Kate Littler
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palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Kate Littler
@palaeoclimate.bsky.social
3K followers 1.7K following 600 posts
Senior Lecturer in Palaeoclimate | Department of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Exeter (Cornwall) | Marine geology | Micropalaeontology | Geochemistry | IODP | Birding | Parenting small humans
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Reposted by Kate Littler
zacklabe.com
Take a look at this... Remarkable "warmth" last month across both polar regions when visualizing temperature departures by latitude. The x-axis is quite stretched out here compared to my usual monthly update of this graphic.

GISTEMPv4 using their 1951-1980 baseline (data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/).
Bar graph showing zonal mean surface air temperature anomalies for the period of October 2025. All latitude bands observed above average temperature anomalies relative to 1951-1980.
November 20, 2025 at 9:16 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
A really informative and entertaining (and slightly scary) talk from the indefatigable Prof. Alley.
thierryaaron.bsky.social Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 5d
"It is hard for sea-level rise to be much less than @ipcc.bsky.social projections and easy to be worse"

"IPCC estimates are surely NOT alarmist, and very easily could be overly optimistic"

- Prof. Richard Alley, @pennstateuniv.bsky.social

#ClimateEmergency
Dr. Richard Alley Coffee Hour
YouTube video by Penn State Geography
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Yes, it’s brutal. I’m so sorry.

Nothing more any of you could have done. Top NSS! Great research! International collaborations and reputation!
🤷‍♀️

HE is such a flipping mess right now.
November 20, 2025 at 12:04 AM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
I don’t normally share petitions, but good friends and colleagues are going to lose their jobs as part of the planned cuts to the geology dept at Leicester.

Consider adding your signature here:
www.change.org/p/save-geolo...

An excellent dept that doesn’t deserve to be decimated. 🧪⚒️🌍
Sign the Petition
Save Geology at the University of Leicester
www.change.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Kate Littler
chloefarand.bsky.social
⛏️ COP30 could be the first to discuss the impacts and opportunities of mining the minerals needed for the energy transition.

tinyurl.com/392badee

The UN climate talks have never addressed the material dimension of the energy transition before.

I'm going to be tracking those discussions here👇
COP30 could confront "glaring gap" in clean energy agenda: mining
Resource-rich developing countries want the impacts and benefits of mineral extraction to be part of climate talks
www.climatechangenews.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:14 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Whoa…
November 14, 2025 at 10:46 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
I’m sure it’s fun to pick through, but this giant uncurated pile of core makes me feel a bit queesy.

All its context and orientation lost 😱
November 14, 2025 at 10:39 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
£150 with an advance ticket.. would have been 300 on the day 😬
November 12, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Kate Littler
hansonmark.bsky.social
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
The staff were all super nice… I feel sorry that they have to deal with aging signalling and rolling stock that keeps failing. Definitely time for more investment!
November 11, 2025 at 11:23 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
@crosscountryuk.bsky.social

True or false: trains should be waterproof?

😂
November 11, 2025 at 5:28 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Ah yes, now I remember why I don’t go up north very often.

The crosscountry train from Durham to Cornwall takes 9 hours at the best of times, and today it’s over an hour late… the toilet door is broken… and the rainwater is literally coming in from the ceiling and dripping onto my seat.

👍👍👍
The empty biscuit packet I am currently using to catch the rainwater that is coming is from the ceiling of this train onto my seat. Classy.
November 11, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Kate Littler
guyshrubsole.bsky.social
China’s emissions have peaked, five years ahead of schedule. A moment of epochal importance.

bsky.app/profile/carb...
carbonbrief.org Carbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · 14d
NEW – Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions have now been flat or falling for 18 months | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social

Read here: buff.ly/ONGzk3a
China’s CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement, million tonnes of CO2, rolling 12-month totals until September 2025. Source: Emissions are estimated from National Bureau of Statistics data on production of different fuels and cement, China Customs data on imports and exports and WIND Information data on changes in inventories, applying emissions factors from China’s latest national greenhouse gas emissions inventory and annual emissions factors per tonne of cement production until 2024. Sector breakdown of coal consumption is estimated using coal consumption data from WIND Information and electricity data from the National Energy Administration. The consumption of petrol, diesel and jet fuel is adjusted to match quarterly totals estimated by Sinopec.
November 11, 2025 at 12:30 AM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Yes it’s really cruel and also counter-productive if you want to fund the best science.

In the same way that the best science is collaborative, the best science is often iterative and builds on previous ideas and work.

Nearly everyone I know who has got grants did so with improved resubmissions 🤷‍♀️
November 11, 2025 at 7:23 AM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
It’s a photogenic town! 😊
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by Kate Littler
chadbourn.bsky.social
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Trump’s attack on the BBC.

“The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.”
Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey MP HOUSE OF COMMONS LONDON SWIA OAA Rt. Hon. Keir Starmer MP Prime Minister Sent by email Monday 10 November 2025 Dear Prime Minister, President Trump's assault on the BBC is a serious threat to our national interest, and ! urge you to join me in standing up against it. The BBC belongs to everyone here in the United Kingdom. We should be incredibly proud that the UK is home to the world's number one source of trusted news - something that strengthens our democracy while also enhancing our power to uphold our values around the globe. As a public service broadcaster, the BBC has an important, distinctive and vibrant role to play in the UK's cultural and media landscape - helping to boost growth and create jobs. We cannot afford to let it be destroyed by Donald Trump and his allies. It should be extremely concerning to us all to see the President of the United States pressuring the BBC over its leadership and attacking its journalists as "corrupt", and his Press Secretary telling everyone to "watch GB News". It should not be up to foreign powers to dictate where the British people get their news from. We must stand united to defend our democracy from foreign interference like this - even when it comes from a crucial ally. The BBC's strength lies in its independence and impartiality. That has been eroded, and it is essential that, together, we urgently work to ensure that it is properly independent and strong enough to stand up to political pressure, whether foreign or domestic. The BBC must stay true to its original mission - to inform, educate and entertain - and not be bullied into giving undue prominence to the loudest, most divisive voices. We have watched with alarm as Trump and his allies have undermined the free press in the United States, and all the damage that has done to American democracy. We cannot let that happen here. Will you join me in condemning Donald Trump's attack on the BBC? As political leaders, we have a responsibility to protect one of our nation's most treasured institutions from becoming subservient to Donald Trump and his cronies, especially when their values are so far removed from the values of the British people. The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together. Yours sincerely, Suad Na Ed Davey Leader of the Liberal Democrats
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
No worries. Sorry to have missed you!
November 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Rounding off my ‘Northern Tour’ with a seminar in beautiful Durham.

Thanks for the joint hosting in Earth Sciences/Geography by @erinmcclimate.bsky.social and @grockesibl.bsky.social.

Lots of interesting discussions were had - I won’t leave it another decade next time!
Looking down the river wear from kingsgate bridge. Trees on either side. A beautiful yellow leaved tulip tree near the main library at Durham university. Blue sky behind. The frankly quite awe inspiring Durham cathedral. If there truly is a god, they must surely have been impressed with this one. A fancy brass door knocker on the front of Durham cathedral.
November 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
I love hornbills. Have watched them with awe in Thailand. Such magnificent birds!
November 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
I’m afraid I’m not a bake off watcher, but it’s nice if they include an iconic bird of prey in the intro sequence!
November 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
When people ask my favourite UK bird, I invariably say red kite.

Not only are they beautiful and impressive, their UK conservation success story is a rare example of hope in a world that can sometimes feel a bit hopeless.

I will never tire of seeing them soaring overhead upcountry.
November 9, 2025 at 1:35 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
“The team determined that 53% of zooplankton and 60% of micronekton, which feed on zooplankton, would be affected by mining waste discharge.”
November 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
I was in a t-shirt on a Scottish coast path 2 days ago… 😬

This is… not good.
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 AM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
Yes it’s important not to ‘frighten the horses’ in year 1, but we also need to give them a firm footing so they are able to fully understand more advanced modules (see also chemistry).
November 9, 2025 at 9:02 AM
palaeoclimate.bsky.social
If they love the quantitative stuff, there are ample options to take more advanced modules in year 2 (eg., geotechnics) or year 3.

Our aim is to produce well rounded geo graduates who can go out into the world and be useful after 3 years, or do a more specialist MSc and up-skill in specifics.
November 9, 2025 at 8:54 AM