Charlotte Slaymark is a climate scientist, working as a research technician in the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow. Alongside her work as a research technician, Charlotte has been doing a PhD part time and in March 2023, she undertook a two-week Fieldwork residency at Sweeney’s Bothy to write up the last of her research.
Her PhD research is on climate change, specifically studying the past climate of the UK, to gain a better understanding of how the climate system works here. She uses radiocarbon dated lake sediments and the chemistry of the sediment to look at the conditions at the end of the last ice age.
As part of her residency, Charlotte gave a public talk about Scotland’s climate history at Eigg Community Hall. The talk, titled Scotland Under Ice: climate change since the last glaciation 22,000 years ago, explored maps and photographs that give evidence of the ice sheet that covered Scotland 22,000 years ago, and prompted discussion around how climate data can be retrieved from the landscape.
In late August 2023, Charlotte will be marking the end of her PhD with a three week mountain bike trip, inspired by research on the last ice sheet in Scotland. The route which she has designed and named ‘The Ice Ride’, will skirt the outline of an ice sheet that spanned the Northern and Western Highlands approximately 12,000 years ago; from the Fisherfield Forest in Wester Ross all the way to Loch Lomond. The route takes in some of Scotland’s most impressive glacial landscapes and will be documented by analogue photography, due to be exhibited in Glasgow in 2024. Updates of the trip will be shared on social media.
Charlotte studied chemistry at the University of Glasgow, worked for cycle charities for a few years and after a summer placement at SUERC (Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre) in a research lab, sought out a job working in climate and environmental research.
This residency was supported by the University of Glasgow.
