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www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · 10d

The future of universities: A Nature special report

The world's universities are under intense pressure. Nature examines the threats they face and asks how the sector can and must adapt to survive.

Make trains great again — for the sake of people and the planet

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · 15d

Yes, this! We need more affordable and denser railway networks! The true costs of building these (when taking into account all the benefits, not just direct ones) easily make it worth the investment.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

As railways enter their third century of service, research must support their renaissance for more-sustainable travel that supports human development.

Classic Maya response to multiyear seasonal droughts in Northwest Yucatán, Mexico

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Sep 2

Very nice high-resolution #paleoclimate reconstruction study showing climate impact on ancient Mayan civilization.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Stalagmite record reveals 1- to 13-year droughts in NW Yucatán from 871 to 1021 CE, a time of profound Maya cultural change.

Mammoths in Mexico? Huge bone trove reveals giant beasts thrived in warmth, too

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Aug 30

Mammoths in Mexico! How did I not hear about this amazing locality before?
www.science.org/content/arti...

Fossils found while building airport contain first mammoth DNA from tropical location

Two-billion-year transitional oxygenation of the Earth’s surface - Nature

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Aug 29

Amazing study showing how Earth's oceans and atmosphere become (more) oxygenated over a timespan of 2 billion years by analyzing ancient sulphur isotope ratios in sediments!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A 2.5-billion-year record of oxygen isotopes in sedimentary sulfate reveals the transitional oxygenation of the Earth’s surface and provides constraints on the dynamic, lengthy co-oxygenation of Earth...

Southern Hemisphere tree rings as proxies to reconstruct Southern Ocean upwelling

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Aug 26

Lovely new paper in @egubg.bsky.social on the use of tree rings in the southern hemisphere as proxy records for Southern Ocean upwelling: bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...

Abstract. The Southern Ocean plays a key role in regulating global climate and acting as a carbon sink. This region, defined as south of 35° S, is accountable for 40 % of all oceanic anthropogenic CO2...

bg.copernicus.org

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Aug 15

Proud to be on this publication in GCA by Barbora Krizova et al. We show #clumped #isotope reordering in #Cretaceous rudist bivalves is location-specific. Understanding burial history is essential for selecting shell material for #paleoclimate #reconstructions. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jul 23

Very cool study documenting global #sealevel fluctuations over the past ~550 million years based on #ice sheet #models, #astronomical forcing and #geological evidence
doi.org/10.1016/j.ep...

Redirecting

doi.org

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jul 9

Working from home is great in moderation. Doing so as we speak and it does wonders for your productivity if you can be efficient with "time blocking".
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

PNAS

www.pnas.org

Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jul 9

Cool study dating the onset of widespread use of #fire by human cultures in east Asia
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Onset of extensive human fire use 50,000 y ago | PNAS

Fire is a pivotal aspect of human involvement in the carbon cycle. However, the precise timing of the large-scale human fire use remains uncertain....

www.pnas.org

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jul 7

“Our narratives about past diets focus really heavily on stories about hunting and meat-eating. It’s nice to get more and more archaeological data to push back against the ‘man the hunter’ narrative.”
www.science.org/content/arti...

Ancient wooden tools show human ancestors ate their veggies

Found in China, 300,000-year-old digging sticks reveal a lost technology

Should grant applicants judge competitors’ proposals? Unorthodox approach gets two real-world tests

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jul 3

Our funding organization in the Netherlands #NWO uses Distributed Peer Review for one of its smaller schemes and I am enthusiastic! It is quite motivating to be part of the review process and the use of two proposal groups means you don't judge direct competitors.
www.science.org/content/arti...

Distributed peer review enlists more researchers in the process, but some may lack expertise

Phylogeochemistry: exploring evolutionary constraints on belemnite rostrum element composition

Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jul 1

Please check out this exciting innovative contribution @egubg.bsky.social by Alexander Pohle and co-authors using the #chemical composition of the rostra (internal skeletons) of #belemnites to reconstruct taxonomic relationships and #evolution.
bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...

Abstract. The biogenic carbonate hard parts of a large range of marine organisms are among the most important geochemical archives of Earth's climate dynamics through time and the evolution of life. T...

bg.copernicus.org

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jun 11

Pretty neat study by Ram and Erez using culturing experiments to show linear growth rate dependences of #trace #element partitioning into #coral skeletons with interesting recommendations for applications of trace element #proxies
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Corals feel the water chemistry: trace elements in coral skeletons reflect accurately their seawater chemistry, biological and geochemical implications

The incorporation of trace and minor elements into coral skeletons and the underlying chemical and biological processes that govern them, are highly r…

Detection of dietary stress and geophagic behaviour forced by dry seasons in Miocene Gomphotherium

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jun 11

Check out our nice new #preprint @egubg.bsky.social about using #trace #element records through #gomphothere and #elephant teeth to reconstruct dietary patterns and identify geophagy (eating of soil) behavior in the geological past.
egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...

Abstract. To access the impact of anthropogenic emissions and land use change on Earth’s climate and biodiversity, studies into the environment and ecology of natural ecosystems during past warm perio...

egusphere.copernicus.org

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jun 10

The #clumped #isotope paleo temperature proxy is one of the most reliable means of temperature reconstruction in #geology. This new study shows that it can be applied equally on various carbonate minerals (calcite, aragonite, dolomite, witherite and siderite).

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Effects of mineralogy on Δ47 and Δ48 of carbonate-derived CO2 below analytical resolution

Due to the lack of direct methods capable of determining the abundance of isotopologues containing multiple heavy isotopes within the crystal lattice,…

Extremely positive δ13C and subsurface CO2 phase separation isotope fractionation

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jun 5

Interesting study describing the process of CO2 gas-liquid separation as a mechanism for carbon isotope fractionation in mature carbonates:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Extremely positive δ13C is found in calcite veins for the first time in the Huangqiao CO2-gas reservoir, eastern China, with 13C-enriched values as hi…

Living on the edge: Response of rudist bivalves (Hippuritida) to hot and highly seasonal climate in the low-latitude Saiwan site, Oman

Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jun 3

Check out our latest #preprint in which we use a combination of #clumped and #oxygen #isotope measurements to reconstruct extreme summer temperatures experienced by #fossil #rudist bivalves from the Late #Cretaceous in Oman. All feedback is welcome!
egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...

Abstract. Earth’s climate history serves as a natural laboratory for testing the effect of warm climates on the biosphere. The Cretaceous period featured a prolonged greenhouse climate characterized b...

egusphere.copernicus.org

Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · Jun 2

I remember Jeremy McCormack presenting this nice #zinc #isotope dataset @egu.eu this year showing how #Miocene sharks had diverse roles in the marine foodweb. Great study, glad to see it found a nice home in EPSL!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Miocene marine vertebrate trophic ecology reveals megatooth sharks as opportunistic supercarnivores

Trophic interactions play pivotal roles in marine vertebrate ecology and evolution. Yet, these parameters are especially difficult to determine in fos…

Primate teeth are good proxies for understanding past water inputs and seasonality

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · May 27

Yeah me too, although the animals are more "complex", meaning the climate/environmental signal can be harder to extract (if that's the goal). Also, vertebrate teeth are of course harder to work on for destructive analysis and harder to sample (this study used SIMS, which is not available everywhere)

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Niels de Winter @nielsjdewinter.bsky.social · May 26

Pretty cool study showing that #isotope #analyses in #primate #teeth can be used to reconstruct the #season of birth and changes in the #hydrology in the animal's environment.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

How the isotopic composition of the teeth of slow-growing primates (including humans) reflects the environmental water supply is still poorly understo…

Science’s ‘Gollum effect’: PhDs bear brunt of territorial behaviour

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Reposted by Niels de Winter

Stelios Katsanevakis @skatsanevakis.bsky.social · May 23

New study in #Nature reveals the 'Gollum effect': nearly half of surveyed scientists report territorial behaviors—data hoarding, gatekeeping—mostly during #PhD. Early-career researchers bear the brunt; 1 in 5 left academia as a result.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪

Survey respondents at all career stages report colleagues engaging in territorial and possessive behaviours — but early-career researchers are most often affected.