Kate Littler
@palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Palaeoclimate | Department of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Exeter (Cornwall) | Marine geology | Micropalaeontology | Geochemistry | IODP | Birding | Parenting small humans
I know we shouldn’t encourage AI slop by sharing it, but my son’s (lovely) teacher keeps illustrating her messages to parents with these unintentional bangers 😂
Behold, a fun boardgames session… where the possessed blank-eyed children will rise out of the incomprehensible games with unbridled joy!
Behold, a fun boardgames session… where the possessed blank-eyed children will rise out of the incomprehensible games with unbridled joy!
February 9, 2026 at 8:40 PM
I know we shouldn’t encourage AI slop by sharing it, but my son’s (lovely) teacher keeps illustrating her messages to parents with these unintentional bangers 😂
Behold, a fun boardgames session… where the possessed blank-eyed children will rise out of the incomprehensible games with unbridled joy!
Behold, a fun boardgames session… where the possessed blank-eyed children will rise out of the incomprehensible games with unbridled joy!
Reposted by Kate Littler
👏 Heroic effort to extract a H₂ record from ice cores 👏
The samples had to measured in the field immediately after drilling (i.e. fresh out the oven 🥮) to prevent the tiny H₂ molecules from leaking out.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The samples had to measured in the field immediately after drilling (i.e. fresh out the oven 🥮) to prevent the tiny H₂ molecules from leaking out.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Atmospheric H2 variability over the past 1,100 years - Nature
Analysis of the atmospheric H2 variability over the past millennium suggests that the sensitivity of H2 to climate change should be considered in estimates of the radiative consequences of rising...
www.nature.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:21 AM
👏 Heroic effort to extract a H₂ record from ice cores 👏
The samples had to measured in the field immediately after drilling (i.e. fresh out the oven 🥮) to prevent the tiny H₂ molecules from leaking out.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The samples had to measured in the field immediately after drilling (i.e. fresh out the oven 🥮) to prevent the tiny H₂ molecules from leaking out.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In between torrential downpours (when will it end?? ☔️) managed to see some lovely blooms for #wildflowerhour today.
13 species in flower, including the first alexanders and three-cornered leek of the year. Lovely clump of snowdrops and dainty violets galore.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
13 species in flower, including the first alexanders and three-cornered leek of the year. Lovely clump of snowdrops and dainty violets galore.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
February 8, 2026 at 8:29 PM
In between torrential downpours (when will it end?? ☔️) managed to see some lovely blooms for #wildflowerhour today.
13 species in flower, including the first alexanders and three-cornered leek of the year. Lovely clump of snowdrops and dainty violets galore.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
13 species in flower, including the first alexanders and three-cornered leek of the year. Lovely clump of snowdrops and dainty violets galore.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
Reposted by Kate Littler
“These latest attempts at environmental deregulation aim to tilt that balance ever closer to private gain, by fudging the lines and asserting that developer gain is the same thing as public good.”
Excellent blog revealing the deceptions of dereg lobbyists.
www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/public-...
Excellent blog revealing the deceptions of dereg lobbyists.
www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/public-...
The deceptions driving deregulation | The Wildlife Trusts
As debate rages over recommendations for further environmental regression – this time proposed by the Nuclear Regulatory Review – Head of Public Affairs, Matt Browne, takes a closer look at the argume...
www.wildlifetrusts.org
February 6, 2026 at 10:15 PM
“These latest attempts at environmental deregulation aim to tilt that balance ever closer to private gain, by fudging the lines and asserting that developer gain is the same thing as public good.”
Excellent blog revealing the deceptions of dereg lobbyists.
www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/public-...
Excellent blog revealing the deceptions of dereg lobbyists.
www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/public-...
And so the dominoes in UK higher education begin to fall.
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university?
When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:29 AM
And so the dominoes in UK higher education begin to fall.
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This closure will have a devastating impact on the city - on students, jobs, the wider economy (worth £100m a year), and social mobility for local youngsters.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Kate Littler
I really hope this works - great for the region and UK in general. Also a great advert for how Geology and Geologists can have a really positive impact on shaping our Green Future 🧪⚒️
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The lithium boom: could a disused quarry bring riches to Cornwall?
Known as ‘white gold’, lithium is among the most important mined elements on the planet – ideal for the rechargeable batteries used in tech products. Can Europe’s largest deposit bring prosperity to t...
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:54 PM
I really hope this works - great for the region and UK in general. Also a great advert for how Geology and Geologists can have a really positive impact on shaping our Green Future 🧪⚒️
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I can testify that it’s rained almost constantly for the last 10 days or so. Occasional gaps for a few hours before the next downpour 😬
Flooding all over, but at least we have some topography in Cornwall, unlike poor Somerset.
(Relieved that we live at the top of the hill when it’s like this!)
Flooding all over, but at least we have some topography in Cornwall, unlike poor Somerset.
(Relieved that we live at the top of the hill when it’s like this!)
When it rains, it now rains more.
For those experiencing the flooding in south-west England, it is worth remembering that rainfall in winter has increased by about 25% overall.
And, the rainfall has also become more intense: when it rains, it now rains more, increasing the risk of flooding.
For those experiencing the flooding in south-west England, it is worth remembering that rainfall in winter has increased by about 25% overall.
And, the rainfall has also become more intense: when it rains, it now rains more, increasing the risk of flooding.
January 30, 2026 at 6:57 PM
I can testify that it’s rained almost constantly for the last 10 days or so. Occasional gaps for a few hours before the next downpour 😬
Flooding all over, but at least we have some topography in Cornwall, unlike poor Somerset.
(Relieved that we live at the top of the hill when it’s like this!)
Flooding all over, but at least we have some topography in Cornwall, unlike poor Somerset.
(Relieved that we live at the top of the hill when it’s like this!)
Reposted by Kate Littler
This is another really cool trace fossil, but unfortunately there was no label, so I don't know where it's from.
There is a trilobite resting spot and at least two starfish trace fossils.
#FossilFriday
There is a trilobite resting spot and at least two starfish trace fossils.
#FossilFriday
January 30, 2026 at 3:48 PM
This is another really cool trace fossil, but unfortunately there was no label, so I don't know where it's from.
There is a trilobite resting spot and at least two starfish trace fossils.
#FossilFriday
There is a trilobite resting spot and at least two starfish trace fossils.
#FossilFriday
Today’s selection of esoteric questions from my 4-yo:
“Mummy, how long is the sky?”
-“Do you mean how high is-“
“No! How looonnnng is it?”
“Mummy, when is tomorrow here?”
-“Well, I guess it depends…”
“Mummy, when will we all be dead?”
-“Oh. Uh… well…”
🤷♀️
“Mummy, how long is the sky?”
-“Do you mean how high is-“
“No! How looonnnng is it?”
“Mummy, when is tomorrow here?”
-“Well, I guess it depends…”
“Mummy, when will we all be dead?”
-“Oh. Uh… well…”
🤷♀️
January 28, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Today’s selection of esoteric questions from my 4-yo:
“Mummy, how long is the sky?”
-“Do you mean how high is-“
“No! How looonnnng is it?”
“Mummy, when is tomorrow here?”
-“Well, I guess it depends…”
“Mummy, when will we all be dead?”
-“Oh. Uh… well…”
🤷♀️
“Mummy, how long is the sky?”
-“Do you mean how high is-“
“No! How looonnnng is it?”
“Mummy, when is tomorrow here?”
-“Well, I guess it depends…”
“Mummy, when will we all be dead?”
-“Oh. Uh… well…”
🤷♀️
Reposted by Kate Littler
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
January 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
Breaking out the replica IODP cores to help with my third-year paleoclimate teaching this term.
Showed them the excellent K-Pg section from Blake Nose last week, and onto the Walvis Ridge PETM today.
You can borrow them from UKIODP for teaching/ display too! www.ukiodp.org/core-replicas
🧪⚒️
Showed them the excellent K-Pg section from Blake Nose last week, and onto the Walvis Ridge PETM today.
You can borrow them from UKIODP for teaching/ display too! www.ukiodp.org/core-replicas
🧪⚒️
January 26, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Breaking out the replica IODP cores to help with my third-year paleoclimate teaching this term.
Showed them the excellent K-Pg section from Blake Nose last week, and onto the Walvis Ridge PETM today.
You can borrow them from UKIODP for teaching/ display too! www.ukiodp.org/core-replicas
🧪⚒️
Showed them the excellent K-Pg section from Blake Nose last week, and onto the Walvis Ridge PETM today.
You can borrow them from UKIODP for teaching/ display too! www.ukiodp.org/core-replicas
🧪⚒️
Another day, another storm causing havoc in the SW.
The trainline by Dawlish is very picturesque but it’s a real weak point in our connectivity to the rest of the UK. And it’s washed away again 🤦♀️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The trainline by Dawlish is very picturesque but it’s a real weak point in our connectivity to the rest of the UK. And it’s washed away again 🤦♀️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Teignmouth Pier washes away and sea wall crumbles during Storm Ingrid
Part of a historic pier washes away and a sea wall next to a railway line crumbles as Storm Ingrid lashes Devon and Cornwall.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Another day, another storm causing havoc in the SW.
The trainline by Dawlish is very picturesque but it’s a real weak point in our connectivity to the rest of the UK. And it’s washed away again 🤦♀️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The trainline by Dawlish is very picturesque but it’s a real weak point in our connectivity to the rest of the UK. And it’s washed away again 🤦♀️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Had a great day in the field showing our first year students the joys of Cornish Carboniferous sediments.
Lots of beautiful flame structures, laminations, and water escape features in these Westphalian siliciclastics near Bude.
(High tides and yellow weather warnings be damned!)
⚒️🧪🌍
Lots of beautiful flame structures, laminations, and water escape features in these Westphalian siliciclastics near Bude.
(High tides and yellow weather warnings be damned!)
⚒️🧪🌍
January 23, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Had a great day in the field showing our first year students the joys of Cornish Carboniferous sediments.
Lots of beautiful flame structures, laminations, and water escape features in these Westphalian siliciclastics near Bude.
(High tides and yellow weather warnings be damned!)
⚒️🧪🌍
Lots of beautiful flame structures, laminations, and water escape features in these Westphalian siliciclastics near Bude.
(High tides and yellow weather warnings be damned!)
⚒️🧪🌍
Reposted by Kate Littler
Really excited to see this paper out!! Led by @vtcoop.bsky.social we show that if you use cold and warm paleoclimates together, you can reduce uncertainty in Earth's climate sensitivity by quantifying the pattern effect and more precisely constrain future climate change www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Paleoclimate pattern effects help constrain climate sensitivity and 21st-century warming | PNAS
Paleoclimates provide examples of past climate change that inform estimates of modern
warming from greenhouse-gas emissions, known as Earth’s clima...
www.pnas.org
January 23, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Really excited to see this paper out!! Led by @vtcoop.bsky.social we show that if you use cold and warm paleoclimates together, you can reduce uncertainty in Earth's climate sensitivity by quantifying the pattern effect and more precisely constrain future climate change www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Kate Littler
Thanks to Ben Lerwill for a lovely article on my #urbangeology walks in today’s @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...
www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...
Rock up to London: discovering stones and fossils from around the world on an urban geology tour
The city’s architecture travels through time and continents, incorporating everything from slabs of the Italian Alps to meteorites that hit southern Africa 2bn years ago
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Thanks to Ben Lerwill for a lovely article on my #urbangeology walks in today’s @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...
www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...
Reposted by Kate Littler
Reposted by Kate Littler
The fate of the planet’s coastlines depends on how fast Antarctica’s ice sheets melt. We don’t know what’s coming
The fate of the planet’s coastlines depends on how fast Antarctica’s ice sheets melt. We don’t know what’s coming
Some regions of the continent have enough ice to push up sea levels by 15 metres if they all melt, but researchers don’t yet fully understand the consequences
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:17 PM
The fate of the planet’s coastlines depends on how fast Antarctica’s ice sheets melt. We don’t know what’s coming
Snowdrops in bloom.
The countdown to spring is on!
🌱🌷🌼
The countdown to spring is on!
🌱🌷🌼
January 17, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Snowdrops in bloom.
The countdown to spring is on!
🌱🌷🌼
The countdown to spring is on!
🌱🌷🌼
Reposted by Kate Littler
We warmly welcome the Science Team of IODP³-NSF Expedition 501 to #MARUM and to kick off the onshore research here!
Read more about the onshore operation and the expedition here ➡️ www.marum.de/en/Start-OnO...
@ecord.bsky.social @bgs.ac.uk @anzic.bsky.social
#ECORDScienceOperator #IODP3NSF #Exp501
Read more about the onshore operation and the expedition here ➡️ www.marum.de/en/Start-OnO...
@ecord.bsky.social @bgs.ac.uk @anzic.bsky.social
#ECORDScienceOperator #IODP3NSF #Exp501
January 14, 2026 at 2:38 PM
We warmly welcome the Science Team of IODP³-NSF Expedition 501 to #MARUM and to kick off the onshore research here!
Read more about the onshore operation and the expedition here ➡️ www.marum.de/en/Start-OnO...
@ecord.bsky.social @bgs.ac.uk @anzic.bsky.social
#ECORDScienceOperator #IODP3NSF #Exp501
Read more about the onshore operation and the expedition here ➡️ www.marum.de/en/Start-OnO...
@ecord.bsky.social @bgs.ac.uk @anzic.bsky.social
#ECORDScienceOperator #IODP3NSF #Exp501
End of the first week of (my heavy-teaching) term and I already feel a bit…
Looking forward to a weekend of ::checks notes:: marking and lecture prep 👍
Looking forward to a weekend of ::checks notes:: marking and lecture prep 👍
a baby girl is sitting on a couch with her eyes closed and making a funny face .
Alt: exhausted child slumps on to the table
media.tenor.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:36 PM
End of the first week of (my heavy-teaching) term and I already feel a bit…
Looking forward to a weekend of ::checks notes:: marking and lecture prep 👍
Looking forward to a weekend of ::checks notes:: marking and lecture prep 👍
Reposted by Kate Littler
🚨New paper out with @alexauderset.bsky.social! We show that the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) was better oxygenated during the warm Miocene Climate Optimum than today, but its path to full deoxygenation was slow and complex.
Link to paper: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Link to paper: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Contrasting evolution of the Arabian Sea and Pacific Ocean oxygen minimum zones during the Miocene - Communications Earth & Environment
The Arabian Sea and eastern tropical Pacific oxygen minimum zones were better oxygenated during the warm Miocene, but with regional complexities, according to analysis of trace elements and nitro...
www.nature.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:21 PM
🚨New paper out with @alexauderset.bsky.social! We show that the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) was better oxygenated during the warm Miocene Climate Optimum than today, but its path to full deoxygenation was slow and complex.
Link to paper: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Link to paper: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Reposted by Kate Littler
It’s funny how Wikipedia used to seem relatively unreliable, because it was written by regular people instead of encyclopedia experts, and now it seems relatively reliable, because it’s written by regular people instead of glib CliffsNotes robots
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 3:21 PM
It’s funny how Wikipedia used to seem relatively unreliable, because it was written by regular people instead of encyclopedia experts, and now it seems relatively reliable, because it’s written by regular people instead of glib CliffsNotes robots