Professor Kevin Edwards

MA, PhD, DSc, FRSGS, FRGS, FSAScot, FSA, FRSE, MAE

Emeritus Professor

Email Address

kevin.edwards@abdn.ac.uk

Office Address

Department of Geography and Environment,
School of Geosciences,
51cg,
St Mary's, Elphinstone Road,
Aberdeen AB24 3UF
Scotland, UK

& Clare Hall,

Herschel Road,

Cambridge CB3 9AL,

School/Department

School of Geosciences

Biography


	Honorary Life Member, Quaternary Research Association, 2022- Senior Fellow, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Univ. of Cambridge, 2019- Coppock Research Medal and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, 2018 Institute Associate, Scott Polar Research Institute, Univ. of Cambridge, 2018- DSc, 'Studies in Quaternary, Geographical and Archaeological Science', Univ. of St Andrews, 2014 REF 2014: Panel member for Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology, UK Research Excellence Framework Christensen Fellow, St Catherine's College, Univ. of Oxford, 2012 133rd Rhind Lecturer, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2012 Member of Academia Europaea, 2012 Life Member, Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, 2012-, Fellow Commoner, 2020- Visiting Fellow, Clare Hall and Visiting Scholar, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Univ. of Cambridge, 2011-2012 RAE 2008: Panel member for Geography and Environmental Studies, UK Research Assessment Exercise Visiting Researcher, Geography & Geology, Univ. of Copenhagen, 2007-09 Adjunct Professor, Doctoral Faculty of the Graduate School, The City Univ. of New York, 2002- Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2002 Professor in Physical Geography, Univ. of Aberdeen, 2000-17, Adjunct Professor in Archaeology, 2007-, Emeritus Professor in Geography, 2018- Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1999 Professor of Palaeoecology, Dept. of Archaeology & Prehistory, Univ. of Sheffield, 1994-2000, Head of Dept. 1996-1999 Honorary Research Associate, Limnological Research Center, Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1983 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Biogeography, Reader in Palaeoecology, School of Geography, Univ. of Birmingham, 1980-94 Lecturer, Dept. of Geography and Palaeoecology Centre, The Queen's Univ. of Belfast, 1975-80 PhD, 51cg, 1978 Tutorial Fellow, Dept. of Geography, Univ.of Aberdeen, 1972-75 MA First Class Honours in Geographical Studies, Univ. of St Andrews, 1972

External Memberships

CURRENT EDITORIAL ROLES

Editorial Boards:

Palynology
Journal of Archaeological Science
North Atlantic World book series (Brepols)

Research

Research Overview

Palynology
Environmental and anthropogenic change in the North Atlantic region
Mesolithic (hunter-gatherer) impacts on vegetation in Scotland
Long-term vegetation and environmental change in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland
Tephropalynological studies
Environmental archaeology
History of Science

The above are pursued within the context of the Environmental Change sub-group of the of the Department.

Current Research

Landscapes circum-Landnám: Viking settlement in the North Atlantic and its human and ecological consequences: This project was made possible by a major Research Programme Grant for the period 2002-07 from the Leverhulme Trust. The award resulted from a UK-wide competition within the theme 'Long-term settlement in the ancient world'. It enabled a high resolution and comprehensive investigation of what happens environmentally and socially when a group of people - in this case the Vikings - colonise 'pristine' landscapes. Sites in the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland were and are being studied by an interdisciplinary and multinational team including Paul Buckland (Archaeology, Universities of Sheffield and Bournemouth), Andrew Dugmore (Geography, University of Edinburgh), Thomas McGovern (Anthropology, Hunter College, City University New York), Ian Simpson (Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling) and Guðrún Sveinbjarnardóttir (Scandinavian Studies and Archaeology, University College London). Kevin Edwards was PI on the project which was led by the 51cg.

Footprints on the edge of Thule: landscapes of Norse-indigenous interaction: This is a development of the Landscapes circum-Landnám project and was funded by the Leverhulme Trust for the period 2007-11. A primary aim is to investigate the complex relationships between humans (Norse incomers and indigenous groups), their economies and interactions with environment in parts of Greenland, Norway and Sweden. Collaborating researchers include Andrew Dugmore and Eva Panagiotakopulu (Geography, University of Edinburgh) and Ian Simpson (Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling), as well as many overseas research collaborators (e.g. in Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark). Kevin Edwards was PI on the project which was led by the 51cg.

Pre-agricultural landscape impacts (erosion, fire and vegetational change) and woodland status in western Scotland (including the Inner and Outer Hebrides) and the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland): Pollen, charcoal, palaeoentomological and archaeological studies of early Holocene/Mesolithic environmental and cultural change, including the nature of the woodland cover. The work involves collaboration with archaeologists from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland's First Settlers Project) and Bradford, and palynologists and palaeoentomologists from the Universities of Birmingham, Sheffield and St Andrews. Funding has come from NERC and The Leverhulme Trust.

Palaeolimnological studies of prehistoric agricultural impacts: Studies of lake sediments as repositories of land use and erosional history and involving pollen, chemical, particle size and radiocarbon studies. This is being carried out partly in association with Graeme Whittington, the School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews with funding for radiocarbon dates from the NERC.

Lateglacial environments in Scotland, including oxygen isotope studies: High resolution palynological, palaeoentomological and stable isotope research aimed at detecting biotic and environmental sensitivity to climate change . This is joint research with the School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews, the School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham and the Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow/SUERC, East Kilbride. Funding for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ¹⁴C dating and oxygen isotope analysis has come from NERC.

Soil pollution on the remote Scottish islands: High levels of pollution (e.g. lead, zinc, cadmium and arsenic) discovered in the anthropogenic soils of St Kilda seem to be related to peat burning and arable farming practices combined with the local custom of composting seabird waste. This project aims to continue investigations on St Kilda and to place the results in a wider context. This is joint research with the Departments of Plant & Soil Science and Chemistry, 51cg, and the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, with funding from the Leverhulme Trust.

The antiquity and environmental signatures of ancient tin mining in SW Britain: The precise date of tin mining – and the related metallurgical extraction of copper, lead and silver in Devon and Cornwall – was unknown and has been subject to historical comment/myth for millennia. This project investigated the chemical signatures in raised mires from Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor accompanied by AMS ¹⁴C dating. The outcome has significance for the economic (pre-)history of Europe. This is joint research with Andrew Meharg (Department of Plant & Soil Science, 51cg and is funded by NERC (Meharg and Edwards co-PIs).

Reconstructing 8000 years of environmental and landscape change in the Cairngorms: New discoveries of well preserved sub-fossil pine stems in lakes from the northwest Cairngorms highlight the potential of deriving a long Holocene length tree-ring record for this region. Combined with palynology and geochemical data, multiproxy approaches enable an examination of environmental change during the Holocene, including: the first comprehensive appraisal of human influence on the vegetational structure of the region; quantified tree-ring based inter-annual summer temperature reconstructions for discrete time periods, which will significantly extend high resolution records of climate change in the UK; elucidation of whether periods of forest decline are related to climatic anomalies or human influences. This work is funded by The Leverhulme Trust (2010-13) with co-PIs Rob Wilson (St Andrews), Siwan Davies (Swansea) and Kevin Edwards (Aberdeen).

Viking Unst: The Viking Unst project began as a collaborative project between the Shetland Amenity Trust and the University of Copenhagen and aims to investigate the archaeological and environmental evidence for Norse settlement on the Island of Unst, Shetland. Our work includes palynological investigations associated with the excavations at Belmont being carried out under the direction of Anne-Christine Larsen of the Vikingeborgen Trelleborg, Sydvestsjællands Museum, Denmark.

History of science: Archive-based historiographical and biographical research into two main areas: (i) the history of palynology; (ii) James Croll. The research is based heavily on fresh archival work (e.g. in the British Library [London], Imperial College London, the National Museum of Wales [Cardiff], BGS [Keyworth], Tolson Memorial Museum [Huddersfield], Royal Society of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews, University of Glasgow, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Museum of Natural History [both Stockholm]).

	Recent Research Students
	Fraser Green, BSc (Edinburgh), PhD (Aberdeen): Palynology and the Mesolithic of the Isle of Skye and Inner Sound, Scotland Douglas Borthwick, MA, PhD (Aberdeen): Palynology of Norse settlement, Suðuroy, Faroe Islands Egill Erlendsson, BS (Iceland), PhD (Aberdeen): Palynology of Norse settlement, southwestern Iceland Clare Brown, BSc (Plymouth), PhD (Aberdeen): Palynology, neoecology, erosion and agriculture, Isle of Skye, Scotland Ilse Kamerling, BSc, MSc (Free University of Amsterdam), PhD (Aberdeen): Palynology of Norse and Sami settlement, northern Sweden Paul Ledger, BSc (East Anglia), MSc (Coventry), PhD (Aberdeen): Palynology of the Norse Eastern Settlement, Greenland Patricia Wiltshire, BSc (London), DSc hc (Glous), PhD (Aberdeen): Developing forensic palynology Claire Christie, MA (Aberdeen), MA (UCL), PhD (Aberdeen): The prehistoric settlement of West Mainland, Shetland

Funding and Grants

£1,235,000 The Leverhulme Trust

Landscapes circum-Landnám: Viking settlement in the North Atlantic and its human and ecological consequences. (Jointly with P.C. Buckland, University of Sheffield, A.J. Dugmore, University of Edinburgh and I.A. Simpson, University of Stirling). 2002-07.

£168,350 The Leverhulme Trust

Did the disposal of seabird waste seriously pollute cultivated soils in remote islands of Scotland? (Jointly with A.Meharg and J. Feldmann, 51cg and D.A. Davidson, University of Stirling). 2002-05.

£270,000 Scottish Funding Council: SAGES

Scottish Alliance forGeosciences, Environment and Society. For provision of 60% share of 2 lectureships, shared studentships and equipment. 2006-11.

£1,000,000 The Leverhulme Trust

Footprints on the edge of Thule: landscapes of Norse-indigenous interaction. (Jointly with A.J. Dugmore and E. Panagiotakopulu, University of Edinburgh and I.A. Simpson, University of Stirling). 2007-11.

£28,000 Natural Environment Research Council

When was Cornish tin mined and processed in prehistory? (Jointly with A.M. Meharg, 51cg). 2009.

£4,400 The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland

The potential of the Norse middle settlement of Greenland for a major interdisciplinary research project. (Jointly with J. Edward Schofield, 51cg). 2010.

£250,000 The Leverhulme Trust

Reconstructing 8000 years of Environmental and Landscape change in the Cairngorms. (Jointly with R. Wilson, St Andrews and S. Davies, Swansea). 2010-13.

$15,000 National Geographic

Palaeoecological investigations at Point Rosee, Newfoundland. (Jointly with J.E. Schofield). 2016-17.

Publications

Update

51cg

Biography

External Memberships

Research Overview

Current Research

Funding and Grants

Exploring Holocene non-pollen palynomorph data from the Isle of Mull, Scottish Inner Hebrides: Ecological harmonisation and taphonomic complexity

Palynological data from Loch an t鈥橲uidhe, Isle of Mull, Scotland

F忙r酶erne 1894 鈥� en fotograf kommer forbi / The Faroe Islands 1894 鈥� a photographer comes by

Palynology, landscape and land use: retrospect, prospect and research agendas

81. Loch Doon, Galloway Hills (Scotland)

One book, three Fellows of the Royal Society: biography of a copy of James Croll鈥檚 Climate and time in their geological relations (1875)

Loch Dee Peninsula Bog II, Galloway Hills (Scotland)

72. Loch Doon IV, Galloway Hills (Scotland)

The man who vacuum cleaned the Atlantic: the aerosol collector and Gunnar Erdtman鈥檚 attempts to measure pollen rain

Testing the Effect of Relative Pollen Productivity on the REVEALS Model: A Validated Reconstruction of Europe-Wide Holocene Vegetation

Hidden in plain sight: Overlooked evidence concerning James Croll (1821-1890)

鈥楾he most remarkable man鈥�: James Croll, Quaternary scientist

The Reading Palaeofire Database: an expanded global resource to document changes in fire regimes from sedimentary charcoal records

Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

Environmental challenges for the medieval North Atlantic world

Marginalia in the 鈥榖ible鈥� of pollen analysis: Gunnar Erdtman and the annotations of a displeased 鈥榚vangelist鈥�

James Croll 鈥� a man 鈥榞reater far than his work

Palynological evidence for pre-agricultural reindeer grazing and the later settlement history of the Lycksele region, northern Sweden

Landn谩m and the North Atlantic Flora

In search of James Croll: archives, genealogy, publications and other resources

James Croll and 1876 鈥� an exceptional year for a 鈥榮ingularly modest man鈥�

William Su Ting: China鈥檚 forgotten palynologist

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

Thule Inuit environmental impacts on Kangeq, southwest Greenland

Palaeoenvironmental and source rock potential of the Turonian鈥揗iocene sequence in the West Esh El Mellaha (SW margin of the Suez rift, Egypt): Insights from palynofacies, palynology and organic geochemistry

Archaeological assessment reveals Earth鈥檚 early transformation through land use

The Vikings

Centenary of the Department of Geography, 51cg

Palaeoecological perspectives on Holocene environmental change in Scotland

Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment, 51cg

Cereal cultivation as a correlate of high social status in medieval Iceland

Pollen, women, war and other things: reflections on the history of palynology

鈥淭hink horizontally, act vertically鈥�: the centenary (1916鈥�2016) of pollen analysis and the legacy of Lennart von Post

Industrial-era lead and mercury contamination in southern Greenland implicates North American sources

How palynology could have been paepalology: the naming of a discipline

Quantifying the effects of land use and climate on Holocene vegetation in Europe

High-resolution palynology reveals the land-use history of a Sami renvall in northern Sweden

The first 100 years of pollen analysis

Competing hypotheses, ordination and pollen preservation: landscape impacts of Norse landn谩m in southern Greenland

The biogeographical status of Alnus crispa (Ait.) Pursch in sub-Arctic southern Greenland: Do pollen records indicate local populations during the past 1500 years?

Response to the letter submitted by Dos Santos et al.

Biomarker characteristics of the Turonian鈥揈ocene succession, Belayim oilfields, central Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Les premiers agricultueurs et leur impact sur la v茅g茅tation

Norse landscape impacts: Northern Isles versus the North Atlantic islands

Peat and people in Greenland

A Rapid and Efficient Method for Evaluation of Suspect Testimony: Palynological Scanning

Organic geochemical characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous鈥揈arly Paleogene source rock and correlation with some Egyptian mummy bitumen and oil from the southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt

The onset of the palaeoanthropocene in Iceland: Changes in complex natural systems

Climate changes, lead pollution and soil erosion in south Greenland over the past 700 years

Two sources and two kinds of trace evidence: Enhancing the links between clothing, footwear and crime scene

Lateglacial and early Holocene climates of the Atlantic margins of Europe: Stable isotope, mollusc and pollen records from Orkney, Scotland

Light microscopy can reveal the consumption of a mixture of psychotropic plant and fungal material in suspicious death

First evidence of cryptotephra in palaeoenvironmental records associated with Norse occupation sites in Greenland

Moving forwards? Palynology and the human dimension

Europeanization of sub-arctic environments: perspectives from Norse Greenland's outer fjords

Taphonomy or signal sensitivity in palaeoecological investigations of Norse landn谩m in Vatnahverfi, southern Greenland?

The geography of the past: a North Atlantic saga

Palynology and mycology provide separate classes of probative evidence from the same forensic samples: A rape case from southern England

A multiple profile approach to the palynological reconstruction of Norse landscapes in Greenland's Eastern Settlement

Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter

Landscape change, land use and occupation patterns inferred from two palaeoenvironmental datasets from the Mosfell Valley, SW Iceland

Early farming, pollen and landscape impacts from northern Europe to the North Atlantic: conundrums

Stable isotopic (未13C and 未15N) characterization of key faunal resources from Norse period settlements in North Iceland

Vatnahverfi: a green and pleasant land? Palaeoecological reconstructions and environmental land-use change

Toftanes. A Viking Age Farmstead in the Faroe Islands

Erratum to The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project (Veget Hist Archaeobot, 10.1007/s00334-012-0388-5)

The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project

The Vikings were not the first colonizers of the Faroe Islands

Re-deposited cryptotephra layers in Holocene peats linked to anthropogenic activity

The Holocene vegetation cover of Britain and Ireland: Overcoming problems of scale and discerning patterns of openness

Palynology supports 'Old Norse' introductions to the flora of Greenland

Shieling activity in the Norse Eastern Settlement: palaeoenvironment of the 'Mountain Farm', Vatnahverfi, Greenland

Investigation of proposed irrigation channels and dams at Gar冒ar/Igaliku, Greenland

Estimates of relative pollen productivity (RPP) for selected taxa from southern Greenland: A pragmatic solution