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Kate Littler

@palaeoclimate.bsky.social

Senior Lecturer in Palaeoclimate | Department of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Exeter (Cornwall) | Marine geology | Micropalaeontology | Geochemistry | IODP | Birding | Parenting small humans

815 Posts3235 Follower2013 Folgt
Natalia (娜塔莉)@nataliajagielska.bsky.social · 2w ago

Nanjing Paleontological Museum has an in-house traditional Chinese artist, Li Chen, creating paintings of famous Chinese dinosaurs. These are from 2022 exhibition "From Dragon to Bird" and can be purchased in the museum as postcards or book《从龙到鸟系列 科学艺术化石复原图》

Anchiornis in traditional style Microraptor in traditional style
Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · 2w ago

Very much enjoying teaching and meeting students and fellow instructors at the USSP* in Urbino, Italy this week. And the views and gelato ain’t half bad either 😉 *urbino summer school in Paleoclimatology

A view of the northern Italian countryside near Urbino. The sky is blue and there are green trees and rolling fields and a few buildings in shot.
Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · 3w ago

RE: ‘complex cross-subsidies in HE’ the humanities (and business school) depts subsidise the more expensive STEM depts within each uni. £9.5k p/yr doesn’t touch the sides of educating a geology or chemistry student with pricey fieldcourses or labs, but an English/ history student is cheap!

Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 3w ago

I’ll be force feeding my piece down your throats bit by bit for the next few days. This is about why loss of research capability in universities isn’t just a linear bit of market forces but a messy process of universities sometimes doing panicky short term cuts

You might think these research cutbacks in universities are the exercise of market forces, with the strongest departments surviving. But it is more complicated than that because of the complex cross-subsidies within higher education. Financial instability is largely driven by the drop in high-paying international students and the erosion in the value of tuition fees by inflation over the past decade. Caught up in the crossfire of this instability and through no fault of their own, some of the top-ranked humanities research departments are closing, while our analysis shows the number of early-career academics in the humanities has fallen by 20 per cent over the past decade.
Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · 3w ago

Enjoy a very late #wildflowerhour (wildflower lunchbreak?) from me, courtesy of the coastal paths of the Roseland, Cornwall. Saw so many beautiful species yesterday, but have focused on the ones with ‘common’ in their name that are not so common around here!

Common restharrow. A lovely low growing pea family plant with delicate pink and white flowers, that likes coastal areas. Never seen it in Cornwall before. Common centaury. A low growing little gem of a plant with five petalled pink flowers with a yellow centre. Common agrimony (I think). A medium height flower stalk bearing many 5 petalled yellow flowers. Tufted vetch. Gorgeous deep purple flowers on vines that scramble through the hedgerow. Blue sky and greenery behind.
Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · 3w ago

I don’t often care much for the passing of famous people, but I feel genuinely sad that Sam Neill is gone. 😔 A great, versatile actor who came across like a normal, decent person. RIP.

Count Binface@countbinface.bsky.social · 3y ago

Under a Binface government, anyone who doesn’t accept human-made climate change as fact will be sent back to school, from Year 1 right the way to A Levels, to see if anything goes in the second time round. #VoteBinface

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Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 4w ago

Breaking: Major science facilities to be scaled back, UKRI confirms Science and Technology Facilities Council will also reduce project spending, despite £135m of fresh money www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Major science facilities to be scaled back, UKRI confirms - Research Professional News

Science and Technology Facilities Council will also reduce project spending, despite £135m of fresh money

researchprofessionalnews.com

Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · 4w ago

The Count Binface stuff happening in the U.K. is a real good bit. Hope everybody subjects themselves to British politics long enough to look it up. The British version of Trump really will be spending the summer fighting with a sentient trashcan.

Rachel Reeves, who as Chancellor of the Exchequer had to appoint Farage as Steward of the Manor of Northstead before the by-election could go ahead, said on social media: "If [Farage] wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him".[66] Binface received a surge of support from activists after announcing his candidacy, raising more than £15,000 in donations in a day, which he described as akin to a "fever dream". He said he hoped to appeal to voters from all sides of the political spectrum and said he could even court the immigrant vote, given he was "the ultimate alien".[63]
Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 4w ago

'Academics fear they are being “set up to fail” after several institutions finished the academic year by announcing fresh job cuts, casting doubt over who will return after the summer break, and what courses they will be teaching.' 1/3

Summer of ‘chaos’ predicted as mass job cuts close academic year

‘Impossible to plan’ for research and teaching, say staff, as threat of redundancy looms large over summer breaks

timeshighereducation.com

Damian Carrington@dpcarrington.bsky.social · last mo.

Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years - @theguardian.com recreates audio landscape of past filled by loud morning symphony before 73m wild birds were lost www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years

Guardian recreates audio landscape of past filled by loud morning symphony before 73m wild birds were lost

theguardian.com

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · last mo.

“The creative arts are so important in the south-west. These cuts are really ill thought out and they threaten the very things that make me proud of Exeter. Please think again. This is a terrible mistake.” [Geography and Engineering also on the chopping block!] www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts

Rowan Williams and Mark Kermode join campaign against proposed cuts for arts and social sciences

theguardian.com

Ed Hawkins@edhawkins.org · last mo.

Comparing the UK heatwaves of June 1976 and June 2026... Daytime maximum & night minimum temperatures were much hotter in 2026. Details: maxima over 21st-30th June in both years. Uses provisional 2026 HadUK-Grid data from Met Office NCIC. Note the difference scale is larger for night minimums.

Comparing peak temperatures during June 1976 and June 2026Comparing night-time temperatures during June 1976 and June 2026
Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · last mo.

🚨Great opportunity to get involved with an IODP3 expedition to the North Sea in 2027! We’re especially looking for folks who do: -glacial sedimentology -macrofossils (esp molluscs) -OSL Those from 🇬🇧 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇳🇴 are particularly welcome to apply. Great opportunity! ⚒️🌍🧪 iodp3.org/special-call...

Special Call to Participate: Expedition 507: Late Cenozoic Glaciers, Landscapes, Climates, and Ecosystems of the North Sea - International Ocean Drilling Programme

Special Call to Participate in IODP3 Expedition 507: Late Cenozoic Glaciers, Landscapes, Climates, and Ecosystems of the North Sea now open! International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP3) Expedition G...

iodp3.org

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

2,700 letters sent last month warning staff that they are at risk of redundancy, with Nottingham senior management's goal to shed 608 academic posts, following the 350 professional services staff lost last year. 1/3

‘Careers are going up in flames’: inside Nottingham’s cuts crisis

With hundreds of jobs on the line and dozens of courses at risk, staff living through one of the biggest university restructuring projects of recent years fear they are shouldering the blame for wider...

timeshighereducation.com

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate.bsky.social · last mo.

Extinction Rebellion have stormed the stage in protest at the sponsorship from Howden group (who underwrite fossil fuel developments). And outside is a growing group protesting the compulsory redundancies (in areas such as environmental sciences and renewable engineering of all subjects!!)

People on a stage with a banner protesting against climate change and howden sponsorship at the Exeter climate forum. The Vice chancellor is visible to the left of the stage looking unimpressed.
University of Exeter News@uniofexeternews.bsky.social · last mo.

It's a week to go until the Exeter Climate Forum, our annual gathering of global climate scientists and key figures from industry and policy. news.exeter.ac.uk/university/u...