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Gavin Foster

@thefosterlab.bsky.social

2.8K followers 800 following 450 posts

Palaeoclimatologist and isotope geochemist at the University of Southampton. Love/hate relationship with mass spectrometers. Researcher of climate science, coral reefs, biomineralisation, laser ablation, isotopes and geology. Views my own

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Gavin Foster @thefosterlab.bsky.social · Apr 3

!New Paper Alert! Matrix independent and interference free in situ boron isotope analysis by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS/MS pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a.... In it we use our Neoma MC-ICPMS/MS to overcome the complexities of measuring boron isotopes by Laser Ablation in carbonates and other minerals. ⚒️🧪🌊🪸

Cross plots of d11B reference value vs. what we measure using Laser Ablation on our Neoma MC-ICPMS/MS. All the data lie on the 1:1 line showing that we can get accurate d11B data using laser ablation on a range of matrices from carbonate to silicate when normalised to NIST 612 glass.

Mass scans from m/z 9.7 to 11.1 for the Neoma MS/MS, base Neoma and Neptune when ablating carbonates. The Neptune shows an elevated background due to scattering of Ca and Ar 4+ ions. This is reduced in the base Neoma and entirely eliminated in the Neoma MS/MS. We think this is because the formation of Ca4+ and Ar4+ is reduced in this design of MS and scattering of this multiply charged ions is reduced once Ar and Ca are cut out by the pre-filter.

This shows the problem with laser ablation boron isotopes in carbonates on our Neptune MC-ICPMS. It shows a mass scan from m/z 9.7 to m/z 11.1 with peaks at the boron masses 10B and 11B. Rather than being a flat line - the baseline is elevated around boron 10 (and 11) due to scattering of 4+ Ar and Ca.

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 20h

Ocean heatwaves are breaking Earth’s hidden climate engine

Marine heatwaves are clogging the ocean’s carbon pump, threatening its power to fight climate change.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

Ocean heatwaves are breaking Earth’s hidden climate engine

Marine heatwaves can jam the ocean’s natural carbon conveyor belt, preventing carbon from reaching the deep sea. Researchers studying two major heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska found that plankton shif...

www.sciencedaily.com

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 1d

Jenrick could have visited Handsworth to listen to residents – he chose to pass through and make a judgement based on the colour of their skin. Instead of getting to know our nation of neighbours, he chose racism.

The Tories, Reform and Labour want to divide us.

The Greens say enough is enough.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Robert Jenrick complained of ‘not seeing another white face’ in part of Birmingham

Shadow justice secretary criticised for suggesting he could tell how integrated Handsworth was based on 90-minute visit Robert Jenrick complained about visiting an area of Birmingham where he “didn’t see another white face” and said it was not the kind of country he wanted to live in. After highlighting the lack of white people, the shadow justice secretary said it was not about “the colour of your skin or your faith” and he wanted people to live alongside each other. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

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

Clam shells as indicators of Atlantic Ocean stability: Very interesting study using growth increment width and isotopic composition in long-living shells to document changes in the AMOC and North Atlantic circulation over the last 150 years. doi.org/10.1126/scia...

Recent and early 20th century destabilization of the subpolar North Atlantic recorded in bivalves

Clams reveal North Atlantic destabilization in the early 20th century and at present.

doi.org

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 1d

🪐 On this Day of Action to Save #NASA Science, we’re highlighting how space and Earth sciences go hand-in-hand. Scripps Oceanography researchers partner with NASA to study how our planet is changing from sea to space. Here’s an out-of-this-world roundup of some recent projects. 🧵⬇️

A color image of Earth taken by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope.

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · Sep 19

Everybody makes money out of academic authors except the authors...News.

Wiley is the latest academic publisher to reach a multi-million deal to allow access to its content to AI developers, with no opt out, let alone payment, for the authors who created that content.

Wiley set to earn $44m from AI rights deals, confirms “no opt-out" for authors

The US publisher is the latest to capitalise on deals to give tech firms access to its authors’ content to train their Large Language Models (LLMs).

www.thebookseller.com

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Gavin Foster @thefosterlab.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/qxt4HCjd7VA?...

Let's Make Hope Normal Again - Green Party Political Broadcast

YouTube video by Green Party of England & Wales

youtu.be

Reposted by Gavin Foster

Leicester UCU @leicesterucu.bsky.social · 26d

Leicester UCU will be on strike from Monday 29 September until Friday 17 October.

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Leicester UCU @leicesterucu.bsky.social · 1d

Tomorrow's teach out: meet the Modern Languages Team at 1.15 in SBB for their modern languages showcase.
Note the change in picket times!

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Leicester UCU @leicesterucu.bsky.social · 2d

Week 2, day 1: pickets in George Davies Centre, Dan Stewart's teach out on Ancient Greek and Roman strikes, and more picket dogs!

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

coralmannie.bsky.social @coralmannie.bsky.social · 1d

@leicesterucu.bsky.social Our students deserve a big thanks for supporting us at the picket line every day, now in week 2. It means a lot to have the students backing for fighting the looming job cuts at University of Leicester in 6 schools

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Prof Chris Jackson @seismatters.bsky.social · 1d

Flawless 10/10

Cassetteboy @cassetteboy.bsky.social · 8d

New! Cassetteboy vs Keir Starmer.

This took absolutely ages, so if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/cassetteboy we'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Cassetteboy @cassetteboy.bsky.social · 8d

New! Cassetteboy vs Keir Starmer.

This took absolutely ages, so if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/cassetteboy we'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 1d

Recent and early 20th century destabilization of the subpolar North Atlantic recorded in bivalves

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Recent and early 20th century destabilization of the subpolar North Atlantic recorded in bivalves

Clams reveal North Atlantic destabilization in the early 20th century and at present.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 1d

🌊 How the Southern Ocean controlled climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide during the lukewarm interglacials

phys.org/news/2025-10...

How the Southern Ocean controlled climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide during the lukewarm interglacials

Earth's climate has fluctuated between cold and warm periods for millions of years. During the so-called "lukewarm interglacials"—warm phases between 800,000 and 430,000 years ago—atmospheric CO2 conc...

phys.org

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 1d

Enhanced deep Southern Ocean stratification during the lukewarm interglacials

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Enhanced deep Southern Ocean stratification during the lukewarm interglacials - Nature Communications

Lead (Pb) isotopes from a ferromanganese crust reveal that during lukewarm interglacials before the Mid-Brunhes Event, stronger deep Southern Ocean stratification limited CO2 release, helping keep atmospheric CO2 levels lower.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Dr. Dawn Wright @deepseadawn.bsky.social · 2d

"Former Google CEO Will Fund Boat Drones to Explore Rough Antarctic Waters

Scientists have a lot of questions about our planet’s most important carbon sink—and a new project could help answer them."

www.wired.com/story/former...
🌊 🦑 🧪

Former Google CEO Will Fund Boat Drones to Explore Rough Antarctic Waters

Scientists have a lot of questions about our planet’s most important carbon sink—and a new project could help answer them.

www.wired.com

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Gavin Foster @thefosterlab.bsky.social · 2d

I enjoyed the taste when I ate it.

Reposted by Gavin Foster

Dr. Or M. Bialik |📚|🔬|🌊|⚒️ @obialik.bsky.social · 3d

Let's start with the base fact that Neutron Tomography is a really cool thing. Fossils are also very cool (even if they're corals). Combining the two gives a very interesting way to look at diagenesis (or screen for it, if you're boring). 🧪⚒️

Link: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Comparison of neutron computed tomography (NCT) scans (a–c) with traditional X-Ray CT image (d) of the modern unaltered Porites sample from One Tree Reef. 3-D voxels measure 0.0395 mm3, sample thickness ca. 1 cm (a) 3-D NCT scan showing full neutron count range 0–65,535, (b) 3-D filter applied showing aragonite data range exclusive of porosity (ca. 12,000–65,535 NC). Histogram shows two distinct peaks representing porosity and aragonite ranges. (c) Cross sections V-V′ and XZ-XZ’ are 2-D slices of the 3-D NCT slab data (39.5 μm resolution) of V (vertical) and XZ (x axis and depth) profiles, respectively. Their positions are indicated by white lines in (a). (d) X-Ray CT image of the same slab used for photos (a, b) showing density variations and blurry low resolution coral morphology.

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Gavin Foster @thefosterlab.bsky.social · 2d

Seems like a poor reason to me…

Reposted by Gavin Foster

Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 3d

This is absolutely staggering.

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 3d

Record warm ocean temperatures continued in September across the North Pacific Ocean, with a number of consequential impacts (including on downstream weather patterns).

This graph shows the average for a band across the midlatitudes for every September from 1854-2025 using @noaa.gov ERSSTv5 data.

Green line graph time series of average sea surface temperature anomalies for each September from 1850 through 2025 for only the midlatitude region of the North Pacific Ocean. There is large interannual variability, but an overall long-term increasing trend. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. 2025 is a record high.

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Tropical Climate Variability & Coral Reefs (SPP 2299) @climatereefs.bsky.social · 3d

We are excited about the "Meeting & Status Seminar 2025" of the @dfg.de #SPP2299 Priority Programme "Tropical Climate Variability & Coral Reefs", which starts Monday at @unibremen.bsky.social. 55 researchers, from 15 German institutions and international guests, will discuss latest research results

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 3d

Bolder. Effective.And surging!

Come on @greenparty.org.uk team.

Let's go!

Join.greenparty.org.uk

The party is louder and more left wing than ever.

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 3d

The before and after images showing glaciers vanishing before our eyes

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Before and after images show glaciers vanishing before our eyes - BBC News

They are melting like never seen before, changing landscapes around the world beyond recognition.

www.bbc.com

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Reposted by Gavin Foster

Pallavi Singh @thepallavisingh.bsky.social · 4d

**Please Repost**

Pallavi Singh Lab is looking for two Postdocs to join our team studying how plants balance carbon, water, and resilience in a changing climate.

PlantPlug PDRA: vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...

REVOLUTION PDRA: vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...

Deadline: October 15.

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