Michael Frogley

Last updated

Michael Frogley is a Quaternary palaeoecologist whose research interests currently include:

Contents

  1. the use of stable isotope geochemistry to help determine the climatic histories of lake basins;
  2. the analysis of changes in Quaternary palaeobiogeographical patterns of selected invertebrate faunal groups, particularly around the Mediterranean; and
  3. the relationship between rapid-scale climatic change and societal collapse in the Andean highlands of Peru.

He is a member of the ISOMED working group, involved in the analysis and synthesis of Mediterranean isotopic climatic records; he is also a founding member of the ECCUZ working group, concerned with examining the links between Late Holocene environmental and cultural change in the Cuzco region of Peru. In conjunction with Alex Chepstow-Lusy and Brian Bauer, Michael Frogley unveiled "a new approach" to the problem of detailing Incan history by using the evidence deposited by Oribatid mites. [1] [2]

Background

Frogley graduated from Kingston University in 1993 with a BSc (Hons) in Geology. His doctoral research at the University of Cambridge (1993–97), was primarily concerned with the multi-proxy analysis of a sedimentary sequence from the Ioannina Lake basin in NW Greece.

On gaining a Research Fellowship in Earth Sciences at St John's College, Cambridge (1996-2000), his post-doctoral work continued these investigations, focusing on the character of climatic variability in the Eastern Mediterranean during the last interglacial period.

He joined the University of Sussex in October 2000 as a Lecturer in Physical Geography and became Senior Lecturer in October 2005. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Younger Dryas, which occurred circa 12,900 to 11,700 years BP, was a return to glacial conditions which temporarily reversed the gradual climatic warming after the Last Glacial Maximum, which lasted from circa 27,000 to 20,000 years BP. The Younger Dryas was the last stage of the Pleistocene epoch that spanned from 2,580,000 to 11,700 years BP and it preceded the current, warmer Holocene epoch. The Younger Dryas was the most severe and longest lasting of several interruptions to the warming of the Earth's climate, and it was preceded by the Late Glacial Interstadial, an interval of relative warmth that lasted from 14,670 to 12,900 BP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Titicaca</span> Large freshwater lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia

Lake Titicaca is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By both the volume of water and surface area, Titicaca is the largest lake in South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isotope analysis</span> Analytical technique used to study isotopes

Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, abundance of certain stable isotopes of chemical elements within organic and inorganic compounds. Isotopic analysis can be used to understand the flow of energy through a food web, to reconstruct past environmental and climatic conditions, to investigate human and animal diets, for food authentification, and a variety of other physical, geological, palaeontological and chemical processes. Stable isotope ratios are measured using mass spectrometry, which separates the different isotopes of an element on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Glacial Maximum</span> Most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Europe, and Asia and profoundly affected Earth's climate by causing a major expansion of deserts, along with a large drop in sea levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isla del Sol</span> Island in the southern part of Lake Titicaca

Isla del Sol is an island in the southern part of Lake Titicaca. It is part of Bolivia, and specifically part of the La Paz Department. Geographically, the terrain is harsh; it is a rocky, hilly island with many eucalyptus trees. There are no motor vehicles or paved roads on the island. The main economic activity of the approximately 800 families on the island is farming, with fishing and tourism augmenting the subsistence economy. Of the several villages, Yumani and Challapampa are the largest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleolimnology</span> Scientific study of ancient lakes and streams

Paleolimnology is a scientific sub-discipline closely related to both limnology and paleoecology. Paleolimnological studies focus on reconstructing the past environments of inland waters using the geologic record, especially with regard to events such as climatic change, eutrophication, acidification, and internal ontogenic processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4.2-kiloyear event</span> Severe climatic event starting around 2200 BC

The 4.2-kiloyear BP aridification event, also known as the 4.2 ka event, was one of the most severe climatic events of the Holocene epoch. It defines the beginning of the current Meghalayan age in the Holocene epoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos Frumkin</span> Israeli geologist and speleologist

Amos Frumkin is an Israeli geologist and speleologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Warm Period</span> Warm weather period, 250 BC to AD 400

The Roman Warm Period, or Roman Climatic Optimum, was a period of unusually-warm weather in Europe and the North Atlantic that ran from approximately 250 BC to AD 400. Theophrastus wrote that date trees could grow in Greece if they were planted but that they could not set fruit there. That is still the case today, which implies that South Aegean mean summer temperatures in the 4th and the 5th centuries BC were within a degree of modern ones. That and other literary fragments from the time confirm that the Greek climate was basically the same then as around 2000. Tree rings from the Italian Peninsula in the late 3rd century BC indicate a time of mild conditions there around the time of Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with imported elephants in 218 BC.

Alfred Thomas Grove, known more commonly as Dick Grove, was a British geographer and climatologist. He was Emeritus Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge and a Director of the Centre of African Studies at the University of Cambridge. Grove researched Environmental Issues and Policy and the landscape change in southern Europe and Climate change and desertification with a focus on Africa and southern Europe. He was awarded the Busk Medal in 1982 for his field work in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Nar</span> Volcanic crater lake in Niğde Province

Lake Nar is a brackish lake situated on the borderline between Aksaray Province and Niğde Province of central Turkey. It is around 21 metres deep and 0.7 square kilometres in area. The lake basin formed as a result of volcanic activity; specifically it is classed as a maar lake. There is still geothermal activity in the area, which has given rise to hot springs around the lake. In recent years, the geothermal waters have been pumped up to nearby hotels for use in their hot baths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Tauca</span> Former lake, Pleisto- Holocene glacial lake, 72,600–7200 BP in Andes, South America

Lake Tauca is a former lake in the Altiplano of Bolivia. It is also known as Lake Pocoyu for its constituent lakes: Lake Poopó, Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni. The lake covered large parts of the southern Altiplano between the Eastern Cordillera and the Western Cordillera, covering an estimated 48,000 to 80,000 square kilometres of the basins of present-day Lake Poopó and the Salars of Uyuni, Coipasa and adjacent basins. Water levels varied, possibly reaching 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) in altitude. The lake was saline. The lake received water from Lake Titicaca, but whether this contributed most of Tauca's water or only a small amount is controversial; the quantity was sufficient to influence the local climate and depress the underlying terrain with its weight. Diatoms, plants and animals developed in the lake, sometimes forming reef knolls.

Inca Huasi was a paleolake in the Andes. It was named by a research team in 2006.

Ouki was an ancient lake in the Bolivian Altiplano. Its existence was postulated in 2006 by a group of scientists who had subdivided the Lake Minchin lake cycle into several lake phases. The Lake Minchin cycle had been previously identified in 1904 as a now disappeared lake in the central Altiplano. Sediments attributed to Lake Minchin may rather be part of Ouki. The dating is uncertain, with radiocarbon and uranium-thorium dating yielding different dates spanning the time between 28,200 and 125,990 ± 9,580 years ago.

Sajsi is the name of an ancient lake in the Andes

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rengaswamy Ramesh</span> Indian climatologist (1956–2018)

Rengaswamy Ramesh (1956–2018) was an Indian climatologist, oceanographer, a former Prof. Satish Dhawan Professor at the Physical Research Laboratory and a senior professor at the National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar. He was known for paleo-climatic and paleo-oceanographic studies and was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences, India as well as of The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medieval Warm Period</span> Time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region lasting from c. 950 to c. 1250

The Medieval Warm Period (MWP), also known as the Medieval Climate Optimum or the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, was a time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region that lasted from c. 950 to c. 1250. Climate proxy records show peak warmth occurred at different times for different regions, which indicate that the MWP was not a globally uniform event. Some refer to the MWP as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly to emphasize that climatic effects other than temperature were also important.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Glaciation</span> Major glaciation of eastern Europe

The Don Glaciation, also known as the Donian Glaciation and the Donian Stage, was the major glaciation of the East European Plain, 0.5–0.8 million years ago, during the Cromerian Stage of the Middle Pleistocene. It is correlated to Marine Isotope Stage 16, approximately 650,000 years ago, which globally contained one of the largest glacial volumes of the Quaternary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Birks</span>

Harry John Betteley Birks (John) is a botanist and emeritus professor at the University of Bergen and University College London. He is best known for his work on the development of quantitative techniques in Quaternary palaeoecology. He has researched the vegetational and environmental history over the past 10–20,000 years in many parts of the world, including Fennoscandia, UK, Minnesota, the Yukon, Siberia, and Tibet.

Global paleoclimate indicators are the proxies sensitive to global paleoclimatic environment changes. They are mostly derived from marine sediments. Paleoclimate indicators derived from terrestrial sediments, on the other hand, are commonly influenced by local tectonic movements and paleogeographic variations. Factors governing the earth climate system include plate tectonics, which controls the configuration of continents, the interplay between the atmosphere and the ocean, and the earth's orbital characteristics. Global paleoclimate indicators are established based on the information extracted from the analyses of geologic materials, including biological, geochemical and mineralogical data preserved in marine sediments. Indicators are generally grouped into three categories; paleontological, geochemical and lithological.

References

  1. Llama 'trail' reveals fall of mighty Incas [ dead link ]. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 25/02/08.
  2. Chepstow-Lusty, Alex; Frogley, Michael; Bauer, Brian; Leng, Melanie; Cundy, Andy; Boessenkol, Karin; Goida, Alain (2007). "Evaluating socio-economic change in the Andes using oribatid mite abundances as indicators of domestic animal densities". Journal of Archaeological Science. 34 (7): 1178–1186. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.12.023.
  3. "Mick Frogley". sussex.ac.uk. Sussex University. Retrieved 12 February 2019.