Savannah Worne
PhD: Investigating Bering Sea oceanographic controls on the Milankovitch orbital cycle climatic shift during the middle Pleistocene
University of Nottingham
I recently graduated from BSc Geography at the University of Nottingham, completing my dissertation research using the sedimentary diatom assemblage and photosynthetic pigments to assess environmental change over the last hundred years in Maloe More, Lake Baikal, Siberia. From my studies, I became very interested in palaeoenvironmental change and was keen to pursue a career in research, leading me to apply for the Envision DTP.
Research Project:
The aim of my PhD is to investigate the role of Bering Sea oceanographic controls on the shift in Milankovitch orbital cycle dominance, during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. This will involve creating a high resolution, multi-proxy, millennial-scale reconstruction from an Integrated Ocean Drilling Program core. Using diatom microfossil assemblage, benthic foraminiferal δ18O isotope record, ice-rafted debris and organic matter δ13C record (including total organic carbon and C/N ratio), I hope to uncover the history of Bering Sea sea-ice, sea surface temperature, productivity and salinity through the middle Pleistocene, as well as assessing potential teleconnections with North American Ice Sheet growth and instability, through this period.