Overview

Location: Penryn Campus, Falmouth, Cornwall.

Research interests:

Application of stable isotope and elemental geochemistry techniques (to planktic and benthic foraminifera) and organic geochemistry techniques to paleoceanographic problems of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Special focus on carbon-cycling, ocean circulation, and orbital pacing in the Paleogene and Cretaceous greenhouse worlds, and the stability of the ancient Indian Monsoon during the initiation of NH glaciation in the late Pliocene.

PhD studentships:

I am happy to discuss potential externally-funded PhD studentship projects in the broad fields of deep-time paleoclimate, sedimentology, and low temperature geochemistry, commensurate with my research interests listed above. Please contact me to discuss prior to putting in a formal application.

Professional History:

2017 - present: Senior Lecturer in Geology, Camborne School of Mines, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK.

2013 - 2017: Lecturer in Geology, Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, UK.  Department Director of PGR (Graduate Tutor)

2011 - 2012: Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. Funded through an NSF grant to Prof. Jim Zachos.

2011: PDRA, University College London, UK. "Cretaceous Paleoclimate and Paleoceanography in the Pacific Ocean". UK-IODP funded with Dr Stuart Robinson.

Academic qualifications:

2011: PhD - "Climate and Carbon-Cycling in the Early Cretaceous"; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, UK

2007: MESci (first class) - Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, UK

Reviewer for: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology; Nature; Nature Geoscience; Geology; Geological Magazine; Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology; The Geological Society of America Bulletin; DFG; NERC....
Panel member for the Royal Society International Exchanges scheme 2023 –2025.

Outreach: I am very interested in outreach activities with schools and the general public, to increase public awareness of the importance of science and paleoclimate research in particular. You can read more about our group's outreach activities here.

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Publications

_{Copyright Notice: Any articles made available for download are for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the copyright holder.}

| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2011 | 2010 |

2023

• Graham O, Witkowski C, Littler K, Naafs D. (2023) Reconstructing PCO2 in the Deep Geological Past Using a General Phytoplankton Biomarker, IMOG 2023, DOI:10.3997/2214-4609.202333057.
• Wilkin J, Kender S, DeJardin R, Allen C, Peck V, Swann G, McClymont E, Scourse J, Littler K, Leng M. (2023) South Georgia palaeo-productivity and glacial evolution over the past 15 ka, International Symposium on Foraminifera - FORAMS 2023, Perugia, Italy, 26th - 30th Jun 2023, Abstract Book, volume Grzybowski Foundation Special Publication No. 27, pages 268-269.
• Kender S, Walker-Trivett C, Edvardsen T, Bogus K, Littler K, Lacey J, Leng M. (2023) Elevated productivity during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 in the Mentelle Basin, Western Australia (IODP Expedition 369), indicated by benthic foraminifera and geochemical proxies, International Symposium on Foraminifera - FORAMS 2023, Perugia, Italy, 26th - 30th Jun 2023, Abstract Book, volume Grzybowski Foundation Special Publication No. 27, pages 157-157.
• Kender S, Walker-Trivett C, Edvardsen T, Bogus K, Littler K, Lacey J, Leng M. (2023) Elevated productivity during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 in the Mentelle Basin, Western Australia (IODP Expedition 369), indicated by benthic foraminifera and geochemical proxies, International Symposium on Foraminifera - FORAMS 2023, Perugia, Italy, 26th - 30th Jun 2023, Abstract Book, volume Grzybowski Foundation Special Publication No. 27, pages 157-157.
• McClymont EL, Ho S-L, Ford HL, Bailey I, Berke MA, Bolton CT, De Schepper S, Grant GR, Groeneveld J, Inglis GN. (2023) Climate Evolution Through the Onset and Intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation, Reviews of Geophysics, volume 61, article no. e2022RG000793, DOI:10.1029/2022RG000793.

2022

• Parker RL, Foster GL, Gutjahr M, Wilson PA, Littler KL, Cooper MJ, Michalik A, Milton JA, Crocket KC, Bailey I. (2022) Laurentide Ice Sheet extent over the last 130 thousand years traced by the Pb isotope signature of weathering inputs to the Labrador Sea, Quaternary Science Reviews, volume 287, DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107564.
• Phillips SC, Littler K. (2022) Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: a case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean, Scientific Drilling, volume 30, pages 59-74, DOI:10.5194/sd-30-59-2022. [PDF]

2021

• Hudson A. (2021) Magnitude and Pacing of Early Jurassic Palaeoclimate Change: Chemostratigraphy and Cyclostratigraphy of the British Lower Jurassic (Sinemurian – Pliensbachian).
• Beasley C, Kender S, Giosan L, Bolton CT, Anand P, Leng MJ, Nilsson‐Kerr K, Ullmann CV, Hesselbo SP, Littler K. (2021) Evidence of a South Asian Proto‐Monsoon During the Oligocene‐Miocene Transition, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, volume 36, no. 9, DOI:10.1029/2021pa004278. [PDF]
• Beasley C. (2021) Investigating Paleogene strata from the tropical low latitudes; new insights from integrated chemostratigraphy, sedimentology, and biostratigraphy (PhD Thesis).
• Arreguín-Rodríguez GJ, Barnet JSK, Leng MJ, Littler K, Kroon D, Schmidt DN, Thomas E, Alegret L. (2021) Benthic foraminiferal turnover across the Dan-C2 event in the eastern South Atlantic Ocean (ODP Site 1262), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, volume 572, DOI:10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110410.

2020

• McClymont EL, Ford HL, Ho SL, Tindall JC, Haywood AM, Alonso-Garcia M, Bailey I, Berke MA, Littler K, Patterson M. (2020) Lessons from a high CO₂ world: an ocean view from ~ 3 million years ago, volume 2020, pages 1-27, DOI:10.5194/cp-2019-161.
• Parker R, Foster G, Gutjahr M, Wilson P, Littler K, Cooper M, Michalik A, Milton J, Bailey I. (2020) Tracking the History of the North American Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Cycle, Goldschmidt Abstracts, DOI:10.46427/gold2020.2037.
• Beasley C, Littler K, Kender S, Giosan L, Anand P, Nilsson-Kerr K, Leng MJ. (2020) The Oligocene–Miocene Transition in the Tropical Low Latitudes, Goldschmidt Abstracts, DOI:10.46427/gold2020.151.
• Westerhold T, Marwan N, Drury AJ, Liebrand D, Agnini C, Anagnostou E, Barnet JSK, Bohaty SM, De Vleeschouwer D, Florindo F. (2020) An astronomically dated record of Earth’s climate and its predictability over the last 66 million years, Science, volume 369, no. 6509, pages 1383-1387, DOI:10.1126/science.aba6853. [PDF]
• McClymont E, Ford HL, Ling Ho S, Tindall JC, Haywood AM, Alonso-Garcia M, Bailey I, Berke MA, Littler K, Patterson MO. (2020) Lessons from a high-CO2 world: an ocean view from ∼ 3 million years ago, Climate of the Past, volume 16, pages 1599-1615, DOI:10.5194/cp-16-1599-2020.
• Barnet JSK, Harper DT, LeVay LJ, Edgar KM, Henehan MJ, Babila TL, Ullmann CV, Leng MJ, Kroon D, Zachos JC. (2020) Coupled evolution of temperature and carbonate chemistry during the Paleocene–Eocene; new trace element records from the low latitude Indian Ocean, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, volume 545, pages 116414-116414, article no. 116414, DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116414. [PDF]

2019

• Hollis CJ, Jones TD, Anagnostou E, Bijl PK, Cramwinckel MJ, Cui Y, Dickens GR, Edgar KM, Eley Y, Evans D. (2019) The DeepMIP contribution to PMIP4: methodologies for selection, compilation and analysis of latest Paleocene and early Eocene climate proxy data, incorporating version 0.1 of the DeepMIP database, pages 1-98, DOI:10.5194/gmd-2018-309.
• Hollis C, Dunkley Jones T, Anagnostou E, Bijl PK, Cramwinckel MJ, Cui Y, Dickens G, Edgar KM, Eley Y, Evans D. (2019) The DeepMIP contribution to PMIP4: methodologies for selection, compilation and analysis of latest Paleocene and early Eocene climate proxy data, incorporating version 0.1 of the DeepMIP database, Geoscience Model Development, volume 12, pages 3149-3206, DOI:10.5194/gmd-12-3149-2019.
• Barnet J, Littler K, Westerhold T, Kroon D, Leng M, Bailey I, Rohl U, Zachos J. (2019) A High‐Fidelity Benthic Stable Isotope Record of Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene Climate Change and Carbon‐Cycling, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, volume 34, pages 672-691, DOI:10.1029/2019PA003556.
• Pointer R. (2019) Fire & Global Change During Key Intervals of the Late Triassic & Early Jurassic with a Focus on the Central Polish Basin.
• Littler K, Westerhold T, Drury AJ, Liebrand D, Lisiecki L, Paelike H. (2019) ASTRONOMICAL TIME KEEPING OF EARTH HISTORY An Invaluable Contribution of Scientific Ocean Drilling, OCEANOGRAPHY, volume 32, no. 1, pages 72-76, DOI:10.5670/oceanog.2019.122. [PDF]

2018

• Barnet J. (2018) Investigating Climate Change and Carbon Cycling during the Latest Cretaceous to Paleogene (~67–52 million years ago); new geochemical records from the South Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• Yasuhara M, Hong Y, Yunshu S, Chong W, Okahashi H, Littler K, Cotton L. (2018) Eocene shallow-marine ostracods from Madagascar: southern end of the Tethys?, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, DOI:10.1080/14772019.2018.1453555.
• Petrick B, McClymont E, Littler K, Rosell-Melé A, Clarkson M, Maslin M, Röhl U, Shevenell A, Pancost R. (2018) Oceanographic and climatic evolution of the southeastern subtropical Atlantic over the last 3.5 Ma, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, volume Volume 492, pages 12-21, DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.03.054.

2017

• Barnet J, Littler K, Kroon D, Leng M, Westerhold T, Röhl U, Zachos J. (2017) A new high-resolution chronology for the late Maastrichtian warming event: Establishing robust temporal links with the onset of Deccan volcanism, Geology, DOI:10.1130/G39771.1.
• O'Brien CL, Robinson SA, Pancost RD, Sinninghe Damsté JS, Schouten S, Lunt DJ, Alsenz H, Bornemann A, Bottini C, Brassell SC. (2017) Cretaceous sea-surface temperature evolution: Constraints from TEX86 and planktonic foraminiferal oxygen isotopes, Earth-Science Reviews, DOI:10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.012.
• Zeebe RE, Westerhold T, Littler K, Zachos JC. (2017) Orbital Forcing of the Paleocene and Eocene Carbon Cycle, Paleoceanography, DOI:10.1002/2016PA003054.
• Lunt DJ, Huber M, Anagnostou E, Baatsen MLJ, Caballero R, DeConto R, Dijkstra HA, Donnadieu Y, Evans D, Feng R. (2017) The DeepMIP contribution to PMIP4: Experimental design for model simulations of the EECO, PETM, and pre-PETM (version 1.0), Geoscientific Model Development, volume 10, no. 2, pages 889-901, DOI:10.5194/gmd-10-889-2017.

2016

• Lunt DJ, Huber M, Baatsen MLJ, Caballero R, DeConto R, Donnadieu Y, Evans D, Feng R, Foster G, Gasson E. (2016) DeepMIP: experimental design for model simulations of the EECO, PETM, and pre-PETM, volume 0, pages 1-16, DOI:10.5194/gmd-2016-127.
• Zeebe R, Westerhold T, Littler K, Zachos JC. (2016) HOW ON EARTH DID JUPITER, MARS, AND VENUS AFFECT CARBON CYCLING AND ATMOSPHERIC CO 2 DURING THE PALEOCENE AND EOCENE?, Abstracts with programs (Geological Society of America), DOI:10.1130/abs/2016am-281978.
• Goy A, Bordalo da Rocha R, Mattioli E, Duarte LV, Pittet B, Elmi S, Mouterde R, Cabral MC, Comas-Rengifo MJ, Gomez JJ. (2016) Base of the Toarcian Stage of the Lower Jurassic defined by the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) at the Peniche section (Portugal), Episodes: journal of international geoscience, volume 39, pages 460-481, DOI:10.18814/epiiugs/2016/v39i3/99741.

2015

• Hollis CJ, Hines BR, Littler K, Villasante-Marcos V, Kulhanek DK, Strong CP, Zachos JC, Eggins SM, Northcote L, Phillips A. (2015) Onset of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum in the southern Pacific Ocean (DSDP Site 277, Campbell Plateau), volume 11, no. 1, pages 243-278, DOI:10.5194/cpd-11-243-2015.
• Lauretano V, Littler K, Polling M, Zachos JC, Lourens LJ. (2015) Frequency, magnitude and character of hyperthermal events at the onset of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, Climate of the Past, volume 11, no. 10, pages 1313-1324, DOI:10.5194/cp-11-1313-2015.
• Galeotti S, Moretti M, Cappelli C, Phillips J, Lanci L, Littler K, Monechi S, Petrizzo MR, Premoli Silva I, Zachos JC. (2015) The Bottaccione section at Gubbio, central Italy: a classical Paleocene Tethyan setting revisited, Newsletters on Stratigraphy, volume 48, no. 3, pages 325-339, DOI:10.1127/nos/2015/0067.
• Lauretano V, Littler K, Polling M, Zachos JC, Lourens LJ. (2015) Frequency, magnitude and character of hyperthermal events at the onset of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, Climates of the Past, volume 11, pages 1313-1324, DOI:10.5194/cp-11-1313-2015.
• Clemens SC, Kuhnt W, LeVay LJ, Anand P, Ando T, Bartol M, Bolton CT, Ding X, Gariboldi K, Giosan L. (2015) International ocean discovery program expedition 353 preliminary report Indian Monsoon Rainfall, International Ocean Discovery Program: Preliminary Reports, no. 353, pages 1-46.
• Clemens SC, Kuhnt W, LeVay LJ, and the Expedition 353 Scientists, Littler K. (2015) International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 353 Preliminary Report, DOI:10.14379/iodp.pr.353.2015.
• Hollis CJ, Hines BR, Littler K, Villasante-Marcos V, Kulhanek DK, Strong CP, Zachos JC, Eggins SM, Northcote L, Phillips A. (2015) The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum at DSDP Site 277, Campbell Plateau, southern Pacific Ocean, Climates of the Past, volume 11, pages 1009-1025, DOI:10.5194/cp-11-1009-2015.

2014

• Galeotti S, Moretti M, Cappelli C, Phillips J, Lanci L, Littler K, Monechi S, Petrizzo MR, Silva IP, Zachos JC. (2014) The Bottaccione Section at Gubbio, Central Italy: A Classic Palaeocene Tethyan Setting Revisited, STRATI 2013, Springer Nature, 103-105, DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-04364-7_21.
• Hollis CJ, Pascher KM, Hines BR, Littler K, Kulhanek DK, Strong CP, Zachos JC, Eggins SM, Phillips A. (2014) Was the Early Eocene ocean unbearably warm or are the proxies unbelievably wrong?, Rendiconti Online Societa Geologica Italiana, volume 31, pages 109-110, DOI:10.3301/ROL.2014.71.
• Littler K, Leng M, Agnini C, Zachos JC, Westerhold T, Röhl U. (2014) A new age model for the late Paleocene at ODP Site 1263, Walvis Ridge: New stable isotope and calcareous nannofossil data, Rendiconti Online Societa Geologica Italiana, volume 31, pages 143-144, DOI:10.3301/ROL.2014.91.
• Linnert C, Robinson SA, Lees JA, Bown PR, Pérez-Rodríguez I, Petrizzo MR, Falzoni F, Littler K, Arz JA, Russell EE. (2014) Evidence for global cooling in the Late Cretaceous, Nature Communications, volume 5, article no. 4194, DOI:10.1038/ncomms5194. [PDF]
• Littler K, Robinson SA, Bown PR. (2014) An offset in TEX86 values between interbedded lithologies: Implications for sea-surface temperature reconstructions, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, volume 399, pages 42-51.
• Littler K, Röhl U, Westerhold T, Zachos JC. (2014) A high‐resolution benthic stable‐isotope record for the South Atlantic: implications for orbital scale changes in Late Paleocene–Early Eocene climate and circulation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, volume 401, pages 18-30, DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2014.05.054.

2013

• Ando A, Woodard SC, Evans HF, Littler K, Herrmann S, MacLeod KG, Kim S, Khim B-K, Robinson SA, Huber BT. (2013) Filling the paleoceanographic missing link: A multidisciplinary study of the deep‐sea Santonian–Campanian transition in the central Pacific, Journal of the Geological Society, Special, volume 170, pages 381-384, DOI:10.1144/jgs2012-137.

2011

• Littler K, Robinson SA, Bown PR, Nederbragt AJ, Pancost RD. (2011) High sea-surface temperatures during the Early Cretaceous Epoch, Nature Geoscience, volume 4, pages 169-172, DOI:10.1038/NGEO1081.

2010

• Sager WW, Sano T, Geldmacher J, and the Expedition 324 Scientists, Littler K. (2010) Proc. IODP, 324. Shatsky Rise Formation, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, DOI:10.2204/​iodp.proc.324.2010.
• Littler K, Hesselbo SP, Jenkyns HC. (2010) A carbon–isotope perturbation at the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary: evidence from the Lias Group, NE England, volume 147, no. 2, pages 181-192, DOI:10.1017/S0016756809990458.
• Sager WW, Sano T, Geldmacher J, and the expedition 324 Scientists. (2010) Proceedings of IODP Expedition 324, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc, DOI:10.2204/iodp.proc.324.2010.
• Littler K, Hesselbo SP, Jenkyns HC. (2010) A carbon-isotope perturbation at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary: Evidence from the lias group, NE England, Geological Magazine, volume 147, no. 2, pages 181-192, DOI:10.1017/S0016756809990458.

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