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Professor MELANIE LENG's Outputs (154)

Spatial patterns in the oxygen isotope composition of daily rainfall in the British Isles (2015)
Journal Article
Tyler, J. J., Jones, M. D., Arrowsmith, C., Allott, T., & Leng, M. J. (2016). Spatial patterns in the oxygen isotope composition of daily rainfall in the British Isles. Climate Dynamics, 47(5-6), 1971–1987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2945-y

Understanding the modern day relationship between climate and the oxygen isotopic composition of precipitation (δ18OP) is crucial for obtaining rigorous palaeoclimate reconstructions from a variety of archives. To date, the majority of empirical stud... Read More about Spatial patterns in the oxygen isotope composition of daily rainfall in the British Isles.

Comparisons of observed and modelled lake δ18O variability (2015)
Journal Article
Jones, M. D., Cuthbert, M., Leng, M. J., McGowan, S., Mariethoz, G., Arrowsmith, C., Sloane, H. J., Humphrey, K., & Cross, I. (2016). Comparisons of observed and modelled lake δ18O variability. Quaternary Science Reviews, 131(B), 329-340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.09.012

With the substantial number of lake sediment δ18O records published in recent decades, a quantitative, process-based understanding of these systems can increase our understanding of past climate change. We test mass balance models of lake water δ18O... Read More about Comparisons of observed and modelled lake δ18O variability.

Eastern Mediterranean hydroclimate over the late glacial and Holocene, reconstructed from the sediments of Nar lake, central Turkey, using stable isotopes and carbonate mineralogy (2015)
Journal Article
Dean, J. R., Jones, M. D., Leng, M. J., Noble, S. R., Metcalfe, S. E., Sloane, H. J., Sahy, D., Eastwood, W. J., & Roberts, C. N. (2015). Eastern Mediterranean hydroclimate over the late glacial and Holocene, reconstructed from the sediments of Nar lake, central Turkey, using stable isotopes and carbonate mineralogy. Quaternary Science Reviews, 124, 162-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.023

There is a lack of high-resolution records of hydroclimate variability in the Eastern Mediterranean from the late glacial and early Holocene. More knowledge of the speed of climate shifts and the degree to which they were synchronous with changes in... Read More about Eastern Mediterranean hydroclimate over the late glacial and Holocene, reconstructed from the sediments of Nar lake, central Turkey, using stable isotopes and carbonate mineralogy.

Human impact on the hydroenvironment of Lake Parishan, SW Iran, through the late-Holocene (2015)
Journal Article
Jones, M. D., Djamali, M., Holmes, J., Weeks, L., Leng, M. J., Lashkari, A., Alamdari, K., Noorollahi, D., Thomas, L., & Metcalfe, S. E. (2015). Human impact on the hydroenvironment of Lake Parishan, SW Iran, through the late-Holocene. Holocene, 25(10), 1651-1661. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683615594242

A multiproxy record from Lake Parishan, SW Iran, shows human impact on the lake and its catchment over the last 4000 years. The Parishan record provides evidence of changes in lake hydrology, from ostracod, diatom and isotope analyses, that are direc... Read More about Human impact on the hydroenvironment of Lake Parishan, SW Iran, through the late-Holocene.

Silica stable isotopes and silicification in a carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma sp. (2015)
Journal Article
Hendry, K., Swann, G. E., Leng, M. J., Sloane, H. J., Goodwin, C., Berman, J., & Maldonado, M. (2015). Silica stable isotopes and silicification in a carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma sp. Biogeosciences, 12, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3489-2015

The stable isotope composition of benthic sponge spicule silica is a potential source of palaeoceanographic information about past deep seawater chemistry. The silicon isotope composition of spicules has been shown to relate to the silicic acid conce... Read More about Silica stable isotopes and silicification in a carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma sp..

Tracking the hydro-climatic signal from lake to sediment: a field study from central Turkey (2014)
Journal Article
Dean, J. R., Eastwood, W. J., Roberts, N., Jones, M. D., Yiğitbaşıoğlu, H., Allcock, S. L., Woodbridge, J., Metcalfe, S. E., & Leng, M. J. (2015). Tracking the hydro-climatic signal from lake to sediment: a field study from central Turkey. Journal of Hydrology, 529(2), 608-621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.11.004

Palaeo-hydrological interpretations of lake sediment proxies can benefit from a robust understanding of the modern lake environment. In this study, we use Nar Gölü, a non-outlet, monomictic maar lake in central Turkey, as a field site for a natural e... Read More about Tracking the hydro-climatic signal from lake to sediment: a field study from central Turkey.

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.

Glacial discharge along the west Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene (2013)
Journal Article
Pike, J., Swann, G. E., Leng, M. J., & Snelling, A. M. (2013). Glacial discharge along the west Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene. Nature Geoscience, 6, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1703

The causes for rising temperatures along the Antarctic Peninsula during the late Holocene have been debated, particularly in light of instrumental records of warming over the past decades. Suggested mechanisms range from upwelling of warm deep waters... Read More about Glacial discharge along the west Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene.

Seasonally resolved diatom δ18O records from the west Antarctic Peninsula over the last deglaciation (2013)
Journal Article
Swann, G. E., Pike, J., Snelling, A. M., Leng, M. J., & Williams, M. C. (2013). Seasonally resolved diatom δ18O records from the west Antarctic Peninsula over the last deglaciation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 364, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.12.016

Understanding the response of the Antarctic ice sheets during the rapid climatic change that accompanied the last deglaciation has implications for establishing the susceptibility of these regions to future 21st Century warming. A unique diatom δ18O... Read More about Seasonally resolved diatom δ18O records from the west Antarctic Peninsula over the last deglaciation.

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.

A Micro-manipulation Technique for the Purification of Diatoms for Isotope and Geochemical Analysis (2012)
Journal Article
Snelling, A. M., Swann, G. E. A., Leng, M. J., & Pike, J. (2013). A Micro-manipulation Technique for the Purification of Diatoms for Isotope and Geochemical Analysis. Silicon, 5(1), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-012-9115-1

A method is described for the purification and extraction of diatom samples for isotope and geochemical analysis. The technique involves a micro-manipulator attached to an inverted microscope with a cellular micro-injector system used to remove conta... Read More about A Micro-manipulation Technique for the Purification of Diatoms for Isotope and Geochemical Analysis.

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.

Sedimentary records of sewage pollution using faecal markers in contrasting peri-urban shallow lakes (2010)
Journal Article
Vane, C. H., Kim, A. W., McGowan, S., Leng, M. J., Heaton, T. H. E., Kendrick, C. P., Coombs, P., Yang, H., & Swann, G. E. A. (2010). Sedimentary records of sewage pollution using faecal markers in contrasting peri-urban shallow lakes. Science of the Total Environment, 409(2), 345-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.09.033

Sewage contamination in shallow lake sediments is of concern because the pathogens, organic matter and nutrients contribute to the deterioration of the water-bodies' health and ecology. Sediment cores from three shallow lakes (Coneries, Church and Cl... Read More about Sedimentary records of sewage pollution using faecal markers in contrasting peri-urban shallow lakes.

A combined oxygen and silicon diatom isotope record of Late Quaternary change in Lake El'gygytgyn, North East Siberia (2010)
Journal Article
Swann, G. E., Leng, M. J., Juschus, O., Melles, M., Brigham-Grette, J., & Sloane, H. J. (2010). A combined oxygen and silicon diatom isotope record of Late Quaternary change in Lake El'gygytgyn, North East Siberia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(5-6), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.024

Determining the response of sites within the Arctic Circle to long-term climatic change remains an essential pre-requisite for assessing the susceptibility of these regions to future global warming and Arctic amplification. To date, existing records... Read More about A combined oxygen and silicon diatom isotope record of Late Quaternary change in Lake El'gygytgyn, North East Siberia.