Stephen Roberts
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stever60.bsky.social
Stephen Roberts
@stever60.bsky.social
790 followers 770 following 62 posts
⚒️ 🧪Earth scientist / geologist reconstructing past environmental change mainly from lake sediments from Antarctica, Arctic, S. America, Nepal, UK and other places
🏡Cambridge, UK
🏳️‍🌈 he/him
Instagram @antarctic_diary
Posts Replies Media Videos
stever60.bsky.social
Spectacular ending to the annual Cambridge Bonfire Night fireworks display tonight …
November 1, 2025 at 10:20 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Short Article for the BAS IceSheet Newsletter Oct/Nov 2025 …

Ancient tsunamis and storms in the Shetlands Islands

See link for article: www.linkedin.com/posts/stephe...
Collage showing a map of the Shetland Islands in the top left, a map of Loch Flugarth and core sites and sampling locations top right, a sediment core from the centre of the loch bottom left, coring in a small boat on the loch middle bottom, and GPS surveying and measuring retaining sill altitudes bottom right
November 1, 2025 at 10:58 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Applications are now open for this years’ @iapetusdtp.bsky.social PhD projects … including this one investigating ice sheet and glacier history of the Sør Rondane Mountains in East Antarctica by developing in-situ 14C cosmogenic exposure dating methods - more here:

iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Black and white landscape photo of the Sør Rondane mountains in East Antarctica Black and white photo of three people on top of the Utsteinen Nunatak in the Sor Rondane mountains in East Antarctica - some of the samples in this project were taken from this massif and its surrounding moraine A black and white landscape photo of the Utsteinen Nunatak in the Sør Rondane mountains in East Antarctica taken while collecting cosmogenic exposure dating samples from the Teltet Nunatak Black and white photo of two people walking across blue ice of the East Antarctic ice sheet surrounding the Sor Rondane mountains
October 10, 2025 at 5:01 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Applications are now open for this years’ BAS Iapetus PhD projects … including one working on our Big Thaw project investigating extreme precipitation in Nepal from sediment core and climate data - more details in this link @iapetusdtp.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk

iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Photo of Lake Tilicio in Nepal with an inset core showing our team collecting sediment cores from the lake
October 8, 2025 at 6:17 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Lake coring in the Shetland Islands last week, looking for ancient tsunamis with @drmaex.bsky.social @uniheidelberg.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk
September 20, 2025 at 6:38 AM
stever60.bsky.social
This is Fan Lake on Annenkov Island nr South Georgia - sediments from the top of the lake record were analysed with sediments from >400 lakes around the world to construct a new global temperature calibration model which can be used to reconstruct past changes in temperature over thousands of years
September 19, 2025 at 10:57 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Surface sediments from 400 lakes were analysed for biomarker compounds called branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), a group of temperature-sensitive bacteria membrane lipids used in past temperature reconstructions - we expand calibration datasets, and evaluate calibration models
Map showing the location of over 400 lake sediment samples used in this new study
September 19, 2025 at 9:54 AM
stever60.bsky.social
New exciting new global lake sediment temperature calibration paper and dataset by @geochemem.bsky.social, including the first 5- and 6-methyl brGDGTs measured in lake sediments from Antarctica - eg Fan Lake. See link for details:
doi.org/10.1016/j.qu...

@bas.ac.uk @iapetusdtp.bsky.social
A map of the world showing the locations of over 400 lakes whose surface sediments were analysed for biomarker compounds called branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are a group of temperature-sensitive membrane lipids found in bacteria that have been widely used in palaeo-temperature reconstruction. The paper expands existing calibration datasets, and evaluates calibration models constructed using a range of statistical modelling approaches A slide showing Fan Lake on Annenkov Island near South Georgia - sediments from the surface of a core taken from the bottom of the lake were analysed along with sediments from over 400 lakes around the world the construct a new global calibration model which can be used to reconstruct past changes in lake sediments over thousands of years
September 19, 2025 at 9:50 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Second Scottish lake coring adventure of the summer … this time up to the Shetland Islands looking for ancient storms and tsunamis in lake sediments with @drmaex.bsky.social
Coring on Loch Flugarth north mainland Shetland - photo taken by Susie who lives in the house on the far right of this view of the loch looking at hills in the distance with a white houses 3 people in a small red boat on Loch Flugarth View of Loch Flugarth from a large boulder with a rope tied to it towards some hills in the distance A picture of the farm cat who lives near to Loch Flugarth
September 17, 2025 at 9:50 PM
stever60.bsky.social
And a big thanks to our ‘special guest stars’ Tom Bradwell and Eileen Tisdall from University of Stirling and Nicola Dakin from @bgs.ac.uk for all their help
Tom Bradwell helping out on the boat Morning tea at SCENE with Colin Adams, Iain Geldard, Jodie Geldard, Eileen Tisdall, and Tom Bradwell sat around a table in the common area Colin Adams and Tom Bradwell inflating the raft on the beach at SCENE Ellen Tisdall carrying a core back to shore along the boat jetty at the end of days’ coring
June 28, 2025 at 10:00 AM
stever60.bsky.social
A huge thanks to everyone at @sceneuog.bsky.social for hosting us - in particular Prof. Colin Adams for his phenomenal support, & Iain Geldard - we couldn’t have done it without both of you! Jodie Geldard did an amazing job organising the whole trip as part of her @iapetusdtp.bsky.social PhD
SCENE University of Glasgow research centre where we were based - photo shows the road leading up to the wooden building through the forest Collection of sediment cores taken from Loch Lomond over the last 2 weeks strapped into the van for transport to BAS and Southampton for analysis as part of Jodie Geldard’s Iapetus DTP PhD with University of Stirling Final day lunch at the oldest pub in Scotland, the Clachan with Colin Adams, Iain Geldard, Tom Bradwell, and Jodie Geldard (not in photo) Selfie With Tom Bradwell outside the sign for the Clachan in Drymen, the oldest pub in Scotland (apparently)
June 28, 2025 at 9:50 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Not everyday was like this but we had a couple of flat calm hot and sunny days out on the lake with stunning views across to Ben Lomond and surrounding mountains … which was very nice @iapetusdtp.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk
June 28, 2025 at 9:33 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Some pictures from the last couple of weeks lake sediment coring on Loch Lomond with @iapetusdtp.bsky.social
Loch Lomond at sunset with coring rig moored in sheltered bay at SCENE university of Glasgow research centre Loch Lomond view from the southern basin across to Ben Lomond Collecting cores in the middle of Loch Lomond - 4 people capping a surface core retrieved for potential fish eDNA analysis Early morning calm on Loch Lomond
June 27, 2025 at 7:31 AM
stever60.bsky.social
That's all for Loch Lomond coring: 12 cores collected in 10 days, 2 gravel layers reached and lots of very fine grey clay in between! @iapetusdtp.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk
June 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Amazing sculpture exhibition Clearwell Caves in the Wye Valley
Orange ring sculpture Spiky orb in Clearwell Caves Sculpture of Red sunglasses in the foreground and orange high heeled shoes out of focus in the background Sculpture of people holding hands in the shape of ladder
May 31, 2025 at 4:48 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Early start … on my way to Edinburgh for the @iapetusdtp.bsky.social annual conference
Picture of my foot on Platform 4 Zone 5 at Peterborough station Picture of the inside of the empty quiet carriage on the LNER train to Edinburgh
May 13, 2025 at 6:31 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Iapetus Research experience placement (REP) projects are available for summer 2025 including one based @bas.ac.uk investigating the
Effects of Climate Change on the Polar Ionospheric F-region - see link for more details and eligibility criteria; deadline 12 pm 16/5/25

iapetus2.ac.uk/rep-projects/
A list of 5 REP research experience placements available for this summer A picture of the thermosphere showing the F-region around the Earth
April 23, 2025 at 8:44 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Some pictures of lakes: Tal-y-llyn, Wales; Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal; Rara Lake, Mugu, Nepal
A black and white picture of Tal-y-Llyn lake next to Cadair Idris in Wales A photo of showing reflection of Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal A black and white picture of a horse in front of Rara Lake in Mugu district, NE Nepal
March 24, 2025 at 9:58 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Hugo’s big day out on Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham
March 8, 2025 at 7:53 PM
stever60.bsky.social
We wrote a couple of papers about Hodgson Lake (a few years ago) describing what it’s like now and what we thought it was like at the Last Glacial Maximum and before …

doi.org/10.1016/j.qu...

doi.org/10.1016/j.qu...
Location map of Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninusla and Hodgson Lake showing its geomorphology and sampling sites Cartoon showing the evolution of Lake Hodgson since before the Last Glacial Maxium
January 30, 2025 at 8:52 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Footprints in the sand (Elia beach, Mykonos) and snow (Princess Elizabeth Station, East Antarctica)
Black and white photo of footprints on a beach and in the snow
January 24, 2025 at 12:12 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Some photos from a below freezing walk out to Cottenham and back to Cambridge today
4 portrait pictures showing: Frost on a gate post; a kestrel sitting on top of the tree branch: a telegraph pole in the winter sun, frozen plant with frost on it
January 11, 2025 at 5:21 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Sunset walk in a crisp and chilly Cambridge …
Four photos from a sunset walk round Stourbridge Common
January 9, 2025 at 4:27 PM
stever60.bsky.social
Our Big Thaw Nepal lake coring project summarised as a poster presented at the #QRA2025 meeting in Newcastle this week …
Poster summarising our Big Thaw Nepal project
January 8, 2025 at 6:10 AM
stever60.bsky.social
Classic Cambridge postcard view in the cold winter sunshine at lunchtime today …
Classic postcard view of Kings College Cambridge across the Backs Close up of a kings College Cambridge across the Backs in the winter sun
January 3, 2025 at 2:08 PM