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Palaeoclimate (PALCOM)

Palaeoclimate (PALCOM)

Palaeoclimate (PALCOM)

The INQUA Palaeoclimate Commission (PALCOM) supports a growing community of scientists and research groups focused on advancing our understanding of Quaternary climates. We emphasize the development of novel reconstructions and dating techniques to gain deeper insights into past climate drivers and variability, including abrupt events and long-term trends. PALCOM provides a platform for researchers to share knowledge, collaborate on innovative projects, and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of Earth’s climate history.

PALCOM actively promotes international collaborative research through INQUA-supported projects. We prioritize greater participation and representation of researchers from the Global South, recognizing the value of diverse perspectives in addressing global climate challenges. By facilitating these collaborations, PALCOM aims to create a more inclusive and globally representative paleoclimate community.

PALCOM is dedicated to supporting early-career researchers and research groups from less-developed countries, ensuring that diverse voices contribute to shaping the future of paleoclimate science. We believe that fostering the next generation of paleoclimate scientists is vital for addressing the complex climate challenges facing our planet.

Current projects under the PALCOM umbrella include: WiSH – Warm Intervals in the Southern Hemisphere; INTIMATE – INTegrating Ice core, Marine and TErrestrial records for advanced palaeoclimate reconstruction; TRAC-XSA – Training Researchers in Core Analysis with Scanner XRF for South America; and S4 – Summer School on Speleothem Science. For the remaining inter-congress period ahead of the 2027 INQUA congress in India, the commission will maintain effective communication with its membership base and organize meetings with project managers and the congress organizing committee.

Projects

PALCOM

    Ignacio A. Jara, Universidad de Tarapacá, Chile

    President

    Ignacio A. Jara, Universidad de Tarapacá, Chile

    I am a paleoclimatologist with expertise in late Quaternary hydroclimate reconstruction in the South American Andes. My research focuses on understanding past climate drivers and mechanisms, for which I employ sedimentological and biological proxies from sedimentary archives, combined with global and regional modeling simulations.
    ijarap@academicos.uta.cl
    Marta Marchegiano, University of Granada, Spain

    Vice President

    Marta Marchegiano, University of Granada, Spain

    I am a tenure-track researcher at the University of Granada in the Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology. My work focuses on paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions of marine and lacustrine environments, applying a multidisciplinary approach that integrates paleontology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry. In particular, I specialize in the application of the clumped isotope technique to ostracod shells, providing direct insights into past continental climate changes at a seasonal scale.
    martamarchegiano@ugr.es
    Melissa Berke, University of Notre Dame, USA

    Vice President

    Melissa Berke, University of Notre Dame, USA

    I am an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame (USA). I am an organic geochemist and use sedimentary lipids and compound specific isotopes from lakes and oceans to reconstruct past climate and environmental changes. I enjoy doing field work at sites and with collaborators around the world, working in the lab (when I get the chance!), and mentoring students and early career scientists. In my free time, I love to read, listen to live music, and catch up with friends.
    mberke@nd.edu
    Shivangi Tiwari, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada

    Secretary

    Shivangi Tiwari, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada

    I am a paleoclimate modeller at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). My PhD work was focussed on the Remote Impacts of the mid-Holocene Green Sahara, investigating teleconnections between northern Africa and various parts of the world. I am interested in Green Sahara Periods, land surface feedbacks, tropical ocean variability and proxy-model comparisons.
    tiwari.shivangi@courrier.uqam.ca
    Sudhir Bhadra, Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India

    ECR Officer

    Sudhir Bhadra, Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India

    I am a paleoclimatologist and paleoceanographer whose research focuses on reconstructing past oceanographic and climatic changes using geochemical and micropaleontological proxies.
    sudhirar@iisc.ac.in
    Syed Azharuddin, Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

    ECR Officer

    Syed Azharuddin, Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

    I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University. My research focuses on reconstructing climate and oceanographic changes from the Pliocene to the present using geochemical proxies in both terrestrial and marine archives. My personal Webpage can be accessed here: https://climatesyed.weebly.com/
    azhar0606@gmail.com; azhar0606@ntu.edu.tw

PALCOM Advisory Board Members:

  • Ayako Abe-Ouchi, The University of Tokyo
  • Brian Chase, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
  • Laurie Menviel, University of New South Wales (UNSW)
  • Kenji Kawamura, The National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)
  • Kira Rehfeld, University of Tübingen
  • Thomas Johnson, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Fanny Lhardy, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon)

Latest developments

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Scientific Journals

INQUA serves the Quaternary Research community by supporting the publication of two scientific journals published by Elsevier • Quaternary International (QI), a hybrid Journal launched in 1989 • Quaternary Environments and Humans (QEH), a full Open Access Journal launched in 2023

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