Projects per year
Personal profile
Interests
I am interested in all aspects of radiocarbon dating and applications in calibration, archaeology, carbon cycling, ecology and palaeoenviornment.
Research Statement
My research interests are primarily focused on carbon, in both modern and past environments, as a tracer of geochemical processes, as a key component in climate variability and as a chronological tool. Much of my work focuses on extending and refining the internationally ratified radiocarbon calibration curves which are used by geoscientists and archaeologists to correct radiocarbon ages for the variability of atmospheric or marine 14C in the past. These datasets also provide information on solar variability, ocean circulation changes and geomagnetic field changes over the past 50,000 years. I chair the IntCal Working Group which has been responsible for producing the calibration curves from independently dated material such as tree-rings and corals since 2002 although I have been closely involved with the work from 1986.
As a corollary to radiocarbon calibration, I am interested in both marine and freshwater radiocarbon reservoir offsets which effect radiocarbon ages and calibration of samples from these environments or from humans or animals with a marine dietary component.My investigations also inform about the nature of ocean upwelling and circulation changes over time. I am also interested in the use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in past dietary studies as a tool to answer questions about human and animal diet in the past and as a way of understanding radiocarbon reservoir effects on the accuracy dating humans and animals subsisting on marine or freshwater resources.
I am also involved in research combining radiocarbon and stable isotopes in understanding the source and fate of carbon in the environment whether terrestrial carbon storage in sediment, efflux to the atmosphere or utilisation in the foodweb of lakes and streams.
Teaching
I am no longer teaching undergraduate or MSc modules.
Achievements
In 2013 I was awarded the Lyell Medal by the Geological Society of London for contributions towards the development of radiocarbon dating and calibration and carbon cycling in the environment.
I was elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2014 and asked to participate as a convener for selection of members for the Geosciences and Geographical Sciences committee and become a member.
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Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Projects
R6395ARL: Fragility and sustainability in restricted island environments: adaption, cultural change and collapse in prehistory
Malone, C., Blaauw, M., Hunt, C., McCormick, F., Reimer, P., Ruffell, A. & Whitehouse, N.
01/08/2012 → …
Project: Research
R1247ARL: 14C as a tool to trace terrestrial carbon in a complex lake: implications for food-web structure and carbon cycling
01/08/2010 → 17/12/2019
Project: Research
R1085ARL: Methane as a novel energy subsidy in rivers : old or new carbon
01/08/2009 → 17/12/2019
Project: Research
Research Output
An interdisciplinary study of a mammoth-bearing Late Pleistocene sediment succession in lower Austria
Carobene, D., Meyer, M. C., Spötl, C., Rötzel, R., Göhlich, U. B., Mandic, O., Harzhauser, M., Wimmer-Frey, I., Reimer, P. J. & Auer, F., 17 Feb 2020, In : Quaternary International.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Composition and consequences of the IntCal20 radiocarbon calibration curve
Reimer, P. J., 22 Apr 2020, (Accepted) In : Quaternary Research.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland
Snoeck, C., Jones, C., Pouncett, J., Goderis, S., Claeys, P., Mattielli, N., Zazzo, A., Reimer, P. J., Lee-Thorp, J. A. & Schulting, R. J., Apr 2020, In : Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 30, 10 p., 102214.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Marine resource abundance drove pre-agricultural population increase in Stone Age Scandinavia
Lewis, J. P., Ryves, D. B., Rasmussen, P., Olsen, J., van der Sluis, L. G., Reimer, P. J., Knudsen, K-L., McGowan, S., Anderson, N. J. & Juggins, S., 24 Apr 2020, In : Nature Communications. 11, 10 p., 2006.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open Access
File
Source and quantity of carbon influence its sequestration in Rostherne Mere (UK) sediment: a novel application of Stepped Combustion Radiocarbon analysis
Keaveney, E. M., Radbourne, A. D., McGowan, S., Ryves, D. B. & Reimer, P. J., 23 Jun 2020, (Accepted) In : Journal of Paleolimnology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Datasets
IntCal13 radiocarbon calibration databases
Reimer, R. (Creator), Reimer, P. (Creator), Bard, E. (Contributor), Bayliss, A. (Contributor), Beck, J. W. (Contributor), Blackwell, P. G. (Contributor), Bronk Ramsey, C. (Contributor), Buck, C. E. (Contributor), Cheng, H. (Contributor), Edwards, R. L. (Contributor), Friedrich, M. (Contributor), Grootes, P. M. (Contributor), Guilderson, T. P. (Contributor), Haflidason, H. (Contributor), Hajdas, I. (Contributor), Hatté, C. (Contributor), Heaton, T. J. (Contributor), Hoffmann, D. L. (Contributor), Hogg, A. (Contributor), Hughen, K. A. (Contributor), Kaiser, K. F. (Contributor), Kromer, B. (Contributor), Manning, S. W. (Contributor), Niu, M. (Contributor), Richards, D. (Contributor), Scott, E. M. (Contributor), Southon, J. R. (Contributor), Staff, R. A. (Contributor), Turney, C. S. M. (Contributor) & Van Der Plicht, J. (Contributor), Queen's University Belfast, 01 Jan 2013
DOI: 10.17034/d73cb3d4-cfac-4f83-a6d9-50bc83c1d476, http://intcal.qub.ac.uk/intcal13/
Dataset
Prizes
Activities
XX INQUA Congress
Paula Reimer (Organiser)
29 Jul 2019
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
XX INQUA Congress
Paula Reimer (Organiser)
30 Jul 2019
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
An overview of the IntCal19 radiocarbon calibration curve
Paula Reimer (Advisor)
29 Jul 2019
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
An overview of the IntCal20 radiocarbon calibration curve
Paula Reimer (Advisor)
29 Nov 2019
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
IntCal working group meeting 2019
Paula Reimer (Participant)
17 Jun 2018
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Press / Media
Chinese cave stalagmites provide researchers with the ultimate means to calibrate radiocarbon dating
17/12/2018
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Study reignites debate about when Thera blew its top - Radiocarbon curve suggests archaeological data were right
16/08/2018
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Impact
Conservation of Maerl (Calcareous red seaweed) in Europe
Daryl Birkett (Participant), Christine Maggs (Participant), Matthew Dring (Participant), Charmaine Blake (Participant), Sian Wilson (Participant), Paula Reimer (Participant) & Mark Johnson (Participant)
Impact: Public Policy Impact, Environmental Impact