Trinity College Dublin

Balz Kamber is Chair and Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. His research concerns itself with the large-scale elemental cycles on Earth, particularly the interaction between the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the biosphere on billion year time scales. He received his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of Bern, Switzerland, worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, England, followed by seven years as a research fellow at the University of Queensland, Brisbane. He was then appointed as Tier 1 Canada Research Chair at Laurentian University, Ontario, before joining Trinity College Dublin in 2011. He is leading a research group of 2 advanced researchers/postdocs and 7 postgraduate students.

Seán H. McClenaghan is Assistant Professor in Economic Geology in the Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Seán has been an active researcher in mineral deposits geology for 15 years, with a wide range of professional experience in governments, academia and the exploration industry. He is an expert on the trace-element geochemistry of hydrothermal systems, in particular Pb-Zn massive sulfide deposits, using state of the art analytical techniques (e.g., Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, Laser-Ablation ICP-MS) for dissecting ore-forming systems. Seán obtained a B.Sc. in Geochemistry at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, his M.Sc. in Geology at the University of Ottawa and his Ph.D. again at the University of New Brunswick. He has worked for exploration companies and for several Provinical Geological Surveys before joining Trinity College Dublin, where he is building an exploration geochemistry research group.

Emma Tomlinson is Assistant Professor of Igneous Petrology in the Geology Department at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Her research involves applying trace element and isotope geochemistry to a multitude of topical problems in the geosciences. Emma graduated from the University of Bristol and completed her PhD at University College London, before spending six years at Royal Holloway University of London, first as manager of the NERC ICP lab and later on a NERC-funded tephrochronology project. Now at TCD, part of her work focuses on the use of tephra, both for dating and synchronising environmental records and for reconstructing the evolution of magmatic systems.

Ann-Kristin Kalveram is an Early Researcher (ESR) based in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her PhD research involves working on trace elements and stable isotope geochemistry to develop a mineral exploration criterion. Her research is divided into two major parts: (I) the characterisation of the sub-economic Zn-Pb deposit Ballinalack, in the Irish Midlands. To this end, trace-element laser ablation ICP-MS work supplements petrographic observations of the sulphide minerals sphalerite and pyrite; (II) investigation of the overlying soil BC and Top of the till horizons for fingerprints indicating the underlying sulphide mineralisation by using trace elements, as well as Cu and Zn isotopes.

Ann-Kristin is from Germany, where she completed her undergraduate and early postgraduate studies. After her bachelor studies in Geosciences at the Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany, she moved to the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany, to pursue her master’s degree. While there, she specialised in economic geology and focused on the links between deposits and geochemistry. Ann-Kristin likes to think out of the box, therefore she is highly motivated to work in this interdisciplinary research group IsoNose.

Carolina is an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She graduated from the University of Bonn in Germany, where she used trace element geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes (Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb) as tracers for mantle processes. Her scientific interests comprise the formation and interaction of the major terrestrial reservoirs: atmosphere-crust-mantle and their specific geochemical signatures. At Trinity College, Carolina’s PhD research focuses on the historical reconstruction and source characterization of atmospheric metal deposition onto the Irish peatlands. She explores the validity of using ultra-trace elements and stabile isotopes such as Zn to fingerprint anthropogenic events at local and hemispheric level. Additionally, she deploys trace element, S, and Pb isotopes to investigate volcanic aerosols following historic eruptions recorded within ombrotrophic peat. A better understanding of the events that have affected our atmosphere in the past is crucial in assessing the magnitude and impact of future hazards – this is why Carolina is enthusiastic about this project!