Urbino Summer School in Paleoclimatology
Ulster University
Attending the Urbino Summer School in Paleoclimatology (USSP) enriched my academic and professional development through a multifaceted, immersive experience. Over a 16 day intensive course, I engaged with advanced topics in paleoclimatology, ranging from geochemical and paleobiological proxies to deep-time climate dynamics, including Cretaceous OAEs, Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, and the Greenhouse-Icehouse transition. Led by a team of internationally renowned scientists, the program enhanced my technical proficiency in climate modelling and proxy data analysis, equipping me with advanced tools to study past carbon cycling and climate variability.
The course also fostered a collaborative learning environment through lectures, symposia, tutorials, field excursions, and hands-on exercises, strengthening my ability to integrate interdisciplinary approaches and communicate complex ideas effectively. Integrated sessions on career development, community-building, and the “USSP Conference” (featuring participant and instructor presentations and posters) expanded my professional network and honed my presentation skills
My participation in the USSP brought clear benefits to the marine research community by strengthening expertise in reconstructing and interpreting Earth’s climate history, much of which is recorded in the oceans. The course emphasized the role of marine sediments, microfossils, and geochemical proxies in tracking past environmental change, providing a critical framework for understanding present and future ocean-climate interactions. By working directly with stratigraphic records and proxy datasets, I gained advanced skills in analysing the marine sedimentary archive, skills that can be directly applied to current research on ocean circulation, carbon cycling, and ecosystem responses to climate variability.
The summer school also fostered an international network of early-career researchers and senior scientists, promoting collaboration across disciplines such as paleoceanography, geochemistry, and marine biology. This strengthens the global marine research community by building shared methodologies and encouraging open data exchange. Importantly, discussions on past climate events, such as oceanic anoxic events (OAEs) and hyperthermals, provided insights into thresholds and tipping points in the ocean system, with direct relevance to ongoing concerns such as deoxygenation, acidification, and biodiversity loss.
Overall, USSP provided a robust foundation in paleoclimate research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and academic confidence—assets that will significantly benefit my research trajectory. While the skills and connections developed through USSP enhance the capacity of the marine research community to address pressing challenges in ocean sustainability and climate resilience.
Awardee Profile:
I am a second year PhD researcher in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Ulster University, supervised by Professor Sara Benetti (Ulster University), Dr Janina Buescher (Ulster University) and Professor David Thornalley (University College London). My project focuses on reconstructing past and modern changes in North Atlantic circulation using sediment cores from the Rockall Trough. Analysing proxies such as the mean size and percentage of sortable silt from contourites, my research aims to trace bottom current velocity changes since the last glacial maximum.
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