Here, Nick recounts his experience of boarding a five-week scientific cruise in search of the deep Antarctic waters that rise in the Madagascar Basin.

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Reporting on the inaugural environmental geochemistry field trip to Provence

The Department recently launched its new Part II environmental geochemistry field projects as an alternative to the successful and long-standing mapping projects.

According to Ed Tipper, co-director of undergraduate teaching, “The decision reflects the diverse research areas of our teaching staff, combined with a growing student interest in pressing environmental issues. This year, 13 students enrolled in the new type of project, making it viable to develop a new field trip to train students ready for this environmental pathway.”

The following blog post is written by Tom Marquand, PhD student in the Department and demonstrator on the inaugural environmental geochemistry field trip to Provence, France.

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Supporting our Department’s Queer community

First days at a new school can be intimidating, and my first day coming to Cambridge’s Earth Sciences Department to begin my MPhil degree in Michaelmas term 2019 was especially so.

I had just moved overseas from America to a country I had never even visited before, and I didn’t know a single person. When I stepped inside, there was something that put me at ease: the proliferation of pride flag stickers all around the department. Immediately, I felt that this was a place where I would be accepted, and as I settled in and met more people over the next few weeks and months, I was quickly proven right.

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An update on WACSWAIN: WArm Climate Stability of the West Antarctic during the last INterglacial

This joint project between the Department of Earth Sciences and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) aims to constrain estimates of if, how and when the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) retreated during the Last Interglacial (LIG), 130 to 115 thousand years ago.

Evidence suggests that sea level during the LIG peaked at between 6 and 9 metres higher than present, a range which necessitates at least some contribution from Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat, the WAIS being the most likely candidate. Antarctic temperatures during this time period were in line with projections for the year 2100. These figures warn of the potential for significant future sea level rise resulting from anthropogenic climate change.

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