Island
Past Climates and Environments (PACE)

The Channel Islands have witnessed dramatic climate changes in the geologic past. During the last Ice Age, the English Channel fell dry due to global sea level lowering. Instead, the Channel basin drained glacial meltwater from a large ice sheet over Northern Europe into the North Atlantic. Frequent dust storms in this harsh environment have covered the Channel Islands with a thick layer of mineral dust. In contrast, raised beaches that crop out along the islands’ coasts mark sea level high-stands during past periods of warmer climate.

In this way, the islands' land serves as record of past climate change in the English Channel region. At present these archives are understudied and our knowledge about the region's climate history remains limited. Yet, understanding how past changes in North Atlantic ocean circulation or former ice sheets influenced northwestern Europe’s climate is essential to predict and mitigate against future climate change.  

 

This project is a collaboration of past climate researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden with local researchers and specialist laboratories around the world. We have recently received funding from Jersey Heritage and the Jersey Community Foundation to study the Channel Islands’ geological archives using a range of analytical techniques to reconstruct the region's climate history.