Gavin Foster
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thefosterlab.bsky.social
Gavin Foster
@thefosterlab.bsky.social
2.8K followers 810 following 460 posts
Palaeoclimatologist and isotope geochemist at the University of Southampton. Love/hate relationship with mass spectrometers. Researcher of climate science, coral reefs, biomineralisation, laser ablation, isotopes and geology. Views my own
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thefosterlab.bsky.social
Earth's crust extracted from the mantle post-3.5 Ga - revealed by these exquisite Laser Ablation Sr isotope maps. Great example new technology yielding new information about the Earth. Also the lowest 87/86Sr ever measured on Earth (0.700050)!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
a Optical image of plagioclase megacryst (An80) from the 3.73 Ga Manfred Complex, Narryer Terrane, Western Australia, with the area analysed by LA-MC-ICPMS enclosed by the grey line (laser ablation spots visible within this area). Fractures and altered areas appear optically white in colour relative to the fresher domains, which appear dark grey. b Interpolated map of measured 87Sr/86Sr. c Interpolated map of 87Rb/86Sr. d Interpolated map of 87Sr/86Srinitial (at 3.73 Ga). Analyses with elevated (>0.005) 87Rb/86Sr are excluded from this map to avoid overcorrecting the data. e Weighted mean of measured 87Sr/86Sr calculated for the outlined map domains in (b). Domains were selected on the basis of clusters of adjacent low 87Sr/86Sr and 87Rb/86Sr measurements. f Weighted mean of 87Sr/86Srinitial (at 3.73 Ga) calculated for the outlined map domains in (d).
November 5, 2025 at 9:31 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
End of a busy week delivering a new Analytical Geochemisty module for our 4th year @unisouthampton.bsky.social Geologists. I think they enjoyed it!
A geochemist wearing lab coat in front of our Agilent QQQ ICPMS A lab coat wearing geochemist at a mass spec Four geochemists collecting a core in a saltmarsh near Hamble A geochemist proudly displaying a sediment core
September 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Day 1 and coral 1 (of many) getting scanned at the Diamond synchrotron with @jtrendbio.bsky.social @tomarney.com and others! 🧪🌊🪸
A small match stick shaped coral being mounted in the path of the XRay beam Monitor showing coral sample number one in the beam line
August 12, 2025 at 11:14 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Eocene Fossil turtle shell from Yarmouth Isle of Wight (~30 Ma). It was a fossil like this that led to the birth of the science of Palaeoclimatology: in the late 17th C, IoW native Robert Hook proposed that such turtle fossils indicated the climate must have been warmer in the past. ⚒️🧪
Fossil turtle shell from Yarmouth Isle of Wight
July 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
!!Conference Alert!! Southampton Imaging Conference - Light on Life: illuminating all things Big and Small. 18/06/2025 @unisouthampton.bsky.social. It focuses on correlative imaging workflows across scales and modalities. Registration still open, here: tinyurl.com/332b9h8x

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Southampton Imaging Conference | Light on Life: Illuminating All Things Big and Small Date and time: 18 June 2025, 09.30 - 17.00 Venue: Avenue Campus, University of Southampton, SO17 1BF Conference abstract: This is a one-day in-person event organised by the Institute for Life Sciences aimed at showcasing cutting edge, interdisciplinary and translational research with the theme of ‘Light on Life: Illuminating All Things Big and Small’. The event is designed for researchers with interests in the development of new imaging technologies or new applications of more established methods. The conference will feature sessions on Molecular and Nanoscale, Micro- and Mesoscale, as well as Macroscale including Biomedical Imaging. The focus will be on correlative workflows across scales and modalities, covering studies that span in vitro models, animals, humans, and the environment. Presentations will highlight both technological advancements and practical applications focusing on the role of correlative imaging in providing a holistic understanding of biology, physiology, and the environment. The organisers would like to express their gratitude to all sponsors for their support. The programme will include invited presentations, flash presentations and a poster session to encourage networking, discussion and sharing of information. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Keynote speakers include: Dr Sharif Ahmed (Diamond Light Source), Dr Thomas DeCarlo (Tulane University), Dr Alexander Morrell (KCL), Dr Theodora Stewart (KCL), Prof Philipp Thurner (TU Wien)
May 30, 2025 at 2:34 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Every night is a disco for our foraminifera in their respiration chambers @biosstation.bsky.social with @case4climate.bsky.social @chalkyoceans.bsky.social @juliemeilland.bsky.social 🧪⚒️🌊🪸
May 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Look at this beauty! freshly fished out of the Sargasso Sea and imaged at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences with @chalkyoceans.bsky.social @juliemeilland.bsky.social and others 🧪🌊⚒️
May 14, 2025 at 2:18 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Great to finally hold this in my hand! Pleasure to work with @amoeba-lab.bsky.social and Ros Rickaby in editing this issue of Elements: Biomineral Geochemistry. Thanks also to all the authors who made such a great set of articles! www.elementsmagazine.org 🧪🌊⚒️
Cover of the latest issue of Elements Magazine called Biomineral Geochemisty: Windows into Past Climates and Calcification. The cover shows a picture of small clusters of amorphous calcium carbonate
May 1, 2025 at 9:21 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
!New Paper Alert! Matrix independent and interference free in situ boron isotope analysis by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS/MS pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a.... In it we use our Neoma MC-ICPMS/MS to overcome the complexities of measuring boron isotopes by Laser Ablation in carbonates and other minerals. ⚒️🧪🌊🪸
Cross plots of d11B reference value vs. what we measure using Laser Ablation on our Neoma MC-ICPMS/MS. All the data lie on the 1:1 line showing that we can get accurate d11B data using laser ablation on a range of matrices from carbonate to silicate when normalised to NIST 612 glass. Mass scans from m/z 9.7 to 11.1 for the Neoma MS/MS, base Neoma and Neptune when ablating carbonates. The Neptune shows an elevated background due to scattering of Ca and Ar 4+ ions. This is reduced in the base Neoma and entirely eliminated in the Neoma MS/MS. We think this is because the formation of Ca4+ and Ar4+ is reduced in this design of MS and scattering of this multiply charged ions is reduced once Ar and Ca are cut out by the pre-filter. This shows the problem with laser ablation boron isotopes in carbonates on our Neptune MC-ICPMS. It shows a mass scan from m/z 9.7 to m/z 11.1 with peaks at the boron masses 10B and 11B. Rather than being a flat line - the baseline is elevated around boron 10 (and 11) due to scattering of 4+ Ar and Ca.
April 3, 2025 at 11:52 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Very pleased to have co-edited the latest version of Elements Magazine (www.elementsmagazine.org) "Biomineral Geochemistry" with @amoeba-lab.bsky.social and Ros Rickaby. Topics range from controls on CaCO3 polymorph to the role of amorphous intermediate phases and "vital effects". 🧪🌊🪸⚒️
Cover of Elements Issue entitled Biomineral Geochemistry: Windows into Past Climates and Calcification. The picture shows amorphous calcium carbonate particles - the precursors to many biominerals
April 1, 2025 at 12:22 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Looking forward to telling the public about all the metals and resources needed for modern tech in @unisouthampton.bsky.social #sotsef “what’s in your smartphone”. Can you solve our riddles?
Our stand at Sotsef Riddles Minerals
March 15, 2025 at 10:29 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Norfolk Broads are beautiful…who knew?
Windmill from the river Ant Norfolk with big grey sky
February 21, 2025 at 5:12 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
What a pleasant surprise to watch David Thornalley on BBC News this morning while eating my breakfast! He did a great job explaining the threat of AMOC collapse. More here from @rahmstorf.bsky.social www.realclimate.org/index.php/ar... if you want to know more 🧪🌊⚒️
LEFT: David Thornalley (“I am a geologist so I look at time differently to the public”) talking to the BBC about AMOC. RIGHT: lovely picture of the RRS Discovery at sea
February 1, 2025 at 9:03 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
End of an era yesterday with the retirement of my good friend and colleague Prof Steve Roberts. Happy retirement Steve!
Picture of Steve Roberts giving a thank you speech at his retirement party.
January 28, 2025 at 3:35 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Artists rendition of the death of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age from this great paper by Hana Jurikova @mudwaterclimate.bsky.social and others (www.nature.com/articles/s41...). The papers also contains some lovely boron isotope data tracing CO2 300 million years ago! 🧪⚒️🌊
January 7, 2025 at 9:47 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Depends on what you think! but yes, uncertainty in pre-industrial T is around +/- 0.25 (see this figure from this paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...). Most of this uncertainty is down to ocean temperatures being poorly measured as technologies evolved from buckets to satellites
Comparison of instrumental and tree-ring-based temperature reconstructions. Land air temperature anomalies for the Northern Hemisphere growing season (May-August) are compared across instrumental datasets – DCENT (red), CRUTEM5 (green), and Berkeley Earth (blue) – and a tree-ring-based temperature reconstruction (black). Anomalies are calculated relative to the 1900-2000 mean, and the tree-ring-based temperatures are re-scaled to have the same interannual variance as the instrumental temperatures following the methodology of ref. 33 in the paper linked in the post. The comparison is performed using the least common coverage over the Northern Hemisphere (20° N poleward) across all datasets to ensure a fair evaluation
December 17, 2024 at 10:24 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Happy Isotope Day everyone! 🥳On this day in 1913 Nature published Federick Soddy's paper "Intra-atomic Charge" www.nature.com/articles/092... in which he introduced the term "isotope" (coined after a dinner conversation in Glasgow with Margaret Todd the classics scholar). how will you celebrate?🧪⚒️🌊
black and white picture of Federick Soddy looking at the camera. A plaque on a wall in Glasgow celebrating Federick Soddy the text says: At a dinner party held in this house in 1913 Federick Soddy (1877-1956) introduced the concept of "isotopes". He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1921 for his work on radioactivity. Photo from X account of @is_glasgow
December 4, 2024 at 11:29 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Hard to believe it’s going to rain all weekend! Lovely winter sunset bathing the NOC canteen and RRS James Cook @unisouthampton.bsky.social 🌊
View of the RRS James Cook from the canteen at NOCS Southampton. Wintery sunsetting behind the ship
November 22, 2024 at 3:12 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
We have 9 PhD projects in the general area of Geochemistry on offer this year via our DTP in a range of subjects (see flyer) from exploring rainfall in a past warmer world to studying the eruptive behaviour of a young stratovolcano. Please share with interested parties 🧪⚒️🌊🪸🐙
A poster listing the PhD opportunities available in the Geochemistry Group of the School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton. Geochemistry at Southampton comprises over 30 researchers and postgraduate students who apply state-of-the-art geochemical analysis and modelling to scientific questions of major societal, economic and environmental importance. With over £5M investment in new facilities over the past 5 years, the Geochemistry Group is one of the best equipped centres of its type in the world, allowing us to offer PhD projects that span a wide range of low and high temperature geochemistry research. Go to this link to find out more: https://noc.ac.uk/education/gsnocs/how-apply. There are also four images: a banner with a volcano, two photos of the laboratory, a diver sampling coral and a geologists in the field
November 18, 2024 at 9:53 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
My PhD student Jake Kleboe is not only an awesome Raman wrangler but he also regularly bakes to raise money for Movember. Today he is going to bake 200 loaves of banana bread in 24 hours! Live stream starts at 10am UK m.twitch.tv/kleboes_kitc... please donate here: uk.movember.com/mospace/1337...
Poster showing Jake sporting a tache advertising his attempt to bake 200 banana bread loaves in 24 hours. Includes links to donate and live stream
November 16, 2024 at 9:35 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
The future of low-C shipping? www.southampton.ac.uk/smmi/news/20... 🧪🌊
The Pacific Grebe alongside the National Oceanography Centre during the reveal of the FastRig™ wing sail (left) and at sea during trials (right). (Photos of Winds of Change project between University of Southampton and Smart Green Shipping.)
November 1, 2024 at 8:47 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Getting definite Cylon vibes from our laser today 🧪⚒️
A Cylon from Battle star galactica (the old one) with red “eye” A Teledyne Iridia Laser Ablation System with a Red “eye”
October 23, 2024 at 7:33 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
We are advertising 2 funded PhD projects this year: Project 1: Its getting hot in here - coral-based reconstructions of ocean warming and Project 2: Exploring the eruptive behaviour of a rare young stratovolcano. Please share!! www.thefosterlab.org/blog/2024/10/23/phd-topics-for-entry-september-2025
A picture of our geochemistry labs - showing two people working at mass spectrometers and one person, blurred, walking towards the camera (because we thought this looked cool). A picture taken underwater in Bermuda showing a diver drilling a coral to collect a coral core. A free stock photo of a volcano erupting.
October 23, 2024 at 10:09 AM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
Not the best comet picture ever but also saw a line of Musk’s starlink satellites too! 🔭
October 17, 2024 at 7:15 PM
thefosterlab.bsky.social
I changed my route to walk slightly this morning and came across this! wasnt expecting to learn about oceanic Rossby waves on my commute! My next task - to find more around the streets of Southampton 🌊
A plaque in the pavement in Southampton with text reading "until recently we couldn't even see oceanic Rossby waves. Only when we tracked them by satellite could we confirm the existence of these mysterious waves, which are thought to be capable of steering ocean currents and affecting how the oceans respond to climate change" Paolo Cipollini National Oceanography Centre 2006
October 17, 2024 at 12:52 PM