Projects per year
Personal profile
Interests
Gill Plunkett is an archaeologist and palaeoecologist with a specific interest in understanding human-environment interactions in the past. As an archaeologist, Gill has worked on Irish prehistoric and Medieval sites, and has several years experience of wetland archaeology survey and recording. Her palaeoecological expertise includes palynology and plant macrofossil analysis (peatland and archaeobotanical), as well as the application of tephrochronology as both a dating and correlation method and a means of examining volcanic impacts on climate and society. While much of her research is based on Irish bogs, her tephra work extends to polar ice cores, the Caspian Sea and lakes and bogs in North America, Kamchatka and southeast Asia.
Current research projects
Co-Investigator on University of Southampton-led and AHRC-funded Waves of Colonisation in the Sea of Moyle project
Co-Investigator on the University of Lund-led and Swedish Research Council-funded VolcVarve project
Teaching
ARP1006 Ancient Humans and Landscapes
ARP1007 Environmental Change: Past, Present and Future
ARP2041 Ireland in Prehistory
ARP2051 Palaeoenvironmental Techniques
ARP3080 Volcanoes: Environmental and Societal Impacts
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Projects
- 2 Finished
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R1988NBE: Late-Pleistocene to Holocene tephrostratigraphy over continental China
Sun, C. (Named Researcher) & Plunkett, G. (PI)
21/11/2018 → 28/02/2021
Project: Research
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R1991NBE: Waves of Colonization and the Sea of Moyle: Linking Population History, Resilience and Landscape Change of Island Communities
Plunkett, G. (PI) & Gleeson, P. (CoI)
27/02/2019 → 31/01/2023
Project: Research
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Exploring the effects of post-medieval crofting on the modern hillside ecosystem: Vegetation history as cultural legacy
Smith, L., Oliver, J., Plunkett, G., Britton, K. & Schofield, J. E., Feb 2025, Cultural landscapes of North-east Scotland: Collaborative research in history and archaeology. Shepherd, C. (ed.). Oxford: Oxbow, p. 145-158Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Open AccessFile18 Downloads (Pure) -
Pan-European atmospheric lead pollution, enhanced blood lead levels, and cognitive decline from Roman-era mining and smelting
McConnell, J. R., Chellman, N. J., Plach, A., Stohl, A., Smith, N.-K., Plunkett, G., Vinther, B. M., Dahl-Jensen, D., Steffensen, J. P., Fritzche, D., Wensman, S., Brugger, S. O., MacDonald, B. & Wilson, A., 06 Jan 2025, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
The 1831 CE mystery eruption identified as Zavaritskii caldera, Simushir Island (Kurils)
Hutchison, W., Sugden, P., Burke, A., Abbott, P., Ponomareva, V. V., Dirksen, O., Portnyagin, M. V., MacInnes, B., Bourgeois, J., Fitzhugh, B., Verkerk, M., Aubry, T. J., Engwell, S. L., Svensson, A., Chellman, N. J., McConnell, J. R., Davies, S., Sigl, M. & Plunkett, G., 07 Jan 2025, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 122, 1, 10 p., e2416699122.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Downloads (Pure) -
Decadal-to-centennial increases of volcanic aerosols from Iceland challenge the concept of a Medieval Quiet Period
Gabriel, I., Plunkett, G., Abbott, P. M., Behrans, M., Burke, A., Chellman, N., Cook, E., Fleitmann, D., Hörhold, M., Hutchison, W., McConnell, J. R., Óladóttir, B. A., Preiser-Kapeller, J., Sliwinski, J. T., Sugden, P., Twarloh, B. & Sigl, M., 10 Apr 2024, In: Communications Earth & Environment. 5, 18 p., 194.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)35 Downloads (Pure) -
High‐resolution ice‐core analyses identify the Eldgjá eruption and a cluster of Icelandic and trans‐continental tephras between 936 and 943 CE
Hutchison, W., Gabriel, I., Plunkett, G., Burke, A., Sugden, P., Innes, H., Davies, S., Moreland, W. M., Krüger, K., Wilson, R., Vinther, B. M., Dahl-Jensen, D., Freitag, J., Oppenheimer, C., Chellman, N. J., Sigl, M. & McConnell, J. R., 28 Aug 2024, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 129, 16, 21 p., e2023JD040142.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)12 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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A paleo-Anthropocene in Ireland? Irish Bronze Age sedimentary and faunal evidence
Ferrandin, S. (Keynote speaker), Plunkett, G. (Advisor), Britton, K. (Advisor) & Ogle, N. (Advisor)
18 Jul 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference
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XXI INQUA Congress
Plunkett, G. (Session chair), Davies, S. (Session chair), Andrea, B. (Session chair), Sigl, M. (Session chair) & McConnell, J. R. (Session chair)
14 Jul 2023 → 20 Jul 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Land-Use and Climate Changes during the Irish Bronze Age: What can the Nitrogen Cycle Tell Us?
Ferrandin, S. (Presenter), Plunkett, G. (Advisor), Britton, K. (Advisor) & Ogle, N. (Advisor)
25 Mar 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Changements climatiques et exploitation des terres en Irlande à l’âge du bronze
Ferrandin, S. (Advisor), Plunkett, G. (Advisor), Britton, K. (Advisor) & Ogle, N. (Advisor)
24 Nov 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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IQUA Spring Conference
Plunkett, G. (Organiser)
30 Apr 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
Press/Media
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Peat Uncovers a Uniquely Resilient Irish Community
25/05/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Coverage of research on Antrim Uplands (BBC Newsline)
05/05/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Climate and Society: Royal Irish Society podcast series
24/11/2021
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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