Dr Leon Clarke

Academic and professional qualifications

I hold a Senior Lectureship in Environmental Analytical Chemistry at MMU (originally appointed as a lecturer in August 2012).

I have a DPhil in Earth Sciences (University of Oxford; 2002), and a BSc in Environmental Sciences (University of East Anglia; 1993).

Research outputs available via the following links:

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

ResearcherID

ORCHID

Previous employment

Prior to appointment to MMU, I was Lecturer in Environmental Science in the then Division of Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bradford (2010-2012) and Lecturer in Sediment Geochemistry in the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University (2000-2009). I was also a research associate at the NERC ICP-MS Facility, then situated at Imperial College at Silwood Park, between 1997 and 1999.

Other academic service (administration and management)

Division of Chemistry and Environmental Science Knowledge Exchange coordinator.

Unit coordinator: Environmental Risk Management (Year 3; 6F6Z2002).

Unit coordinator: Science for Sustainable Development (MSc; 6F7Z3003).

Why study ?

Undergraduate courses

Analytical Techniques (Core Chemistry 3) (Year 2; 6F5Z2008)

Natural Resources and Pollution (Year 2; 6F5Z2005)

Environmental Risk Management (Year 3; 6F6Z2002)

Project and Personal Development (Year 3; 6F6Z2001)

Advanced Project and Personal Development (Year 4; 6F7Z2001)

Frontiers in Chemical and Environmental Science (Year 4; 6F7Z2002)

Postgraduate teaching

Science for Sustainable Development (MSc; 6F7Z3003)

Publications

• Featured Works

  A. García-Escárzaga, LJ. Clarke, I. Gutiérrez-Zugasti, MR. González-Morales, M. Martinez, et al. JM. López-Higuera, A. Cobo. (2018). Mg/Ca profiles within archaeological mollusc (Patella vulgata) shells: Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy compared to Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry. Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy. 148, pp.8-15.

  I. Kougkoulos, SJ. Cook, LA. Edwards, LJ. Clarke, E. Symeonakis, et al. JM. Dortch, K. Nesbitt. (2018). Modelling glacial lake outburst flood impacts in the Bolivian Andes. Natural Hazards. pp.1-24.

  I. Kougkoulos, S. Cook, V. Jomelli, L. Clarke, I. Symeonakis, et al. J. Dortch, L. Edwards, M. Merad. (2018). Use of multi-criteria decision analysis to identify potentially dangerous glacial lakes. Science of the Total Environment. 621, pp.1453-1466.

  J. Bownes, L. Clarke, J. Buckberry (2018). The importance of animal baselines: Using isotope analysis to compare diet in a British medieval hospital and lay population. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 17, pp.103-110.

  I. Gutiérrez-Zugasti, R. Suárez-Revilla, LJ. Clarke, BR. Schöne, GN. Bailey, et al. MR. González-Morales. (2017). Shell oxygen isotope values and sclerochronology of the limpet Patella vulgata Linnaeus 1758 from northern Iberia: Implications for the reconstruction of past seawater temperatures. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 475, pp.162-175.

  M. Vihtakari, WG. Ambrose, PE. Renaud, WL. Locke, ML. Carroll, et al. J. Berge, LJ. Clarke, F. Cottier, H. Hop. (2017). A key to the past? Element ratios as environmental proxies in two Arctic bivalves. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 465(B), pp.316-332.

  PS. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, H. Kennedy, CA. Richardson (2016). Manganese in the shell of the bivalve Mytilus edulis: Seawater Mn or physiological control?. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 194, pp.266-278.

  F. Falzoni, MR. Petrizzo, LJ. Clarke, KG. MacLeod, HC. Jenkyns (2016). Long-term Late Cretaceous oxygen-and carbonisotope trends and planktonic foraminiferal turnover: A new record from the southern midlatitudes. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 128(11-12), pp.1725-1735.

  M. Vihtakari, PE. Renaud, LJ. Clarke, MJ. Whitehouse, H. Hop, et al. ML. Carroll, WG. Ambrose. (2016). Decoding the oxygen isotope signal for seasonal growth patterns in Arctic bivalves. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 446, pp.263-283.

  I. Wendler, JE. Wendler, LJ. Clarke (2016). Sea-level reconstruction for Turonian sediments from Tanzania based on integration of sedimentology, microfacies, geochemistry and micropaleontology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 441, pp.528-564.

• Journal articles

  JI. Nwachukwu, LJ. Clarke, E. Symeonakis, FQ. Brearley (2022). Assessment of human exposure to food crops contaminated with lead and cadmium in Owerri, South-eastern Nigeria. Journal of Trace Elements and Minerals. 2, pp.100037-100037.

  D. Niepsch, LJ. Clarke, K. Tzoulas, G. Cavan (2021). Distinguishing atmospheric nitrogen compounds (nitrate and ammonium) in lichen biomonitoring studies. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. 23(12), pp.2021-2036.

  T. Haberzettl, G. Daut, N. Schulze, V. Spiess, J. Wang, et al. L. Zhu, . 2018 Nam Co workshop party, L. Clarke. (2019). ICDP workshop on scientific drilling of Nam Co on the Tibetan Plateau: 1 million years of paleoenvironmental history, geomicrobiology, tectonics and paleomagnetism derived from sediments of a high-altitude lake. Scientific Drilling. 25, pp.63-70.

  F. Sylvestre, M. Schuster, H. Vogel, M. Abdheramane, D. Ariztegui, et al. U. Salzmann, A. Schwalb, N. Waldmann. (2018). The Lake CHAd Deep DRILLing project (CHADRILL) – targeting  ∼ 10 million years of environmental and climate change in Africa. Scientific Drilling. 24, pp.71-78.

  A. García-Escárzaga, LJ. Clarke, I. Gutiérrez-Zugasti, MR. González-Morales, M. Martinez, et al. JM. López-Higuera, A. Cobo. (2018). Mg/Ca profiles within archaeological mollusc (Patella vulgata) shells: Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy compared to Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry. Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy. 148, pp.8-15.

  I. Kougkoulos, SJ. Cook, LA. Edwards, LJ. Clarke, E. Symeonakis, et al. JM. Dortch, K. Nesbitt. (2018). Modelling glacial lake outburst flood impacts in the Bolivian Andes. Natural Hazards. pp.1-24.

  I. Kougkoulos, S. Cook, V. Jomelli, L. Clarke, I. Symeonakis, et al. J. Dortch, L. Edwards, M. Merad. (2018). Use of multi-criteria decision analysis to identify potentially dangerous glacial lakes. Science of the Total Environment. 621, pp.1453-1466.

  J. Bownes, L. Clarke, J. Buckberry (2018). The importance of animal baselines: Using isotope analysis to compare diet in a British medieval hospital and lay population. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 17, pp.103-110.

  I. Gutiérrez-Zugasti, R. Suárez-Revilla, LJ. Clarke, BR. Schöne, GN. Bailey, et al. MR. González-Morales. (2017). Shell oxygen isotope values and sclerochronology of the limpet Patella vulgata Linnaeus 1758 from northern Iberia: Implications for the reconstruction of past seawater temperatures. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 475, pp.162-175.

  M. Vihtakari, WG. Ambrose, PE. Renaud, WL. Locke, ML. Carroll, et al. J. Berge, LJ. Clarke, F. Cottier, H. Hop. (2017). A key to the past? Element ratios as environmental proxies in two Arctic bivalves. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 465(B), pp.316-332.

  PS. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, H. Kennedy, CA. Richardson (2016). Manganese in the shell of the bivalve Mytilus edulis: Seawater Mn or physiological control?. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 194, pp.266-278.

  F. Falzoni, MR. Petrizzo, LJ. Clarke, KG. MacLeod, HC. Jenkyns (2016). Long-term Late Cretaceous oxygen-and carbonisotope trends and planktonic foraminiferal turnover: A new record from the southern midlatitudes. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 128(11-12), pp.1725-1735.

  M. Vihtakari, PE. Renaud, LJ. Clarke, MJ. Whitehouse, H. Hop, et al. ML. Carroll, WG. Ambrose. (2016). Decoding the oxygen isotope signal for seasonal growth patterns in Arctic bivalves. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 446, pp.263-283.

  I. Wendler, JE. Wendler, LJ. Clarke (2016). Sea-level reconstruction for Turonian sediments from Tanzania based on integration of sedimentology, microfacies, geochemistry and micropaleontology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 441, pp.528-564.

  H. Haydock, L. Clarke, E. Craig-Atkins, R. Howcroft, J. Buckberry (2013). Weaning at Anglo-Saxon raunds: Implications for changing breastfeeding practice in britain over two millennia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY. 151(4), pp.604-612.

  OE. Craig, H. Saul, A. Lucquin, Y. Nishida, K. Taché, et al. L. Clarke, A. Thompson, DT. Altoft, J. Uchiyama, M. Ajimoto, K. Gibbs, S. Isaksson, CP. Heron, P. Jordan. (2013). Earliest evidence for the use of pottery. Nature. 496(7445), pp.351-354.

  PS. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, H. Kennedy, CA. Richardson (2012). The potential of combined Mg/Ca and δ18O measurements within the shell of the bivalve Pecten maximus to estimate seawater δ18O composition. Chemical Geology. 291, pp.286-293.

  PS. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, H. Kennedy, CA. Richardson Ion microprobe assessment of the heterogeneity of Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios in <i>Pecten maximus</i> and <i>Mytilus edulis</i> (bivalvia) shell calcite precipitated at constant temperature. Biogeosciences. 6(7), pp.1209-1227.

  SA. Robinson, LJ. Clarke, A. Nederbragt, IG. Wood (2008). Mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events in the Pacific Ocean revealed by carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the Calera Limestone, California, USA. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 120(11-12), pp.1416-1426.

  LC. Foster, AA. Finch, N. Allison, C. Andersson, LJ. Clarke (2008). Mg in aragonitic bivalve shells: Seasonal variations and mode of incorporation in Arctica islandica. Chemical Geology. 254(1-2), pp.113-119.

  M. Greaves, N. Caillon, H. Rebaubier, G. Bartoli, S. Bohaty, et al. I. Cacho, L. Clarke, M. Cooper, C. Daunt, M. Delaney, P. deMenocal, A. Dutton, S. Eggins, H. Elderfield, D. Garbe‐Schoenberg, E. Goddard, D. Green, J. Groeneveld, D. Hastings, E. Hathorne, K. Kimoto, G. Klinkhammer, L. Labeyrie, DW. Lea, T. Marchitto, MA. Martínez‐Botí, PG. Mortyn, Y. Ni, D. Nuernberg, G. Paradis, L. Pena, T. Quinn, Y. Rosenthal, A. Russell, T. Sagawa, S. Sosdian, L. Stott, K. Tachikawa, E. Tappa, R. Thunell, PA. Wilson. (2008). Interlaboratory comparison study of calibration standards for foraminiferal Mg/Ca thermometry. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 9(8),

  PS. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, HA. Kennedy, CA. Richardson Inter- and intra-specimen variability masks reliable temperature control on shell Mg/Ca ratios in laboratory- and field-cultured <i>Mytilus edulis</i> and <i>Pecten maximus</i> (bivalvia). Biogeosciences. 5(5), pp.1245-1258.

  PS. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, H. Kennedy, CA. Richardson, F. Abrantes (2006). Environmental and biological controls on elemental (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca) ratios in shells of the king scallop Pecten maximus. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 70(20), pp.5119-5133.

  J. Scourse, L. Clarke, F. Marret (2005). Editorial. Journal of Quaternary Science. 20(5), pp.409-409.

  P. Freitas, LJ. Clarke, H. Kennedy, C. Richardson, F. Abrantes (2005). Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and stable‐isotope (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) ratio profiles from the fan mussel Pinna nobilis: Seasonal records and temperature relationships. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 6(4),

  SC. Brassell, M. Dumitrescu (2004). Recognition of alkenones in a lower Aptian porcellanite from the west-central Pacific. Organic Geochemistry. 35(2), pp.181-188.

  C-A. Craig, KE. Jarvis, LJ. Clarke (2000). An assessment of calibration strategies for the quantitative and semi-quantitative analysis of calcium carbonate matrices by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. 15(8), pp.1001-1008.

  R. Richaud, H. Lachas, M-J. Lazaro, LJ. Clarke, KE. Jarvis, et al. AA. Herod, TC. Gibb, R. Kandiyoti. (2000). Trace elements in coal derived liquids: analysis by ICP-MS and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Fuel. 79(1), pp.57-67.

  LJ. Clarke, HC. Jenkyns (1999). New oxygen isotope evidence for long-term Cretaceous climatic change in the Southern Hemisphere. Geology. 27(8), pp.699-699.

  GD. PRICE, BW. SELLWOOD, RM. CORFIELD, L. CLARKE, JE. CARTLIDGE (1998). Isotopic evidence for palaeotemperatures and depth stratification of Middle Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera from the Pacific Ocean. Geological Magazine. 135(2), pp.183-191.

  J-P. Bellier, S. Marca, RD. Norris, D. Kroon, A. Klaus, et al. IT. Alexander, LP. Bardot, CE. Barker, CD. Blome, LJ. Clarke, J. Erbacher, KL. Faul, MA. Holmes, BT. Huber, ME. Kate, KG. MacLeod, FC. Martinez-Ruiz, I. Mita, M. Nakai, JG. Ogg, DK. Pak, TK. Pletsch, JM. Self-Trail, NJ. Shackleton, J. Smit, W. Ussler, DK. Watkins, J. Widmark, PA. Wilson. (1997). Le Crétacé-Paléogène du Blake Nose (marge atlantique de la Floride, campagne ODP 171 B): un enregistrement exemplaire de la transition Maastrichtien-Danien. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science. 325(7), pp.499-504.

• Conferences

Expert reviewer for external funding bodies

Ongoing member of the NERC Peer Review College.

Past member of the NERC UK-IODP steering committee.

Membership of professional associations

Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Member of the American Geophysical Union.

Member of the Geological Society of America.

Member of the European Association of Geochemistry.

Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.