Dr Stephen Galvin

B.A. (NUI Galway) Ph.D. (NUI Galway)
Room:		124 Arts/Science Building
Phone:		00 353 (0)91 49 4103
Fax:		00 353 (0) 91 49 5505
Email:		stephen.d.galvinnuigalway.ie
Office Hours:		Monday & Tuesday 11:00-12:00

Biography

A native of Tralee, Co. Kerry, Stephen graduated from NUI Galway in 2005 with a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Geography and Political Science and Sociology. He undertook an M.Litt. in the Department of Geography in 2005, upgraded to Ph.D. in 2006 and completed the research in 2010. The title of Stephen’s Ph.D. thesis was “The Impact of Volcanic Eruptions on the Climate and Ecology of Ireland since A.D. 1800” and was supervised by Dr. Aaron Potito and Dr. Kieran Hickey, both from NUI Galway’s Department of Geography.

Research Interests

Research interests include abrupt climate change and the susceptibility of various aspects of the natural environment to such change; volcanology and how its analysis can allow a better understanding of the interaction between volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change; dendroclimatology, dendrochronology and the information that can be gathered by reconstructing past climates through the analysis of tree-rings.

Completed Ph.D. Research

Title: The Impact of Volcanic Eruptions on the Climate and Ecology of Ireland since A.D. 1800

The focus of this study is to determine to what extent five large-scale low-latitude volcanic eruptions and six lesser Iceland-based events have had on the climate and ecology of Ireland over the past ~200 years. The analysis used is two-fold, concentrating firstly on archival climate data, followed by the examination of dendroecological trends and a new dendroclimatic reconstruction. Armagh Observatory, Co. Armagh, provides detailed temperature, precipitation and wind direction data from 1796 onwards, while Taxus baccata (yew) tree-ring indices from Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry are used to reconstruct temperature and precipitation for that area since 1803. The newly constructed indices were also examined in conjunction with 13 other tree-ring series from throughout Ireland.

The temperature record from Armagh proved particularly responsive in the spring and autumn of the year following larger eruptions, displaying notable downturns. Precipitation tended to decrease in the summer following an eruption, while the wind regimes recorded increases in northeasterly, easterly and southwesterly directions in the months immediately after eruptions. This study is the first to systematically explore the impact of volcanic eruptions on tree-growth in Ireland. Dendrological data from Irish Quercus records showed that the changes in climatic patterns coupled with the reduced photosynthesis that follows eruptions have implications for growth in Ireland. In addition, temperature and precipitation reconstructions using T. baccata have proved that not only is the species a viable source of information in Ireland but that it can also be used to support the idea of post-volcanic eruption downturns in growing conditions. By combining each of these aspects (recorded and reconstructed climate, as well as dendroecological data), a more complete assessment of volcano-climate/ecology interactions was established.

Funding

• Arts Faculty Travel Bursary (2009) – funding to attend Association of American Geographers annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Geography Society, NUI Galway Fieldtrip Bursary (2009) – funding to attend Association of American Geographers annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• COIMBRA Group (2007) – funding to attend summer school titled “Transferable and Professional Challenges in Interdisciplinary Global Climate Research – A Summer School for Future European Research Leaders” in Bergen, Norway. July 1st to 11th.

Selected Presentations

Galvin, S.D. and Potito, A.P. (2010) The Dendroclimatological Potential of Taxus baccata in Reenadinna Wood, Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry. Conference of Irish Geographers. NUI Maynooth, Ireland.

Galvin, S.D., Hickey, K.R. (2009) The Use of Weather Data to Assess the Impact of the 1815 Eruption of Mt. Tambora on Ireland’s Climate. Conference of the Association of American Geographers. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Galvin, S.D. (2009) Reconstructing Climates Through the Medium of Tree-rings. Department of Geography, Departmental Seminar Series. NUI Galway, Ireland.

Galvin, S.D. (2007) The Impact of Volcanic Eruptions on Ireland’s Climate. Department of Geography, Departmental Seminar Series. NUI Galway, Ireland.

Galvin, S.D. (2007) The Use of Archive Material in Reconstructing Past Climates. Transferable and Professional Challenges in Interdisciplinary Global Climate Research. Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway.

Galvin, S.D. (2006) Volcanism and Ireland? (poster presentation). Conference of Irish Geographers, University College Dublin, Ireland.

Galvin, S.D. (2006) 1816 – Ireland’s Year Without Summer? Irish Geography Postgraduate Training Consortium. Glencree, Ireland.

Galvin, S.D. (2006) 1816 – Ireland’s Year Without Summer? Department of Geography, Departmental Seminar Series. NUI Galway, Ireland.

Publications

Galvin, S.D., Hickey, K.R. and Potito, A.P. (Forthcoming 2011) Identifying volcanic signals in Irish temperature observations since AD 1800, Irish Geography.

Galvin, S.D. and Potito, A.P. (under review) An evaluation of the dendroclimatological potential of Taxus baccata (yew) in southwest Ireland, European Journal of Forest Research.

Galvin, S.D., Hickey, K.R. and Potito, A.P (in prep.) Volcanically-induced variations in Irish precipitation and wind regimes.

Galvin, S.D. and Potito, A.P. (in prep.) Footprints of explosive volcanic eruptions in UK and Irish tree-ring chronologies.

Teaching Involvement:

Professional Memberships

Association of American Geographers
Geographical Society of Ireland
Irish Quaternary Association
Climate Change Research Cluster, Department of Geography
Geography Society, NUI Galway