Professor MELANIE LENG's Outputs (64)

Enhanced glacial discharge from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula since the 1700s associated with a positive Southern Annular Mode (2019)
Journal Article
Dickens, W. A., Kuhn, G., Leng, M. J., Graham, A. G., Dowdeswell, J. A., Meredith, M. P., Hillenbrand, C. D., Hodgson, D. A., Roberts, S. J., Sloane, H., & Smith, J. A. (2019). Enhanced glacial discharge from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula since the 1700s associated with a positive Southern Annular Mode. Scientific Reports, 9(1), Article 14606. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50897-4

© 2019, The Author(s). The Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet is currently experiencing sustained and accelerating loss of ice. Determining when these changes were initiated and identifying the main drivers is hampered by the short instrumental record (19... Read More about Enhanced glacial discharge from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula since the 1700s associated with a positive Southern Annular Mode.

Stable isotopes reveal independent carbon pools across an Arctic hydro-climatic gradient: Implications for the fate of carbon in warmer and drier conditions (2019)
Journal Article
Osburn, C. L., Anderson, N. J., Leng, M. J., Barry, C. D., & Whiteford, E. J. (2019). Stable isotopes reveal independent carbon pools across an Arctic hydro-climatic gradient: Implications for the fate of carbon in warmer and drier conditions. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 4(6), 205-213. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10119

Arctic lakes are poised for substantial changes to their carbon (C) cycles in the near future. Autochthonous processes in lakes which consume inorganic C and create biomass that can be sequestered in sediments are accompanied by allochthonous inputs... Read More about Stable isotopes reveal independent carbon pools across an Arctic hydro-climatic gradient: Implications for the fate of carbon in warmer and drier conditions.

Dynamic climate-driven controls on the deposition of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK (2019)
Journal Article
Atar, E., März, C., Aplin, A. C., Dellwig, O., Herringshaw, L. G., Lamoureux-Var, V., Leng, M. J., Schnetger, B., & Wagner, T. (2019). Dynamic climate-driven controls on the deposition of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK. Climate of the Past, 15(4), 1581-1601. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1581-2019

The Kimmeridge Clay Formation (KCF) is a laterally extensive, total-organic-carbon-rich succession deposited throughout northwest Europe during the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian (Late Jurassic). It has recently been postulated that an expanded Hadley cell,... Read More about Dynamic climate-driven controls on the deposition of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK.

A method for reconstructing temporal changes in vegetation functional trait composition using Holocene pollen assemblages (2019)
Journal Article
Carvalho, F., Brown, K. A., Waller, M. P., Bunting, M. J., Boom, A., & Leng, M. J. (2019). A method for reconstructing temporal changes in vegetation functional trait composition using Holocene pollen assemblages. PLoS ONE, 14(5), Article e0216698. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216698

Methods of reconstructing changes in plant traits over long time scales are needed to understand the impact of changing environmental conditions on ecosystem processes and services. Although Holocene pollen have been extensively used to provide recor... Read More about A method for reconstructing temporal changes in vegetation functional trait composition using Holocene pollen assemblages.

Spatial variability of 2H and 18O composition of meteoric freshwater lakes in Scotland (2019)
Journal Article
Hoogewerff, J., Kemp, H. F., Leng, M. J., & Meier-Augenstein, W. (2019). Spatial variability of 2H and 18O composition of meteoric freshwater lakes in Scotland. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, 55(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2019.1609958

Coastal regions, and in particular islands where precipitation from clouds formed out at sea occurs for the first time, are prime candidates for regions where 2H and 18O composition of precipitation will deviate significantly from the global mean geo... Read More about Spatial variability of 2H and 18O composition of meteoric freshwater lakes in Scotland.

Controls on amorphous organic matter type and sulphurization in a Mississippian black shale (2019)
Journal Article
Emmings, J. F., Hennissen, J. A., Stephenson, M. H., Poulton, S. W., Vane, C. H., Davies, S. J., Leng, M. J., Lamb, A., & Moss-Hayes, V. (2019). Controls on amorphous organic matter type and sulphurization in a Mississippian black shale. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 268, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2019.04.004

Paleoredox proxies (Fe speciation, trace element and δ34Spy) integrated with sedimentological and palynological observations link the distribution and type of particulate organic matter (OM) preserved to hydrocarbon source rock potential. In the Miss... Read More about Controls on amorphous organic matter type and sulphurization in a Mississippian black shale.

A High‐Fidelity Benthic Stable Isotope Record of Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene Climate Change and Carbon‐Cycling (2019)
Journal Article
Barnet, J., Littler, K., Westerhold, T., Kroon, D., Leng, M., Bailey, I., Röhl, U., & Zachos, J. (2019). A High‐Fidelity Benthic Stable Isotope Record of Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene Climate Change and Carbon‐Cycling. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 34(4), 672-691. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019pa003556

The Late Cretaceous–Early Paleogene is the most recent period in Earth history that experienced sustained global greenhouse warmth on multimillion year timescales. Yet, knowledge of ambient climate conditions and the complex interplay between various... Read More about A High‐Fidelity Benthic Stable Isotope Record of Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene Climate Change and Carbon‐Cycling.

Seasonal scheduling of shellfish collection in the Middle and Later Stone Ages of southern Africa (2019)
Journal Article
Loftus, E., Lee-Thorp, J., Leng, M., Marean, C., & Sealy, J. (2019). Seasonal scheduling of shellfish collection in the Middle and Later Stone Ages of southern Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 128, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.12.009

This study assesses the seasonal scheduling of shellfish harvesting among hunter-gatherer populations along the southernmost coast of South Africa, based on a large number of serial oxygen isotope analyses of marine mollusk shells from four archaeolo... Read More about Seasonal scheduling of shellfish collection in the Middle and Later Stone Ages of southern Africa.

Red Sea Palaeoclimate: Stable Isotope and Element-Ratio Analysis of Marine Mollusc Shells (2018)
Book Chapter
Hausmann, N., Kokkinaki, O., & Leng, M. J. (2019). Red Sea Palaeoclimate: Stable Isotope and Element-Ratio Analysis of Marine Mollusc Shells. In N. M. Rasullan, & C. F. Stewart (Eds.), Geological Setting, Palaeoenvironment and Archaeology of the Red Sea (725-740). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99408-6_33

The southern Red Sea coast is the location of more than 4,200 archaeological shell midden sites. These shell middens preserve archaeological and climatic archives of unprecedented resolution and scale. By using shells from these contexts, it is possi... Read More about Red Sea Palaeoclimate: Stable Isotope and Element-Ratio Analysis of Marine Mollusc Shells.

Middle-late Quaternary palaeoclimate variability from lake and wetland deposits in the Nefud Desert, Northern Arabia (2018)
Journal Article
Parton, A., Clark-Balzan, L., Parker, A. G., Preston, G. W., Sung, W. W., Breeze, P. S., Leng, M. J., Groucutt, H. S., White, T. S., Alsharekh, A., & Petraglia, M. D. (2018). Middle-late Quaternary palaeoclimate variability from lake and wetland deposits in the Nefud Desert, Northern Arabia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 202, 78-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.010

Records of former lake and wetland development in present day arid/hyper-arid environments provide an important source of information for palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental studies. In Arabia, such records are typically confined to eccentricity-m... Read More about Middle-late Quaternary palaeoclimate variability from lake and wetland deposits in the Nefud Desert, Northern Arabia.

Effects of cleaning methods upon preservation of stable isotopes and trace elements in shells of Cyprideis torosa (Crustacea, Ostracoda): implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction (2018)
Journal Article
Roberts, L., Holmes, J., Leng, M. J., Sloane, H., & Horne, D. (2018). Effects of cleaning methods upon preservation of stable isotopes and trace elements in shells of Cyprideis torosa (Crustacea, Ostracoda): implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Quaternary Science Reviews, 189, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.03.030

The trace element (Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca) and stable isotope (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) geochemistry of fossil ostracod valves provide valuable information, particularly in lacustrine settings, on palaeo-water composition and palaeotemperature. The removal of sedimen... Read More about Effects of cleaning methods upon preservation of stable isotopes and trace elements in shells of Cyprideis torosa (Crustacea, Ostracoda): implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.

DIATOM METHODS | δ18O Records (2013)
Book Chapter
Leng, M. J., Barker, P. A., Swann, G. E., & Snelling, A. M. (2013). DIATOM METHODS | δ18O Records. In Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (second revised edition) (481-488). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53643-3.00219-3

© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Diatom silica is a form of biogenic opal (SiO2·nH2O) that contains oxygen isotopes that can be used in lacustrine and marine paleoenvironmental studies. Here we describe the various analytical considerations... Read More about DIATOM METHODS | δ18O Records.

Holocene-aged human footprints from the Cuatrociénegas Basin, NE Mexico (2013)
Journal Article
Felstead, N. J., Gonzalez, S., Huddart, D., Noble, S. R., Hoffmann, D. L., Metcalfe, S. E., Leng, M. J., Albert, B. M., Pike, A. W., Gonzalez-Gonzalez, A., & Jimenez-Lopez, J. C. (2014). Holocene-aged human footprints from the Cuatrociénegas Basin, NE Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science, 42, 250-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.11.010

Two sets of well-preserved human footprints have been found in tufa sediments in the Cuatrociénegas Basin, NE Mexico, and here we present their U-series dates of 10.55±0.03ka and 7.24±0.13ka. The former are the oldest known footprints in Mexico, alth... Read More about Holocene-aged human footprints from the Cuatrociénegas Basin, NE Mexico.

Palaeo-seasonality of the last two millennia reconstructed from the oxygen isotope composition of carbonates and diatom silica from Nar Gölü, central Turkey (2013)
Journal Article
Dean, J. R., Jones, M. D., Leng, M. J., Sloane, H. J., Neil Roberts, C. N., Woodbridge, J., Swann, G. E., Metcalfe, S. E., Eastwood, W. J., & Yiǧitbaşioǧlu, H. (2013). Palaeo-seasonality of the last two millennia reconstructed from the oxygen isotope composition of carbonates and diatom silica from Nar Gölü, central Turkey. Quaternary Science Reviews, 66, 35-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.07.014

Carbonates and diatoms are rarely deposited together in lake sediments in sufficient quantities for the oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) to be investigated simultaneously from both hosts. Here, d18Ocarbonate are compared to δ18Odiatom data from the... Read More about Palaeo-seasonality of the last two millennia reconstructed from the oxygen isotope composition of carbonates and diatom silica from Nar Gölü, central Turkey.

Hydrological instability during the Last Interglacial in central Asia: a new diatom oxygen isotope record from Lake Baikal (2013)
Journal Article
Mackay, A. W., Swann, G. E., Fagel, N., Fietz, S., Leng, M. J., Morley, D., Rioual, P., & Tarasov, P. (2013). Hydrological instability during the Last Interglacial in central Asia: a new diatom oxygen isotope record from Lake Baikal. Quaternary Science Reviews, 66, 45-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.09.025

Last Interglacial variability is commonly used as an analogue for variability in a future, warmer world. Pervasive cycles are increasingly apparent in Last Interglacial archives, although studies in continental regions are under-represented. Here we... Read More about Hydrological instability during the Last Interglacial in central Asia: a new diatom oxygen isotope record from Lake Baikal.

Influence of the ratio of planktonic to benthic diatoms on lacustrine organic matter δ 13 C from Erlongwan maar lake, northeast China (2012)
Journal Article
Wang, L., Mackay, A. W., Leng, M. J., Rioual, P., Panizzo, V. N., Lu, H., Gu, Z., Chu, G., Han, J., & Kendrick, C. P. (2013). Influence of the ratio of planktonic to benthic diatoms on lacustrine organic matter δ 13 C from Erlongwan maar lake, northeast China. Organic Geochemistry, 54, 62-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.09.010

Carbon isotope ratio (δ 13 C org ) values of organic matter in lake sediments are commonly used to reconstruct environmental change, but the factors which influence change are varied and complex. Here we report δ 13 C values for sediments from Erlong... Read More about Influence of the ratio of planktonic to benthic diatoms on lacustrine organic matter δ 13 C from Erlongwan maar lake, northeast China.

Evidence of past environmental conditions during the evolution of a calcretised Wadi System in Southern Jordan using stable isotopes (2012)
Journal Article
McLaren, S. J., Leng, M. J., Knowles, T., & Bradley, A. V. (2012). Evidence of past environmental conditions during the evolution of a calcretised Wadi System in Southern Jordan using stable isotopes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 348-349, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.05.010

A stratigraphically and temporally ordered sequence of channel calcretes preserved along the Wadi Dana, Southern Jordan, records the Quaternary evolution of the formation and infilling of rock-cut channels and their subsequent incision in a tectonica... Read More about Evidence of past environmental conditions during the evolution of a calcretised Wadi System in Southern Jordan using stable isotopes.

Inter-laboratory comparison of oxygen isotope compositions from biogenic silica (2011)
Journal Article
Chapligin, B., Leng, M. J., Webb, E., Alexandre, A., Dodd, J. P., Ijiri, A., Lücke, A., Shemesh, A., Abelmann, A., Herzschuh, U., Longstaffe, F. J., Meyer, H., Moschen, R., Okazaki, Y., Rees, N. H., Sharp, Z. D., Sloane, H. J., Sonzogni, C., Swann, G. E., Sylvestre, F., …Yam, R. (2011). Inter-laboratory comparison of oxygen isotope compositions from biogenic silica. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75(22), 7242-7256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2011.08.011

Several techniques have been introduced in the last decades for the dehydration and release of O2 from biogenic silica (opal-A) for oxygen-isotope analysis. However, only one silica standard is universally available: a quartz standard (NBS28) distrib... Read More about Inter-laboratory comparison of oxygen isotope compositions from biogenic silica.

A reassessment of late glacial - Holocene diatom oxygen isotope record from Lake Baikal using a geochemical mass-balance approach (2011)
Journal Article
Mackay, A. W., Swann, G. E., Brewer, T. S., Leng, M. J., Morley, D. W., Piotrowska, N., Rioual, P., & White, D. (2011). A reassessment of late glacial - Holocene diatom oxygen isotope record from Lake Baikal using a geochemical mass-balance approach. Journal of Quaternary Science, 26(6), 627-634. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1484

We present a new palaeoenvironmental record of hydrological variability in Lake Baikal, based on re-modelled δ18Odiatom values of diatom silica (δ18Omodelled), where the residual contaminants are identified and compensated for using electron optical... Read More about A reassessment of late glacial - Holocene diatom oxygen isotope record from Lake Baikal using a geochemical mass-balance approach.

Stable isotopes from diatom silica (2010)
Book Chapter
Leng, M. J., & Swann, G. E. (2010). Stable isotopes from diatom silica. In J. P. Smol, & E. F. Stoermer (Eds.), The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences. Part V - Other applications (575-589). (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511763175.035

Diatom silica is a form of biogenic opal (SiO2.nH2O, Figure 1) containing oxygen, silicon, carbon and nitrogen isotopes that can be used in lacustrine and marine paleoenvironmental studies. Since diatoms bloom following a seasonal pattern defined par... Read More about Stable isotopes from diatom silica.