Dr Natasha Barlow

Biography

I am a tenure-track Academic Research Fellow and my research focuses on Quaternary environmental change, with a strong emphasis on sea-level change. I bring to SEE my expertise in developing records of past sea level from estuarine deposits along with high-precision dating, to understand the magnitude, timing and driving mechanisms of relative sea-level changes over a range of timescales. My current research particularly focuses on sea level during previous interglacial periods, in particular the Last Interglacial (~125,000 years ago) where I am aiming to establish reconstructions of sea-level change from temperate latitudes, which will in turn help improve predictions of future coastal response and ice-sheet mass-balance changes. I have worked on both passive and active coastal margins developing quantitative reconstructions of near-instantaneous to multi-millennial scale sea-level changes, as well as having experience of glacial isostastic adjustment modelling. My wider research interest is the driving mechanisms of change, in particular that associated with ice sheets, climate and large earthquakes, with the aim of understanding future hazards. We have a growing sub-marine landscapes group at Leeds, conducting research with geophysical datasets and cores to better understand palaeo-landscapes and sediment mobility for offshore infrastructure. In addition to my research I am co-leader of the Quaternary Research Association (QRA) Sea Level and Coastal Change Research Group which draws together scientists from northwest Europe that are researching sea-level and coastal changes and the impact on the coastal environment, in the past, present and future. I co-founded and lead the cross-School Leeds Quaternary research group. Qualifications Education 2006 – 2010: “Glacial isostastic adjustment and relative sea level change over the last earthquake cycle in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA”. PhD, Durham University, UK 2003 – 2006: Geography, BSc, Durham University, UK Previous employment 2009 – 2016: Postdoctoral Research Associate. Durham University, UK

Research Interest

Sea-level change Coastal processes Quaternary environmental change Diatoms Climate change Ice sheets