Dr Robin Edwards - Associate Professor of Earth Sciences
Leader of the Reconstructing Ocean & Coastal Change Research Group. Course Director: Earth Sciences (TR077)
Dr Robin Edwards
Associate Professor of Earth Sciences
robin.edwards(at)tcd.ie
Dr Robin Edwards
Research Interests
I am a geoscientist interested in reconstructing past environmental change. My principal research aim is to understand the causes and effects of sea-level change. Much of my work has focussed on developing and refining methods to extract precise records of past relative sea-level from intertidal sediments. I analyse Foraminifera from saltmarsh sediments and apply statistical models (transfer functions) to quantify their vertical relationships with former sea levels. These data can then be combined with detailed radiocarbon dating to construct high resolution records of relative sea-level change from sediment cores covering the last few thousand years. I am also interested in reconstructing the larger-scale changes in relative sea-level that occured as the last glacial period drew to a close and our modern warm interval began. This work involves collaboration with geophysical modellers to explore the combined effects of global sea-level rise, melting ice sheets and the vertical land movements induced by changes in ice and ocean loading of the Earth's surface. One of the products of this work is the capability to simulate past relative sea-level changes and infer the changing geography of our planet. I am interested in better understanding when Ireland became an island and in locating evidence of lost landscapes that now lie beneath the sea. These environments are of particular significance for understanding early human movement and occupation. In addition to my coastal research, I also analyse seafloor sediments and the foraminifera they contain. This work seeks to improve our knowledge of how marine-based ice sheets respond to climate and ocean circulation change. More information on these research themes and current projects is available on my research group's webpages.
Recent/Selected Publications (» all publications)
Kuchar, J., Milne, G., Hubbard, A., Patton, H., Bradley, S., Shennan, I., Edwards, R.J., (2012) Evaluation of a numerical model of the British- Irish ice sheet using relative sea-level data: implications for the interpretation of trim line observations , Journal of Quaternary Science. DOI
Brooks, A.J., Bradley, S.L., Edwards, R.J. and Goodwyn, N. (2011) The palaeogeography of Northwest Europe during the last 20,000 years, Journal of Maps, v2011, 573-587. DOI
Wright, A.J., Edwards, R.J., van de Plassche, O. (2011) Reassessing transfer-function performance in sea-level reconstruction based on benthic salt-marsh foraminifera from the Atlantic coast of NE North America. Marine Micropalaeontology. DOI
Download from TARA [Open Access]
Bradley, S., Milne, G.A., Shennan, I., Edwards, R.J. (2011) An improved Glacial Isostatic Adjustment model for the British Isles. Journal of Quaternary Science 26(5), 541-552. DOI
Quick Links for Students
Contact
Mail: Museum Building, School of Natural Sciences,
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
Email: robin.edwards(at)tcd.ie, Tel: + 353 1 896 1713,
Fax: + 353 1 6713397