Multi-isotope analysis of palaeofauna sequences as indicators of past environments and climates

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Landscapes have changed dramatically over the past 100,000 years, largely due to changes in the Earth's climate. We can see evidence for the changes in the species and types of plants and animals that live in these landscapes over this time from their remains that have been preserved and then recovered from palaeontological and archaeological sites. We also have evidence for how much the climate has changed globally from the measurements of isotope signatures in ice cores recovered from the north and south poles. However, we have few methods of determining how the climate and environment changed locally when we are looking at landscapes in specific areas and regions. The ice core record records global climates, but locally there can be micro-climates that may have different climate and environmental changes than is recorded in the ice cores. It is also possible to get a record of the climate from lake sediments, if there is a nearby body of water suitable for this analysis.******Another way of reconstructing the past environment, and how it changed through time, is to measure the isotope signatures in animals that lived then. These isotope signatures record the plants that the animals ate, as well as the climate from the water they drank at the time they were alive. By looking at these animals, such as red deer or horse, from the same location but over many thousands of years, we can see how the isotope values changes, and then we can determine how much the climate and environment changed, and when these changes occurred.******The use of isotope measurements of sequences of animal remains as climate and environment indicators is a relatively new method, and there have been few studies so far. With this proposal we will build on recent work in this area and apply the methods we have developed to hundreds of samples from over 20 sites that date to from 120,000 to 10,000 years ago. We will then be able to fully establish this method as a new tool for palaeontologists, palaeobiologists, climate researchers and archaeologists, as well as provide new data on the climate and environmental changes that occurred over this time period.**