OGU Bristol

Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Methods for Minimally Invasive Organic Residue Analysis of Archeological Potsherds Organic residue analysis (ORA) is widely used to investigate lipids preserved in archeological pottery. However, the amount of sample typically involved (2 g) precludes its application to particularly...

🚨New paper! 🚨Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Methods for Minimally Invasive Organic Residue Analysis of Archeological Potsherds:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Characterisation of the unknown chemical composition of a commercial biodegradable agricultural plastic mulch film using complementary spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques Biodegradable polyester mulch films are a viable alternative for use in agriculture to polyolefin-based films, offering reduced long-term microplastic pollution in agroecosytems with comparable protec...

A paper from our PhD graduate Charlie Monkley, published in the Analyst, has been selected for the journal's prestigious 'HOT' papers collection for 2025. Here's a link to the paper, if you've not already seen it: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Abstract submission is open until 15th December. app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80329...

UKAS 2026 Bristol logo representing the Bristol Suspension bridge on top of archaeological pottery and bone.

The website for UKAS2026 in Bristol is live! www.ukas2026.co.uk. Save the date - 30th March to 2nd April.

More details in the link below. Deadline 22nd October.

🚨🚨Job alert🚨🚨
(Senior) Research Associate in Biomolecular Statistical Analysis.

The successful applicant will join the OGU and the Molecular and Cultural Evolution Lab (@ucl.ac.uk), to investigate the dichotomy between farmed and aquatic resource exploitation during the Neolithic.

Save the date for UKAS 2026! The next UK Archaeological Sciences conference will be held at the University of Bristol from 31st March to 2nd April 2026.

A reminder that the deadline for the next application round to access NEIF facilities is the 8th of October 2025. Applicants must discuss projects with the relevant NEIF laboratory prior to submission. Applications are submitted online via the NEIF Application Portal - www.isotopesuk.org/apply.html

Posters from:
Pantelis Prokopiou “Multiproxy characterization of climatic evolution in central Africa from a late Pleistocene peat core record” [Group 2]
David Naafs “The evolutionary distribution and origin of the tetra-ether lipid synthase (TES) across the three of life and time” [Group 2]

Posters from:
Meg Jenkins “Bacteriohopanepolyols in Tropical and Temperate Peatlands” [Group 1]
Becky Peel “Development of a high temperature GC-IRMS method for the stable isotope analysis of peatland biomarkers” [Group 2]

Talks from:
Mike Vreeken “Intact polar lipids in tropical peatland depth profiles: insights in the microbial community and lipid production” [8th Sept]
Rich Pancost “Organic matter differences and similarities across diverse peatland types: energy limitation while surrounded by carbon” [9th Sept]

Several Members of the OGU will be at the 32nd International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (#IMOG2025) next week sharing their research.
Here’s who to look out for:

A BIG thank you to Rachel Schwartz-Narbonne for agreeing to host BOGS 2026 at Sheffield Hallam University. It will be fantastic to get a new institution on the hallowed bog brush!

Sign up for the BOGS 2026 mailing list here: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/ZRXn50Au98

Thank you all for attending BOGS 2025! We are a great community, and we look forward to many future successful meetings.

A table laid with 2 plastic boxes representing river systems, fossils, archaeological pottery and fish bones.

A sneak peek to our Festival of Nature stand - see you tomorrow or Sunday on Millennium Square in Bristol!

Festival of Nature | The Natural History Consortium Festival of Nature is the UK's largest free celebration of the natural world, taking place every June across the West of England region.

The OGU will be at The Festival of Nature for a Wild Weekend! Come and visit us in the @bristoluni.bsky.social tent! www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-...

Registration and abstract submission are now open!
www.bogs2025.com/registration

Congratulations to our latest NERC FRESH CDT student, Katharine Moss, for successfully defending her PhD thesis on 'Understanding The Ecological Impact Of Sewage Effluent On Freshwater Environments', jointly supervised by
@ukceh.bsky.social @ogu-bristol.bsky.social and
@pennyjohnes.bsky.social 🧪🎉

A circular logo for BOGS 2025 with the text Organic Geochemistry Unit and University of Bristol. The logo is multicoloured and features a toilet, a toilet brush, laboratory glassware and chemical structures.

The announcement you have all been waiting for... Save the date for BOGS 2025! The 35th meeting of the British Organic Geochemical Society will be held in Bristol on the 1st and 2nd of July 2025. www.bogs2025.com #BOGS2025