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Professor Luke Skinner

Professor Luke Skinner is a University Lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences and Director of Studies for Earth Sciences at Magdalene he is also an Admissions Tutor (Graduates).

I am a Reader in Earth System Science, in the Department of Earth Sciences.  I teach Part 1A, Part II and Part III climate science options, and I am also a Director of Studies and Tutor for Graduate Admissions at Magdalene College.

My research looks at climate change through the lens of the past.  My aim is to provide a ‘long view’ on the environmental processes that regulate global- and regional climate on timescales that are still relevant to human experience (i.e. decades to millennia).  The work I conduct is primarily concerned with the web of interconnected processes that regulate our planet’s carbon cycle and energy budget, with a primary focus on the ocean as the main repository for carbon and heat at the Earth surface – it contains 60 times more carbon than the atmosphere, and the top metre of water contains as much energy as the entire atmosphere.  It could be said that: nothing can happen to atmospheric CO2 or global temperature, without the ocean ‘knowing about it’ and playing a role in their regulation.  The ocean is therefore guaranteed a key role in the anthropogenic climate changes that we will face in the future. However, the sensitivity and natural variability of the processes that govern this role remain a major uncertainty for future projections, which my research seeks to address, as best it can. More information on my research can be found on my Research Homepage.

Selected Publications

Publications can be found in the Department of Earth Sciences Publications database.

2019

Muschitiello, Francesco and D’Andrea, William J. and Schmittner, Andreas and Heaton, Timothy J. and Balascio, Nicholas L. and deRoberts, Nicole and Caffee, Marc W. and Woodruff, Thomas E. and Welten, Kees C. and Skinner, Luke C. and Simon, Margit H. and Dokken, Trond M. (2019) Deep-water circulation changes lead North Atlantic climate during deglaciation. Nature Communications, 10 (1). ISSN 2041-1723 DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09237-3

Skinner, L. C. and Sadekov, A. and Brandon, M. and Greaves, M. J. and Plancherel, Y. and de la Fuente, M. and Gottschalk, Julia and Souanef-Ureta, S. and Sevilgen, D.S. and Scrivner, A. E. (2019) Rare Earth Elements in early-diagenetic foraminifer ‘coatings’: Pore-water controls and potential palaeoceanographic applications. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 245. pp. 118-132. ISSN 0016-7037 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.10.027

2018

Tzedakis, P. C. and Drysdale, R. N. and Margari, V. and Skinner, L. C. and Menviel, L. and Rhodes, R. H. and Taschetto, A. S. and Hodell, D. A. and Crowhurst, S. J. and Hellstrom, J. C. and Fallick, A. E. and Grimalt, J. O. and McManus, J. F. and Martrat, B. and Mokeddem, Z. and Parrenin, F. and Regattieri, E. and Roe, K. and Zanchetta, G. (2018) Enhanced climate instability in the North Atlantic and southern Europe during the Last Interglacial. Nature Communications, 9 (4235). ISSN 2041-1723 DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06683-3

Dixit, Yama and Hodell, David A. and Giesche, Alena and Tandon, Sampat K. and Gázquez, Fernando and Saini, Hari S. and Skinner, Luke C. and Mujtaba, Syed A. I. and Pawar, Vikas and Singh, Ravindra N. and Petrie, Cameron A. (2018) Intensified summer monsoon and the urbanization of Indus Civilization in northwest India. Scientific Reports, 8 (1). ISSN 2045-2322 DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22504-5

Roberts, J. and Kaczmarek, K. and Langer, G. and Skinner, L. C. and Bijma, J. and Bradbury, H. and Turchyn, A. V. and Lamy, F. and Misra, S. (2018) Lithium isotopic composition of benthic foraminifera: A new proxy for paleo-pH reconstruction. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta. ISSN 0016-7037 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.02.038

Channell, J.E.T. and Hodell, D. A. and Crowhurst, S. J. and Skinner, L. C. and Muscheler, R. (2018) Relative paleointensity (RPI) in the latest Pleistocene (10–45 ka) and implications for deglacial atmospheric radiocarbon. Quaternary Science Reviews, 191. pp. 57-72. ISSN 0277-3791 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.05.007

Magill, Clayton R. and Ausín, Blanca and Wenk, Pascal and McIntyre, Cameron and Skinner, Luke and Martínez-García, Alfredo and Hodell, David A. and Haug, Gerald H. and Kenney, William and Eglinton, Timothy I. (2018) Transient hydrodynamic effects influence organic carbon signatures in marine sediments. Nature Communications, 9 (1). ISSN 2041-1723 DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06973-w

Muglia, Juan and Skinner, Luke C. and Schmittner, Andreas (2018) Weak overturning circulation and high Southern Ocean nutrient utilization maximized glacial ocean carbon. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 496. pp. 47-56. ISSN 0012821X DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.05.038

Related websites

Departmental Page (Department of Earth Sciences)
Past Oceans and Climate Research Homepage
Department of Earth Sciences Publications: Dr Luke Skinner