The bulk of my research in the past has been devoted to the economic and legal history of the Hellenistic world. Given the nature of the survival of ancient documents, that inevitably means that I have focused on Egypt and documentary papyri found there.
In the last four years I have begun a new research agenda that is dedicated to understanding how to link human and natural archives to tell a richer and more dynamic story of the past. This has taken me into the very exciting area of Paleoclimatology. I am especially intrigued by ice core Geochemistry, both because of the nature of data generated and because ice core drilling and processing intersects with my interest in climbing. A very happy coincidence of research and hobby. I am now the Principal Investigator of an NSF-funded major project assessing volcanic impacts on Nile river flow. As part of the project our team is more broadly examining all relevant paleoclimate proxy records and all relevant historical data from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods in Egypt. We are also planning on using climate model reconstructions and new statistical techniques to tie in climate proxy data, qualitative Nile river flow data and historical events and societal responses. The project website is at:
nileclimateproject.netlify.com
I will provide updates on our NSF-funded Volcanism, Hydrology and Social Conflict project here.
I will be giving a talk at the Desert Research Institute about our work on October 18th.
I am also speaking at the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, and giving a public lecture at the university on October 30th.
In the last four years I have begun a new research agenda that is dedicated to understanding how to link human and natural archives to tell a richer and more dynamic story of the past. This has taken me into the very exciting area of Paleoclimatology. I am especially intrigued by ice core Geochemistry, both because of the nature of data generated and because ice core drilling and processing intersects with my interest in climbing. A very happy coincidence of research and hobby. I am now the Principal Investigator of an NSF-funded major project assessing volcanic impacts on Nile river flow. As part of the project our team is more broadly examining all relevant paleoclimate proxy records and all relevant historical data from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods in Egypt. We are also planning on using climate model reconstructions and new statistical techniques to tie in climate proxy data, qualitative Nile river flow data and historical events and societal responses. The project website is at:
nileclimateproject.netlify.com
I will provide updates on our NSF-funded Volcanism, Hydrology and Social Conflict project here.
I will be giving a talk at the Desert Research Institute about our work on October 18th.
I am also speaking at the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, and giving a public lecture at the university on October 30th.
The Basel conference, November 2018