Evolution and Environment

Over nearly 3.5 billion years life has evolved in response to different stimuli, changing environmental conditions and catastrophic events. This evolutionary history is preserved in the fossil and geochemical record within sedimentary rocks.  Biological evidence together with the lithologic context and geochemical fingerprints helps document past environments and the ever-changing face of the planet revealing the past positions and conditions of continental masses and oceans.

Fundamental geological mapping and allied research into macro- and micro-fossils has provided biostratigraphic constraints for Palaeozoic sequences and their boundaries.  Climatic indicators found in these ancient rocks and in more recent sediments has allowed for the determination of past sea-water temperatures, sea-level changes driven by glacial events, and the construction of past shorelines. Researchers within the Geology Department are currently engaged in research in Ireland, Britain, Continental Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Africa.

Researchers