Brief History

My PhD (2007-2010) titled "Production and preservation of the Arctic sea ice diatom biomarker IP₂₅" resulted in a number of Arctic expeditions to Norway and Canada to obtain high resolution temporal datasets of sea ice geochemistry spanning the Arctic winter, Spring algal bloom and summer ice melt. Analyses of specific hydrocarbon chemicals enabled a greater insight into the development of IP₂₅ as a novel sea ice extent indicator within my research group. Further extracurricular activity as a HSE commercial and PADI sea ice diver assisted in my PhD with the continued support and supervision of Professor Simon Belt in addition to Dr Guillaume Massé and Dr Xavier Crosta (University of Bordeaux).

2010-Present. A NERC/UoP Post-Doctoral Research Assistant position at the University of Plymouth has enabled me to continue my research, extending the useful scope of IP₂₅ to include potential use in Arctic food web studies including sea ice-benthic coupling. In addition, I am investigating similar highly branched isoprenoids in temperate climates to facilitate a better understanding of the role these diatom biomarkers can play in describing food webs through trophic transfer.

Publications

• Brown, T.A. and Belt, S.T. Closely linked sea ice-pelagic coupling in the Amundsen Gulf revealed by the sea ice diatom biomarker IP₂₅. Journal of Plankton Research. (Accepted).
• Brown, T.A., Belt, S.T. and Piepenburg, D. Evidence for a pan-Arctic sea-ice diatom diet in Strongylocentrotus spp. Polar Biology. (In press). [doi: 10.1007/s00300-012-1164-9].
• Belt, S.T., Brown T.A., Cabedo Sanz, P. and Navarro Rodriguez, A. (2012) Structural confirmation of the sea ice biomarker IP₂₅ found in Arctic marine sediments. Environmental Chemistry Letters 10, 189-192. [doi: 10.1007/s10311-011-0344-0].
• Belt, S.T., Brown, T.A., Navarro Rodriguez, A., Cabedo Sanz, P., Tonkin, A. and Ingle, R. (2012) A reproducible method for the extraction, identification and quantification of the Arctic sea ice proxy IP₂₅ from marine sediments. Analytical Methods 4, 705-713. [doi: 10.1039/C2AY05728J].
• Brown, T.A. and Belt, S.T. (2012) Identification of the sea ice diatom biomarker IP₂₅ in Arctic benthic macrofauna: direct evidence for a sea ice diatom diet in Arctic heterotrophs. Polar Biology 35, 131-137. [doi: 10.1007/s00300-011-1045-7].
• Brown, T.A., Belt. S., Mundy, C., Philippe, B., Massé, G. and Poulin, M. (2011) Temporal and vertical variations of lipid biomarkers during a bottom ice diatom bloom in the Canadian Beaufort Sea: further evidence for the use of the IP₂₅ biomarker as a proxy for spring Arctic sea ice. Polar Biology 34, 1857-1868. [doi: 10.1007/s00300-010-0942-5].
• Rontani, J.-F., Belt, S.T., Vaultier, F. and Brown, T.A. (2011) Visible light induced photo-oxidation of highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) alkenes: Significant dependence on the number and nature of double bonds. Organic Geochemistry 42, 812-822. [doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2011.04.013.].

Presentations

• International Polar Year - From Knowledge to Action. Montreal, Canada. 21-27 April 2012. Oral presentation "IP₂₅: Direct evidence for a sea ice diatom based diet in Arctic heterotrophs".
• High Latitude Pelagic and Ice Ecosystems Meeting. Tromsø University, Tromsø, Norway. 31 October-2 November 2011. Oral presentation: "Measuring the Dependence of Arctic Animals on Sea Ice vs. Phytoplankton Origin Carbon".
• 22^nd Annual Meeting of the British Organic Geochemistry Society. Swansea, U.K., 6-7 July 2011. Poster presentation: "Direct evidence for a sea ice diatom based diet in Arctic heterotrophs".
• Schools Chemistry Conference. Plymouth, U.K., 4 July 2011. Oral presentation: "The Arctic has a problem, can chemistry help?".
• 2^nd Marine Institute Research Centre Conference. University of Plymouth, Plymouth, U.K., 5 May 2011. Oral presentation: "Direct Evidence for a Sea Ice diatom Based Diet in Arctic Heterotrophs: Past and Future Planned Experiments".
• 2^nd Marine Institute Research Centre Conference. University of Plymouth, Plymouth, U.K., 5 May 2011. Poster presentation: "IP₂₅: Direct Evidence for a Sea Ice Diatom Based Diet in Arctic Heterotrophs".
• 2^nd Annual Biogeochemistry Centre Conference. University of Plymouth, Plymouth, U.K., 17 December 2010. Oral presentation: "IP25: Problem or Progression".
• 21^st Annual Meeting of the British Organic Geochemical Society, Manchester, U.K., 6-7 July 2010. Oral presentation: "Moving Forwards by Looking Backwards: IP₂₅, the Next Instalment".
• 1^st Annual Biogeochemistry Centre Conference. University of Plymouth, Plymouth, U.K., 14 December 2009. Oral presentation: "IP25: The Specific Sea Ice Indicator".
• UK Sea Ice Group. National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton, U.K., 27 November 2009. Oral presentation: "IP25: The specific sea ice indicator".
• U.K. Sea Ice Group. Met Office, Exeter, U.K., 7-8 September 2009. Oral presentation: "IP25: The Specific Sea Ice Indicator".
• 20^th Annual Meeting of the British Organic Geochemical Society, Bristol, U.K., 7-8 July 2009. Oral presentation: "IP₂₅: The Specific Sea Ice Indicator".
• Gordon Research Conference, Polar Marine Science - Beyond IPY: Crossing Boundaries, Lucca (Barga), Italy, 15-20 March 2009. Poster presentation. "The IP25 Sea Ice Indicator: When is it Produced, ... Where is it Preserved?"
• American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2008, San Francisco, U.S.A., 15-19 December 2008. Oral presentation (colleague): "High Resolution Reconstructions of Arctic Sea Ice for the Last 2 Millennia".
• Seminar, CCGS Amundsen, Canadian Arctic, Canada, 20 March 2008. Oral presentation: "Investigations into Novel Chemical Markers for Past Sea Ice".
• Seminar, Tromsø, Norway, 22 January 2008. Oral presentaion: "Investigations into Novel Chemical Markers for Past Sea Ice".
• Arctic Frontiers, Tromsø, Norway, 21-27 January 2008. Poster presentation: "Novel Highly Branched Isoprenoid Biomarkers as Indicators of Sea-Ice Diatoms: Implications for Historical Sea-Ice Records and Future Predictions".

Studentships

• Patricia Cabedo-Sanz (2010-present)
• Aldba Navaro-Rodreguez (2010-present)
• Ashleigh Ringrose (2011-present)

Research Income

• 2011-2012 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust - The importance of sea ice to Inuit diet in the agriculturally deprived Canadian Arctic – A novel chemical investigation of animal food webs. (with Professor Simon Belt, SoGEES). £2500.