Professor Jaime Toney
- Professor in Environmental and Climate Science (School of Geographical & Earth Sciences)
- Academic Lead GCF Sustainable Futures (Research Services)
email:
Jaime.Toney@glasgow.ac.uk
Geographical and Earth Sciences, Room 513 Molema Building
Biography
I am the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Solutions and a Professor of Environmental and Climate Science. I lead the BECS research group that is focused on developing an understanding of organic molecules in modern organisms and environments that can be applied to analysing and interpreting past environments and climates. I am Principal Investigator of the NERC Strategic Programme: GALLANT: Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. I am a member of the Scottish Government's Clyde Mission Groups on Climate Adaptation and Net Zero, UKRI NERC Review College and Chair of the Geochemical Society's C.C. Patterson Award Committee.
Research interests
BECS - Biomarkers for Environmental and Climate Science:
- Molecular fossils, or biomarkers, in terrestrial and marine sedimentary deposits
- Developing quantitative proxies for temperature, ecological and hydrological processes in aquatic environments
- Subalpine environments as sensitive regions to climate forcing and internal climate feedbacks that are driven by both natural and human impacts
- Organic residue analysis to understand past practices and cultures
- Lipid analysis applied to algal and other biofuels
- Astrobiology and molecular signatures of life on other planets/planetary bodies
Publications
Selected publications
Araie, H. et al. (2018) Novel alkenone-producing strains of genus Isochrysis (Haptophyta) isolated from Canadian saline lakes show temperature sensitivity of alkenones and alkenoates. Organic Geochemistry, 121, pp. 89-103. (doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2018.04.008)
García-Alix, A. , Jiménez-Espejo, F. J., Toney, J. L. , Jiménez-Moreno, G., Ramos-Román, M. J., Anderson, R. S., Ruano, P., Queralt, I., Delgado Huertas, A. and Kuroda, J. (2017) Alpine bogs of southern Spain show human-induced environmental change superimposed on long-term natural variations. Scientific Reports, 7, 7439. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-07854-w) (PMID:28785039) (PMCID:PMC5547100)
Longo, W. M. et al. (2018) Widespread occurrence of distinct alkenones from Group I haptophytes in freshwater lakes: implications for paleotemperature and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 492, pp. 239-250. (doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.002)
Plancq, J. , Cavazzin, B., Juggins, S., Haig, H. A., Leavitt, P. R. and Toney, J. L. (2018) Assessing environmental controls on the distribution of long-chain alkenones in the Canadian Prairies. Organic Geochemistry, 117, pp. 43-55. (doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2017.12.005)
Ramos-Román, M.J., Jiménez-Moreno, G., Toney, J. , Anderson, R.S., Garcia-Alix Daroca, A. , Toney, J.L. , Jiménez-Espejo, F.J. and Carrión, J.S. (2016) Centennial-scale vegetation and North Atlantic Oscillation changes during the Late Holocene in the southern Iberia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 143, pp. 84-95. (doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.05.007)
Denis, E.H., Toney, J.L. , Tarozo, R. and Scott Anderson, R. (2012) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in lake sediments record historic fire events: validation using HPLC-fluorescence detection. Organic Geochemistry, 45, pp. 7-17. (doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.01.005)
Cisneros-Dozal, L. M. et al. (2014) Assessing the strength of the monsoon during the late Pleistocene in southwestern United States. Quaternary Science Reviews, 103, pp. 81-90. (doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.08.022)
Fawcett, P. J. et al. (2011) Extended megadroughts in the southwestern United States during Pleistocene interglacials. Nature, 470(7335), pp. 518-521. (doi: 10.1038/nature09839) (PMID:21350483)
Toney, J.L. , Huang, Y., Fritz, S.C., Baker, P.A., Grimm, E. and Nyren, P. (2010) Climatic and environmental controls on the occurrence and distributions of long chain alkenones in lakes of the interior United States. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 74(5), pp. 1563-1578. (doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2009.11.021)
All publications
Grants
Selected Funding:
PI (2022-2027) GALLANT: Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation - Delivering a Climate Resilient City through City-University Partnership), NERC Strategic Programme Grant - NE/W005042/1
Co-I (2021) The Hidden Environmental Histories of the River Clyde, NERC-AHRC joint call.
Project Advisor (2021-2023) Deforestation in Pakistan: Combating through Wireless Sensor Networks, British Council Pakistan KTP.
PI (2015-2020) ALKENoNE - Algal Lipids: the Key to Earth Now and aNcient Earth, ERC Starting Grant.
Scientist-in-Charge (2014-2016) lead: Garcia-Alix, A. Marie Curie Intra-European Fellow, "Natural responses to past North Atlantic Oscillations: Southern Iberian Peninsula vs. United Kingdom, Analogues for future environmental changes (NAOSIPUK)"
Supervision
Superviser of Post-doctoral Research Associates:
Julien Plancq - ERC Starting Grant, Project: ALKENoNE (2015-2018)
Antonio Garcia-Alix - Marie Curie Intra-European Fellow, Project: NAOSIPUK (2014-2016)
Lead Superviser Ph.D. Candidates:
Jill McColl - Geographical and Earth Sciences."Climate variability of the last 1000 years in the NW Pacific: high resolution, multi-biomarker records from lake and ocean sediments." Successfully completed - July 2016.
Philippe Nauny - Geographical and Earth Sciences, ‘Signs of life in Mars analogue environments’. Current
Rory Porteous - Geographical and Earth Sciences, 'Signs of life in Mars analogue environments, Silica Sinters. Current
Bianca Cavazzin - Geographical and Earth Sciences, 'Palaeotemperature change in the drought-prone Canadian prairies. Current
Charlotte Slaymark - Geographical and Earth Sciences, 'Development and application of biomarkers for climate change in the United Kingdom for the last glacial-interglacial transition and early Holocene'. Current
Mike Zwick - Geographical and Earth Sciences, 'Recording high-resolution changes in temperature and hydrology from the Canadian Priarie'.. Current
Co-Superviser Ph.D. Candidates:
Allen Ude Akwu-Ude - University of Glasgow, Engineering, 'Reduced water usage in microalgae growth for biofuels'. Current
Elsa Peruchinni - University of Glasgow, Archaeology, 'Consuming identities in the 'Cradle of Civilisations' Food consumption and the emergence of social complexity in greater Mesopotamia'. Current
Jon Camuera Bidaurreta - visiting Ph.D. Student, University of Granada, Spain, 'Organic biomarker application to El Padul, Spain'. Current
Bing Feng (2014) Diols and n-alkanes as biomarkers from a inland freshwater lake indicate the paleoclimate: Bardowie Lock of Scotland.
Charlotte Slaymark (2014) Plant leaf wax biomarkers and lake circulation interactions: implications for palaeoclimate records in Scotland.
Paraskevi Tsintza (2014) Identifying hydrocarbons from oil shales in stream sediments along the South Queensferry shore.
Alistair McDermid (Summer 2014) – from Kirkintilloch High School, 'Sediments, Biomarkers and Column Chromatography: Did Western Scotland Experience the Dramatic Cooling at 8.2ka?'
Stuart Allardice (2014) Visualizing the Destruction of Algal Cells for Potential Biofuels Lipids
Sanni Pulkki (2014) Detecting Potential Biofuel Lipids from Microalgal Cultures with State-of-the-Art Techniques
Rosie Bradshaw (2014) Characterizing the Hydrocarbon Content of the petroliferous Mulgrave Shale Member, Cleveland Basin using new techniques, GCxGC
Ruairidh Salmon (2014) Hydrocarbon Characterization of North Sea oil field drilling samples
Katrina Kerr (2014) The Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event
Jonathan McGourlay (2014) Paleoenvironmental reconstruction during the last 1,500 year in Southern Iberia, Spain
Allan Cochrane (Summer 2014) Palaeohumidity reconstruction during the late Holocene in Southern Iberia
Clare Noble (2013-2014) Applying a marine palaeotemperature proxy to lake sediments
Joe Armstrong (2013-2014) Detecting methane in peatlands using microbial biomarkers
Pauline Rovira (2013-2014) Charateristics of the hydrocarbons within the petroliferous Mulgrave Shale Member, Cleveland Basin
Clare Brady (Summer 2013) Assaying for environmental biomarkers from Late Pleistocene age Scottish Loch
Amanda Dolan (Summer 2013) Detecting marine dinoflagellates in geologic deposits in the absence of traditional fossils
Craig Barr - (2012-2013) 'Discovery of organic molecular fossils in the Southern Ocean during the Eocene (55 Ma) greenhouse'
Julia Rodden - (2012-2013)Final year project: 'The role of a Japanese peatland in the carbon cycle'
Charlotte McLean -(Summer 2012) GSL Bursary project: 'The role of peatland expansion and methane cycling on the East Antarctic continent in the early Eocene'
William Vorley - (2011-2012)Final year project: 'Lions Mane (Cyanea capilla) and Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) Biomarker Assay'
Daniella Peel - (2011-2012)Final year project: 'Transport and deposition of bacterial hopane biomarkers in Siberian fluvial and lacustrine settings'
Casey Bryce (2011-2012) Bursary work on sediment cores, haptophyte cultures, and water column sampling at Loch Sunart, Scotland, UK
Elizabeth Denis - Honors Thesis, Brown University, US 'Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in lake sediments record historic fire events: Validation using HPLC-fluorescence detection'
- Dickinson, Heloisa
Understanding and modelling the potential impacts of alternate land-use practices: CO2 sequestration and pollutant immobilisation in derelict and contaminated land sites - Gakpe, Edward Amego
Methane and Carbon dioxide measurement and quantification from River Clyde Estuary - Tait, Nicola
Developing community-scale whole-energy system models integrating sustainability KPIs towards net-zero futures - Zhao, Jinyu
Net-Zero Cities: A Comparative Study of Strategies, Barriers, Opportunities and Challenges
Teaching
Current Courses:
Student-led Evening Course: An Interdisciplinary Introduction to Climate Change and Sustainability
Undergraduate Honours Course: Climates: Past and Future
Upskilling Course: Climate and Carbon Literacy
Archaeology: Feasting Like the Ancients
Various Lectures in our Master-level programmes: Earth Futures and Sustainable Water
Professional activities & recognition
Research fellowships
- 2015 - 2020: ERC Starting Grant
Grant committees & research advisory boards
- 2013 - 2013: National Science Foundation (NSF), USA, Geobiology and Low Temperature Geochemistry Panel
- 2011 - 2015: Earth Science Women's Network, European Board Member
Professional & learned societies
- 2018: Fellow, Geological Society of London
- 2006: Member, American Geophysical Union
- 1998: Member, Geological Society of America
- 1998: Member, Sigma Xi
- 2016: Member, Geochemical Society
Selected international presentations
- 2019: Keynote Speaker, British Organic Geochemical Society (Manchester, UK)
- 2018: Invited Scientific Talk - US-Japan Research Institute (Washington DC, US)
- 2012: Invited Talk - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (San Francisco, CA, US)
Supplementary
- Key Member of PAGES Working Group, ACME 'Arctic cryosphere change and coastal marine ecosystems' UK-India Frontiers of Science Meeting - Royal Society, Invited Session Organiser (2018) External Examiner for Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling (2017-2021) Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2015-now) Scottish Crucible Alumni (2013) Climate Change Expert for BBC Radio Scotland's Newdrive (2012) Climate Change Expert for Cosmos Online (2012)
Research datasets
Additional information
Session Chair:
- EGU Annual Meeting (2012), session: ‘Cenozoic greenhouse climates and carbon cycle dynamics’
- AGU Fall Meeting (2010), session: ‘Breakthroughs in continental paleothermometry: Applications of terrestrial proxies’
Committees:
- Team member for application to Athena Swan Silver status at the University of Glasgow.
- Graduate Representative for Earth Systems History to Dept. of Geological Sciences faculty meetings (2010-2011), Brown University
- Graduate Representative for Quaternary Sciences at the University Graduate Committee, (2001-2002) Northern Arizona University
Other:
- Scottish Crucible Participant (2013)
- Reviewer for a number of international journals.
- Proposal peer review NASA.
- Earth Science Women’s Network – European Board Member
- EGU Women in Geosciences Mentor
- STEM Ambassador for Science Outreach, U.K. (2012)
Workshops and Short Courses:
- 2012 Dinocyst Course, Utrecht, Netherlands.
- 2010 Urbino Summer School on Paleoclimatology
Links to Outreach Activities:
- http://today.brown.edu/articles/2010/05/arbor-day
- http://today.brown.edu/articles/2010/02/gk-12
- http://today.brown.edu/articles/2009/10/gk-12
- http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/ges/news/headline_231738_en.html