Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit

The Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit (PRU) is an active, interdisciplinary research cluster in the School of Geography and Archaeology. Since its initiation in the Department of Botany in the early 1980s, the PRU has been involved in cutting-edge research on long-term environmental change, with pollen analysis from peat and lake sediment cores as the primary method of investigation. The PRU has an international reputation for its research on long-term woodland dynamics, climate change and the effects of historic and pre-historic human activity on natural ecosystems.

Since its incorporation into the School of Geography and Archaeology in 2011, the PRU has expanded to include expertise from related research areas, including palaeoceanography, foraminifera, subfossil chironomid (non-biting midge fly) analysis, tree-ring research, historical climatology, former landscapes and long-term human-environment interactions.  Through the integration of expertise from Geography, Archaeology and Botany, the PRU provides a truly interdisciplinary research setting from which to investigate long-term environmental change. The unit continues to contribute to research programmes across the University, including the Moore Institute and Ryan Institute, effectively bridging the gap between the Arts and the Natural Sciences. Through its active international collaborations and cross-disciplinary publication record, the PRU continues to build on its reputation for excellence in palaeoenvironmental research.      

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