Dr Daniel Sinclair

Telephone: (+44) (0)1631 559 412
E-mail: Dan.Sinclair@sams.ac.uk

 Job Title

Lecturer in Paleo Reconstruction of Physical Oceanographic Processes

Scientific Interests

I am an environmental geochemist, and lecturer in Paleo-Reconstruction of Physical Oceanographic Processes in the Biogeochemistry and Earth Sciences Department. My research has focused on marine aqueous geochemistry, the development and application of proxy records for paleoclimatology and paleoceanography, and understanding the chemical processes within inorganic and biological systems. I work mostly with carbonate systems including tropical corals, deep-sea corals and tropical speleothems.

Speleothems – extracting holocene climate records from speleothems from the Western Pacific.

Corals – the use of tropical and deep-sea corals as proxy archives of environmental information.

Climate Change and Anthropogenic Impacts – the use of coral proxy records to study recent variability in the ocean/climate system, and the impacts that Humans are having on the environment.

Analytical Methodology – developing methods for high spatial-resolution chemical analysis of corals.

Numerical Modelling – the use of numerical models to study biological and natural chemical systems.

Biomineralization – studying the influence of physiology on the chemical records in coral skeletons.

Current projects

Tropical Speleothems - studying variations in Western Pacific climate and oceanography in the Holocene using trace-element and stable isotope records contained within tropical speleothems.

Teaching / supervising activities

I will be teaching courses in marine chemistry and paleoclimate reconstruction.


Publications

Sinclair D. J., Allard G., Williams B., Ross S., Risk M. (2007) Dendrochronology in bamboo? Trace element profiles and reproducibility in a specimen of the deep water bamboo coral Keratoisis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (Submitted).

Williams B., Risk M. J., Stone R., Sinclair D. J. (2007) Oceanographic changes in the North Pacific Ocean over the past century recorded in deep-water gorgonian corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 335, 85-94.

Sinclair D. J., Williams B., Risk M. (2006) A biological origin for climate records in tropical corals: trace element "Vital Effects" are ubiquitous in Scleractinian coral skeletons. GRL 33, L17707, doi:10.1029/2006GL027183 (Paper Selected as a Highlight by GRL!)

Sinclair D. J., and Risk M.(2006) A Numerical Model of Trace-Element Coprecipitation in a Physicochemical Calcification System: Application to Coral Biomineralization and Trace-Element ‘Vital Effects’. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 3855 - 3868.

Sinclair D. J. (2005) Correlated trace element 'vital effects' in tropical corals: A new tool for probing biomineralization chemistry. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69(13), 3265 – 3284.

Sinclair D. J. (2005) Non river-flood barium signals in the skeletons of corals from coastal Queensland, Australia. EPSL 237(3-4), 354 - 369

Pons-Branchu E., Hillaire-Marcel C., Deschamps P., Ghalem B. and Sinclair D. J. (2005) Early diagenesis impact on precise U-series dating of Deep-Sea corals: Example of a 100-200 years old Lophelia Pertusa sample from NE Atlantic. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69(20), 4865 – 4879.

Sinclair D. J., Sherwood O. A., Risk M. J., Hillaire-Marcel C., Tubrett M., Sylvester P., McCulloch M. T., and Kinsley L. P. J. (2005) Testing the reproducibility of Mg/Ca profiles in the deep-water coral Primnoa resedaeformis: putting the proxy through its paces. Cold Water Corals and Ecosystems. pp 1039 - 1060. A Freiwald, J M Roberts (eds), Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.

Sinclair D. J. Derivation of the statistical properties of the box-filter spectrum [an electronic supplement to Sinclair et al. (2005) Testing the reproducibility of Mg/Ca profiles in the deep-water coral Primnoa resedaeformis: putting the proxy through its paces]

Sherwood O. A., Heikoop J. M., Sinclair D. J., Scott D. B., Risk M. J., Shearer C., and Azetsu-Scott K. (2005) Skeletal Mg/Ca in Primnoa resedaeformis: relationship to temperature? Cold Water Corals and Ecosystems. pp 1061 - 1079. A Freiwald, J M Roberts (eds), Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.

Sinclair D. J. (2004) Interactive comment on "The environment recording unit in coral skeletons: structural and chemical evidences of a biochemically driven stepping-growth process in coral fibres" by J. P. Cuif and Y. Dauphin Biogeosciences Discussions 1, S265 – S272.

Sinclair D. J. and McCulloch M. T. (2004) Corals record low mobile barium concentrations in the Burdekin River during the 1974 flood: Evidence for limited Ba supply to rivers? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 214, 155 – 174.

Linklater C. M., Sinclair D. J., and Brown P. L. (2004) Coupled chemistry and transport modelling of sulphidic waste rock dumps at the Aitik mine site, Sweden. Applied Geochemistry Available online November 16.

Sinclair D. J. (1999) High Spatial-Resolution Analysis of Trace Elements in Corals Using Laser Ablation ICP-MS. Doctoral Thesis, Australian National University.

Fallon S. J., McCulloch M. T., van Woesik R., and Sinclair D. J. (1999) Corals at their latitudinal limits: laser ablation trace element systematics in Porites from Shirigai Bay, Japan. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 172, 221 - 238.

Sinclair D. J., Kinsley L. P. J., and McCulloch M. T. (1998) High resolution analysis of trace elements in corals by laser-ablation ICP-MS. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62(11), 1889 - 1901.

Educational and career history

2006                   Research Fellow (Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geociences, University of Texas at Austin)

2002 – 2005       Postdoctorate (GEOTOP, Université du Québec à Montréal)

2000 – 2002       Scientist/Consultant (ANSTO)

1999 – 2000       Research Technician (RSES, The Australian National University)

1994 – 1999       Doctoral Student (RSES, The Australian National University)