Staff Profile
Dr Maarten van Hardenbroek van Ammerstol
Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography
- Email: maarten.vanhardenbroek@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)191 208 7530
- Fax: +44 (0)191 208 5421
- Address: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology,
Newcastle University,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
Office: Henry Daysh Building 3.103
I joined Newcastle University in 2017 after six years as postdoctoral researcher working on a number of projects at the University of Bern and the University of Southampton.
Area of Expertise
Lakes, long-term environmental change, stable isotopes, aquatic invertebrates, sedimentary DNA, high-latitude environments, wetland archaeology. If you are interested to join the subfossil chironomid mailing list, you can register here: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/SUBFOSSIL-CHIRONOMIDS
Positions
2017 - 2022 Lecturer in Physical Geography, Newcastle University, UK2013 - 2016 Postdoctoral researcher, Palaeoenvironmental Laboratory, University of Southampton, UK
2011 - 2013 Postdoctoral researcher, Aquatic Palaeoecology, University of Bern, Switzerland
Education
2007 - 2011 PhD Palaeoecology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
2005 - 2006 MSc Quaternary Science, Royal Holloway University of London, UK
2002 - 2005 BSc Environmental Science, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Google Scholar
SCOPUS
ORCID
In my research I aim to understand the processes that cause environmental change – both natural or anthropogenic – and their impacts on aquatic ecosystems. I do this by studying lakes and sediment records from lakes as they contain evidence of environmental change happening over long time periods. Some of my work involves monitoring modern systems, other projects study trends and events in the past 15,000 years. You can find an overview of my research interest and projects below. My study sites include arctic lakes in Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and Siberia, boreal lakes in Alaska, Sweden and Finland, and temperate lakes in the UK, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
If you are interested to join the subfossil chironomid mailing list, you can register here: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/SUBFOSSIL-CHIRONOMIDS
Aquatic food web structure under stress
Pollution, eutrophication, and siltation put severe stresses on lake and pond ecosystems. Aquatic food webs can respond to these stressors gradually, but in many lakes the change is rapid and catastrophic once a threshold is passed. Together with colleagues at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, we study changes in the structure of aquatic food webs and the local extinction of aquatic species. We combine two innovative approaches analysing sedimentary remains: sedimentary DNA and stable isotopes, which will be the focus of PhD student Sophie Harris from October 2022 (funded by NERC OnePlanet DTP and WWT. Some pictures from fieldwork here and here.
Climate reconstructions in Siberia and the Russian Far East
Siberia and the Russian Far East (SRFE) comprise a large proportion of all northern lands and contains vast carbon stores in peatlands. It is experiencing rapid climate warming, which means the area plays an important role in global climate processes, yet our understanding of environmental change here is limited. Building stronger links within SRFE and internationally and promoting multi-institution research projects can move the science forward. For this reason, a UK-SRFE knowledge exchange network was started: DIMA (Developing Innovative Multiproxy Analyses—in Siberia and the Russian Far East). An initial workshop in Magadan and a summer school in Tomsk, followed by a workshop in Southampton and a virtual online workshop during covid-19, brought together palaeoenvironmental scientists from 16 Russian and 10 UK institutions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from lakes – past and present
Lakes and wetlands are the largest natural source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It is still not very well known which processes control these methane emissions. I pioneered the use of stable carbon isotopes of invertebrate remains as a tracer for past methane availability in lakes. A NERC-funded project together with colleagues from the University of Southampton, Bournemouth University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Purdue University will investigate methane production in Alaska lakes at Holocene timescales. My work also includes monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from modern lakes. Pictures from fieldwork here and here.
Environmental impact of prehistoric settlements
I am fascinated by prehistoric lake settlements because of their superb preservation in waterlogged conditions. Using new sedaDNA methodology I investigate how crannogs (lake dwellings in Ireland and Scotland) and other lake-side settlements impacted on their environment in an AHRC-funded project. Information from geochemistry and biological remains creates a complete picture of how our ancestors interacted with their environment. Louisa Matthews, on a NERC IAPETUS DPT-funded PhD studentship, has been working on Iron Age palaeoenvironments in NW Scotland. Some pictures here.
Arctic lakes as sentinels for climate change
Several positive feedback mechanisms amplify the impact of global warming on biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems in the Arctic. As a result, it is difficult to predict how the Arctic will response to future warming. Lake sediment records contain evidence of the timing and extent of global warming, permafrost thaw, nutrient release, vegetation change, and carbon cycling in the past – crucial for understanding what the future might hold. Fieldwork pictures from Siberia, interior Alaska, Lake Teshekpuk, outreach with schools.
Taxon-specific stable isotope analysis
I'm very interested in developing the use of stable isotopes (H, C, N, O) measured on sedimentary remains of organisms. Stable isotopes can provide detailed information about energy sources, food web structure, and habitat as well as insights into climate and hydrological processes. A special issue of Quaternary Science Reviews related to this topic can be found here. I use remains of chironomids (non-biting midges), cladocerans (water fleas), Coleoptera (beetles), bryozoans (moss animals), and many other groups as well as fish scales and other remains. Pictures of invertebrates and their remains and their remains and laboratory work.
- Brown AG, Fonville T, van Hardenbroek M, Cavers G, Crone A, McCormick F, Murray E, Mackay H, Whitehouse NJ, Henderson ACG, Barratt P, Davies K, Head K, Langdon PG, Alsos IG, Pirrie D. New integrated molecular approaches for understanding lake settlements in north-western Europe. Antiquity 2022, 96(389), 1179-1199.
- Brown AG, Van Hardenbroek M, Fonville T, Davies K, Mackay H, Murray E, Head K, Barratt P, McCormick F, Ficetola GF, Gielly L, Henderson ACG, Crone A, Cavers G, Langdon PG, Whitehouse NJ, Pirrie D, Alsos IG. Ancient DNA, lipid biomarkers and palaeoecological evidence reveals construction and life on early medieval lake settlements. Scientific Reports 2021, 11, 11807.
- van Hardenbroek M, Edwards M, Blyakharchuk T, Lozhkin A, Bezrukova E, Grenaderova A, Ryabogina N, Antipina A, Cherepanova M, Anderson P. The DIMA network: bridging boundaries via shared scientific interests. Polar Record 2021. In Press.
- Conroy KJ, Baker AG, Jones VJ, van Hardenbroek M, Hopla EJ, Collier R, Lister AM, Edwards ME. Tracking late-Quaternary extinctions in interior Alaska using megaherbivore bone remains and dung fungal spores. Quaternary Research 2020, 97, 99-110.
- Edwards ME, van Hardenbroek M, Anderson PM, Bigelow NH. Palaeoenvironmental records from Siberia and the Russian Far East – contributions from DIMA Network members – Introduction. Boreas 2021, 50, 916-918.
- Clarke CL, Gröcke DR, Elias S, Langdon PG, van Hardenbroek M. Effects of chemical pretreatment and intra- and inter-specimen variability on δ18O of aquatic insect remains. Journal of Paleolimnology 2019, 62, 195-204.
- Tóth M, van Hardenbroek M, Bleicher N, Heiri O. Pronounced early human impact on lakeshore environments documented by aquatic invertebrate remains in waterlogged Neolithic settlement deposits. Quaternary Science Reviews 2019, 205, 126-142.
- van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O, Leng MJ. Stable isotopes in biological and chemical fossils from lake sediments: Developing and calibrating palaeoenvironmental proxies. Quaternary Science Reviews 2019, 218, 157-159.
- van Hardenbroek M, Chakraborty A, Davies KL, Harding P, Heiri O, Henderson ACG, Holmes JA, Lasher GE, Leng MJ, Panizzo VN, Roberts L, Schilder J, Trueman CN, Wooller MJ. The stable isotope composition of organic and inorganic fossils in lake sediment records: Current understanding, challenges, and future directions. Quaternary Science Reviews 2018, 196, 154-176.
- McGowan S, Anderson NJ, Edwards ME, Hopla E, Jones V, Langdon PG, Law A, Soloveiva N, Turner S, van Hardenbroek M, Whiteford EJ, Wiik E. Vegetation transitions drive the autotrophy–heterotrophy balance in Arctic lakes. Limnology and Oceanography Letters 2018, 3(3), 246-255.
- Bleicher N, Antolín F, Heiri O, Häberle S, Hüster Plogmann H, Jacomet S, Pümpin C, Rentzel P, Schäfer M, Schibler J, Wiemann P, van Hardenbroek M, Schneider HR, Tóth M. Middens, currents and shorelines: Complex depositional processes of waterlogged prehistoric lakeside settlements based on the example of Zurich-Parkhaus Opéra (Switzerland). Journal of Archaeological Science 2018, 97, 26-41.
- van Hardenbroek M, Rinta P, Wooller MJ, Schilder J, Stötter T, Heiri OM. Flotsam samples can help explain the d13C and d15N values of invertebrate resting stages in lake sediment. Quaternary Science Reviews 2018, 189, 187-196.
- Stötter T, Bastviken D, Bodelier PLE, van Hardenbroek M, Rinta P, Schilder J, Schubert CJ, Heiri O. Abundance and δ13C values of fatty acids in lacustrine surface sediments: Relationships with in-lake methane concentrations. Quaternary Science Reviews 2018, 191, 337–347.
- Heiri O, Tóth M, van Hardenbroek M, Zweifel N. Chironomiden- und Cladocerenfossilien. In: Bleicher, N; Harb, C, ed. Zürich-Parkhaus Opéra. Eine neolithische Feuchtbodenfundstelle. Band 3: Naturwissenschaftliche Analysen und Synthese. Zürich, Germany: Baudirektion Kanton Zürich, Amt für Raumentwicklung, Kantonsarchäologie, 2017, pp.30-50.
- Monteath A, van Hardenbroek M, Davies L, Froese D, Langdon PG, Xu X, Edwards ME. Chronology and glass chemistry of tephra and cryptotephra horizons from lake sediments in northern Alaska, USA. Quaternary Research 2017, 88(2), 169-178.
- Rinta P, Bastviken D, Schilder J, van Hardenbroek M, Stötter T, Heiri O. Higher late summer methane emission from central than northern European lakes. Journal of Limnology 2017, 76(1), 52-67.
- Morlock MA, Schilder J, van Hardenbroek M, Szidat S, Wooller MJ, Heiri O. Seasonality of cladoceran and bryozoan resting stage δ13C values and implications for their use as palaeolimnological indicators of lacustrine carbon cycle dynamics. Journal of Paleolimnology 2017, 57(2), 141-156.
- Schilder J, van Hardenbroek M, Bodelier P, Kirilova EP, Leuenberger M, Lotter AF, Heiri O. Trophic state changes can affect the importance of methane-derived carbon in aquatic food webs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2017, 284, 20170278.
- van Hardenbroek M, Leuenberger M, Hartikainen H, Okamura B, Heiri O. Bryozoan stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes: relationships between the isotopic composition of zooids, statoblasts and lake water. Hydrobiologia 2016, 765(1), 209-223.
- Webb M, Barker PA, Wynn PM, Heiri O, van Hardenbroek M, Pick F, Russell JM, Leng MJ. Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica. Journal of Quaternary Science 2016, 31(4), 300-309.
- Rinta P, van Hardenbroek M, Jones RI, Kankaala P, Rey F, Szidat S, Wooller MJ, Heiri O. Land use affects carbon sources to the pelagic food web in a small boreal lake. PLoS One 2016, 11(8), e0159900.
- McGowan S, Anderson N, Edwards M, Langdon P, Jones V, van Hardenbroek M, Whiteford E, Wiik E. Long-term perspectives on terrestrial and aquatic carbon cycling from palaeolimnology. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 2016, 3(2), 211-234.
- Schilder J, Bastviken D, van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O. Spatiotemporal patterns in methane flux and gas transfer velocity at low wind speeds: Implications for upscaling studies on small lakes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 2016, 121(6), 1456–1467.
- Rinta P, Bastviken D, van Hardenbroek M, Kankaala P, Leuenberger M, Schilder J, Stötter T, Heiri O. An inter-regional assessment of concentrations and δ13C values of methane and dissolved inorganic carbon in small European lakes. Aquatic Sciences 2015, 77(4), 667–680.
- Nazarova L, Self AE, Brooks SJ, van Hardenbroek M, Herzschuh U, Diekmann B. Northern Russian chironomid-based modern summer temperature data set and inference models. Global and Planetary Change 2015, 134, 10-25.
- Schilder J, Bastviken D, van Hardenbroek M, Leuenberger M, Rinta P, Stötter T, Heiri O. The stable carbon isotopic composition of Daphnia ephippia in small, temperate lakes reflects in-lake methane availability. Limnology and Oceanography 2015, 60(3), 1064-1075.
- Schilder J, Tellenbach C, Most M, Spaak P, van Hardenbroek M, Wooller MJ, Heiri O. The stable isotopic composition of Daphnia ephippia reflects changes in δ13C and δ18O values of food and water. Biogeosciences 2015, 12, 3819-3830.
- van Hardenbroek M, Lotter AF, Bastviken D, Andersen TJ, Heiri O. Taxon-specific δ13C analysis of chitinous invertebrate remains in sediments from Strandsjön, Sweden. Journal of Paleolimnology 2014, 52(1), 95-105.
- van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O, Parmentier FJW, Bastviken D, Ilyashuk BP, Wiklund JA, Hall RI, Lotter AF. Evidence for past variations in methane availability in a Siberian thermokarst lake based on δ13C of chitinous invertebrate remains. Quaternary Science Reviews 2013, 66, 74-84.
- Nováková K, van Hardenbroek M, van der Knaap WO. Response of subfossil Cladocera in Gerzensee (Swiss Plateau) to early Late Glacial environmental changes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 2013, 391B, 84-89.
- Ammann B, van Raden U, Schwander J, Eicher U, Gilli A, Bernasconi SM, van Leeuwen JFN, Lischke H, Brooks SJ, Heiri O, Nováková K, van Hardenbroek M, von Grafenstein U, Belmecheri S, van der Knaap WO, Magny M, Eugster W, Colombaroli D, Nielsen E, Tinner W, Wright HE. Responses to rapid warming at Termination 1a at Gerzensee (Central Europe): Primary succession, albedo, soils, lake development, and ecological interactions. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 2013, 391B, 111-131.
- Schilder J, Bastviken D, van Hardenbroek M, Kankaala P, Rinta P, Stötter T, Heiri O. Spatial heterogeneity and lake morphology affect diffusive greenhouse gas emission estimates of lakes. Geophysical Research Letters 2013, 40, 5752–5756.
- van Hardenbroek M, Gröcke DR, Sauer P, Elias SA. North American transect of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in water beetles from a museum collection. Journal of Paleolimnology 2012, 48, 461–470.
- van Hardenbroek M, Lotter AF, Bastviken D, Duc NT, Heiri O. Relationship between δ13C of chironomid remains and methane flux in Swedish lakes. Freshwater Biology 2012, 57, 166–177.
- Heiri O, Schilder J, van Hardenbroek M. Stable isotopic analysis of fossil chironomids as an approach to environmental reconstruction: state of development and future challenges. Fauna Norvegica 2012, 31, 7-18.
- van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O, Wilhelm MF, Lotter AF. How representative are subfossil assemblages of Chironomidae and common benthic invertebrates for the living fauna of Lake De Waay, the Netherlands?. Aquatic Sciences 2011, 73(2), 247–259.
- Gröcke DR, van Hardenbroek M, Sauer P, Elias SA. Hydrogen Isotopes in Beetle Chitin. In: Gupta SN, ed. Chitin: formation and diagenesis. Springer, 2011, pp.105-116.
- Kirilova E, van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O, Cremer H, Lotter AF. 500 years of trophic-state history of a hypertrophic Dutch dike-breach lake. Journal of Paleolimnology 2010, 43(4), 829–842.
- van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O, Lotter AF. Efficiency of different mesh sizes for isolating fossil chironomids for stable isotope and radiocarbon analyses. Journal of Paleolimnology 2010, 44(2), 721–729.
- van Hardenbroek M, Heiri O, Grey J, Bodelier PLE, Verbruggen F, Lotter AF. Fossil chironomid δ13C as a proxy for past methanogenic contribution to benthic food-webs in lakes?. Journal of Paleolimnology 2010, 43(2), 235–245.