Network Member Profiles
Barry O'Dwyer, Trinity College, Dublin.
Biography
Dr. Barry O'Dwyer is currently a post-doctoral researcher working in the Department of Geography at Trinity College Dublin. His main research interests are in palaeo-environmental reconstruction with a focus on lake sediment based archives in particular. Barry has used used such records to extend current and existing monitoring records of atmospheric quality for Ireland. Moreover, this research assessed the effects of increased and decreased atmospheric pollutant loads on sensitive aquatic ecosystems (e.g. acidification). In addition, Barry has employed lake sediment-based archives to reconstruct eutrophication histories for a number of lakes in Ireland. This research aims to assess reference/pre-impact freshwater ecosystem conditions and identify the main drivers (e.g. anthropogenic activities) of recent ecological change.
Contact
odwyerb@tcd.ie
Research Interests
Palaeo-environmental reconstruction; palaeolimnology; air quality monitoring; eutrophication; acidification.
Collaborative Interests
I have an active interest in the use of natural pollutant archives (lake sediments and bio-monitors, amongst others) as tools for reconstructing variations in levels of atmospheric quality. Such records are of particular import in areas where records from existing air quality monitoring records are either limited (temporally/spatially) or lacking. Moreover, such records can be used for the validation and calibration of existing and future air quality models.
Themes
Air, Water.
Selected Publications
O'Dwyer, B. and Taylor, D. (2009) Paleolimnological evidence of variations in deposition of atmosphere-borne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Ireland, Chemosphere , 77, 1374-1380.
O'Dwyer, B. and Taylor, D. (2009) Variations in levels of deposition of atmosphere-borne industrial pollutants at three oligotrophic lakes in Ireland over the last 50 - 150 years: sediment-based archives of sources, levels and ecological sensitivity, Journal of Paleolimnology, DOI 10.1007/s10933-009-9392-x