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Professor Darren Grocke's Outputs (160)

Contact metamorphism of coals in the southern Piceance Basin, USA: Volatile matter generation, pyrolytic carbon accumulation, and δ13C trends. (2025)
Journal Article
Rimmer, S. M., Yoksoulian, L. E., & Gröcke, D. R. (2025). Contact metamorphism of coals in the southern Piceance Basin, USA: Volatile matter generation, pyrolytic carbon accumulation, and δ13C trends. Evolving Earth, 3, Article 100063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2025.100063

Four transects of coal were studied to determine petrographic, geochemical, and δ13C changes due to contact with thin sills. Approaching the sills, vitrinite and coke reflectance increases from ∼0.75% to ∼ 7%, while volatile matter (VM) and H/C decre... Read More about Contact metamorphism of coals in the southern Piceance Basin, USA: Volatile matter generation, pyrolytic carbon accumulation, and δ13C trends..

The effect of seaweed fertilisation on sulfur isotope ratios (δ 34 S) and grain size in barley: implications for agronomy and archaeological research (2024)
Journal Article
Blanz, M., Gröcke, D. R., Martin, P., & Church, M. J. (2024). The effect of seaweed fertilisation on sulfur isotope ratios (δ 34 S) and grain size in barley: implications for agronomy and archaeological research. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 3, Article 1465082. https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2024.1465082

Introduction: Stable sulfur isotope ratios (δ34S) in bone collagen are often employed to study the consumption of marine and freshwater fish, wetland grazing, marine foraging patterns, and the possible geographic origins of food sources. However, a r... Read More about The effect of seaweed fertilisation on sulfur isotope ratios (δ 34 S) and grain size in barley: implications for agronomy and archaeological research.

Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains (2024)
Journal Article
Styring, A. K., Vaiglova, P., Bogaard, A., Church, M., Gröcke, D. R., Larsson, M., Liu, X., Stroud, E., Szpak, P., & Wallace, M. P. (2024). Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 3, Article 1465082. https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2024.1470375

Stable isotope analysis of plant remains recovered from archaeological sites is becoming more routine. There remains a lack of consensus, however, on how to appropriately select archaeological plant remains for isotopic analysis, how to account for d... Read More about Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains.

A global reference for black shale geochemistry and the T-OAE revisited: upper Pliensbachian – middle Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) chemostratigraphy in the Cleveland Basin, England (2024)
Journal Article
Jarvis, I., Atar, E., Gröcke, D. R., Herringshaw, L. G., & Trabucho-Alexandre, J. P. (2024). A global reference for black shale geochemistry and the T-OAE revisited: upper Pliensbachian – middle Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) chemostratigraphy in the Cleveland Basin, England. Geological Magazine, 161, Article e13. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0016756824000244

The Pliensbachian–Toarcian succession of North Yorkshire provides a global reference for the interval incorporating the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ∼183 Ma). Major and trace element, carbon stable-isotope (δ13Corg) and total organic carbon... Read More about A global reference for black shale geochemistry and the T-OAE revisited: upper Pliensbachian – middle Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) chemostratigraphy in the Cleveland Basin, England.

Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains (2024)
Journal Article
Styring, A. K., Vaiglova, P., Bogaard, A., Church, M., Gröcke, D. R., Larsson, M., Liu, X., Stroud, E., Szpak, P., & Wallace, M. P. (in press). Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 3, Article 1470375. https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2024.1470375

Stable isotope analysis of plant remains recovered from archaeological sites is becoming more routine. There remains a lack of consensus, however, on how to appropriately select archaeological plant remains for isotopic analysis, how to account for d... Read More about Recommendations for stable isotope analysis of charred archaeological crop remains.

Nitrogen isotope variability of macroalgae from a small fishing village, Staithes Harbour, Yorkshire, UK. (2024)
Journal Article
Alldred, F. C., Gröcke, D. R., & Jackson, S. E. (2024). Nitrogen isotope variability of macroalgae from a small fishing village, Staithes Harbour, Yorkshire, UK. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 207, Article 116828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116828

Macroalgal nitrogen isotope analysis (δ N) is a reliable method for the identification of nitrogen pollutant sources. Understanding δ N geospatial variation within small bays and/or harbour environments can help identify point sources of nitrogen pol... Read More about Nitrogen isotope variability of macroalgae from a small fishing village, Staithes Harbour, Yorkshire, UK..

Establishing the limitations on using archived marine mammal samples for stable isotope analysis: an examination of differing preservation methods on tissues of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) (2024)
Journal Article
Moore, D. M., Cunningham, E. G., Crowder, K. D., & Gröcke, D. R. (2025). Establishing the limitations on using archived marine mammal samples for stable isotope analysis: an examination of differing preservation methods on tissues of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and gray seal (Halichoerus grypus). Marine Mammal Science, 41(1), Article e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13168

The use of biological samples from museum and/or archive collections is common in stable isotope research, particularly for marine mammals. Yet, the temporal stability of isotopic values across various tissue types and the influence of different pres... Read More about Establishing the limitations on using archived marine mammal samples for stable isotope analysis: an examination of differing preservation methods on tissues of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and gray seal (Halichoerus grypus).

Further investigation into the impact of manuring on stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values in pulses: a four-year experiment examining Celtic bean (Vicia faba) (2024)
Journal Article
Treasure, E. R., Gröcke, D. R., Lester, J. J., Bishop, R. R., Jackson, S. E., & Church, M. J. (2024). Further investigation into the impact of manuring on stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values in pulses: a four-year experiment examining Celtic bean (Vicia faba). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 16(8), Article 130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-02045-x

Plant stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values can be used to directly investigate crop husbandry practices such as manuring; a key variable in understanding the scale and intensity of past farming practices. We present new results fro... Read More about Further investigation into the impact of manuring on stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values in pulses: a four-year experiment examining Celtic bean (Vicia faba).

Nitrogen isotopes in herbaria document historical nitrogen sewage pollution in the Mersey Estuary, England (2024)
Journal Article
Alldred, F. C., Gröcke, D. R., Jackson, S. E., & Reid, G. (2024). Nitrogen isotopes in herbaria document historical nitrogen sewage pollution in the Mersey Estuary, England. Environmental Science: Advances, 3(5), 676-685. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4VA00015C

A macroalgae (seaweed) herbarium nitrogen isotope (δ15N) record is produced for the River Mersey and Liverpool South Docks (England) between 1821 and 2018. A modern macroalgae δ15N record was also produced from September 2022. The herbaria δ15N recor... Read More about Nitrogen isotopes in herbaria document historical nitrogen sewage pollution in the Mersey Estuary, England.

Vittrup Man–The life-history of a genetic foreigner in Neolithic Denmark (2024)
Journal Article
Fischer, A., Sjögren, K., Jensen, T. Z. T., Jørkov, M. L., Lysdahl, P., Vimala, T., …Kristiansen, K. (2024). Vittrup Man–The life-history of a genetic foreigner in Neolithic Denmark. PLoS ONE, 19(2), Article e0297032. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297032

The lethally maltreated body of Vittrup Man was deposited in a Danish bog, probably as part of a ritualised sacrifice. It happened between c. 3300 and 3100 cal years BC, i.e., during the period of the local farming-based Funnel Beaker Culture. In ter... Read More about Vittrup Man–The life-history of a genetic foreigner in Neolithic Denmark.

Intrashelf basin record of redox and productivity changes along the Arabian margin of Neo-Tethys during Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (2023)
Journal Article
Jafarian, A., Husinec, A., Wang, C., Chen, X., Wang, M., Gröcke, D. R., Saboor, A., & Li, Y. (2024). Intrashelf basin record of redox and productivity changes along the Arabian margin of Neo-Tethys during Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 636, Article 111975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111975

The biotic, environmental, climatic, oceanic, and sea-level perturbations during the Early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a have been extensively documented from both deep- and shallow-marine deposits worldwide. However, there has been relatively... Read More about Intrashelf basin record of redox and productivity changes along the Arabian margin of Neo-Tethys during Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a.

Investigating groundwater recharge using hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in Kabul city, a semi-arid region (2023)
Journal Article
Hamidi, M. D., Gröcke, D. R., Kumar Joshi, S., & Greenwell, H. C. (2023). Investigating groundwater recharge using hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in Kabul city, a semi-arid region. Journal of Hydrology, 626, Article 130187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130187

There are significant concerns about the sustainability of groundwater, and the inhabitants that depend on it, due to rapid groundwater depletion from the alluvium aquifers in Kabul city. Sustainable groundwater management in Kabul requires an unders... Read More about Investigating groundwater recharge using hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in Kabul city, a semi-arid region.

Seeking their fortunes on the Otago goldfields, New Zealand – Constructing isotopic biographies of colonial goldminers (2023)
Journal Article
King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Kinaston, R., Millard, A. R., Nowell, G., …Gröcke, D. R. (2023). Seeking their fortunes on the Otago goldfields, New Zealand – Constructing isotopic biographies of colonial goldminers. Journal of Archaeological Science, 157, 105836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105836

The nineteenth century New Zealand goldfields were a place where people from across the world came together in search of their fortunes. Written accounts of life on the diggings do exist but are of varying veracity and we therefore have little knowle... Read More about Seeking their fortunes on the Otago goldfields, New Zealand – Constructing isotopic biographies of colonial goldminers.

Sulphur isotope stratigraphy of drill cuttings and stratigraphic correlation of Permian-Triassic evaporites (2023)
Journal Article
Salisbury, J., Gröcke, D. R., & McKie, T. (2023). Sulphur isotope stratigraphy of drill cuttings and stratigraphic correlation of Permian-Triassic evaporites. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11,

The stratigraphy of the European late Permian-Triassic commonly lacks chronostratigraphic constraint due to the scarcity of diagnostic fossils for biostratigraphy. This is particularly true for the United Kingdom, and as a result, stratigraphic corre... Read More about Sulphur isotope stratigraphy of drill cuttings and stratigraphic correlation of Permian-Triassic evaporites.

Diffuse and concentrated nitrogen sewage pollution in island environments with differing treatment systems (2023)
Journal Article
Alldred, F., Gröcke, D., Leung, C., Wright, L., & Banfield, N. (2023). Diffuse and concentrated nitrogen sewage pollution in island environments with differing treatment systems. Scientific Reports, 13, Article 4838. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32105-6

Macroalgae is an under-utilised tool as a bioindicator of anthropogenic nitrogen loading to the coastal environment in the UK. This study compared two island systems—Jersey (Channel Islands) and St Mary’s (Isles of Scilly) to assess how differing sew... Read More about Diffuse and concentrated nitrogen sewage pollution in island environments with differing treatment systems.

Long-term stability in the circumpolar foraging range of a Southern Ocean predator between the eras of whaling and rapid climate change (2023)
Journal Article
Derville, S., Torres, L. G., Newsome, S. D., Somes, C. J., Valenzuela, L. O., Vander Zanden, H. B., …Carroll, E. L. (2023). Long-term stability in the circumpolar foraging range of a Southern Ocean predator between the eras of whaling and rapid climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(10), Article 2214035120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214035120

Assessing environmental changes in Southern Ocean ecosystems is difficult due to its remoteness and data sparsity. Monitoring marine predators that respond rapidly to environmental variation may enable us to track anthropogenic effects on ecosystems.... Read More about Long-term stability in the circumpolar foraging range of a Southern Ocean predator between the eras of whaling and rapid climate change.

An 80-million-year sulphur isotope record of pyrite burial over the Permian–Triassic (2022)
Journal Article
Salisbury, J., Gröcke, D. R., Cheung, H. A., Kump, L. R., McKie, T., & Ruffell, A. (2022). An 80-million-year sulphur isotope record of pyrite burial over the Permian–Triassic. Scientific Reports, 12, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21542-4

Despite the extensive use of sulphur isotope ratios (δ34S) for understanding ancient biogeochemical cycles, many studies focus on specific time-points of interest, such as the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). We have generated an 80 million-year P... Read More about An 80-million-year sulphur isotope record of pyrite burial over the Permian–Triassic.

A new subsurface record of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian, Lower Jurassic, of Yorkshire (2022)
Journal Article
Trabucho-Alexandre, J., Gröcke, D., Atar, E., Herringshaw, L., & Jarvis, I. (2022). A new subsurface record of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian, Lower Jurassic, of Yorkshire. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 64(2), https://doi.org/10.1144/pygs2022-007

Here, we describe the upper Pliensbachian to middle Toarcian stratigraphy of the Dove's Nest borehole, which was drilled near Whitby, North Yorkshire, in 2013. The core represents a single, continuous vertical section through unweathered, immature Lo... Read More about A new subsurface record of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian, Lower Jurassic, of Yorkshire.

Scotland’s first farmers: new insights into early farming practices in north-west Europe (2022)
Journal Article
Bishop, R., Gröcke, D., Ralston, I., Clarke, D., Lee, D., Shepherd, A., Thomas, A., Rowley-Conwy, P., & Church, M. (2022). Scotland’s first farmers: new insights into early farming practices in north-west Europe. Antiquity, 96(389), https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.107

Thirty years after the discovery of an Early Neolithic timber hall at Balbridie in Scotland was reported in Antiquity, new analysis of the site's archaeobotanical assemblage, featuring 20 000 cereal grains preserved when the building burnt down in th... Read More about Scotland’s first farmers: new insights into early farming practices in north-west Europe.