We are living in an era in which it is now more important than ever to understand the Earth’s changing climate. Thankfully, climate scientists like Dr Joy Singarayer are able to lend insights into one of the most significant topics of research in the 21st century. Joy is associate professor of palaeoclimatology at the University of Reading’s school of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science (SAGES) group, and former lecturer in climate modelling at the University of Bristol School of Geographical Sciences. Joy is particularly interested in climate change in the Quaternary period, the underlying processes that caused the Earth to change across massive time scales, and how these understandings can inform upon future climate change patterns. She has researched these topics extensively as a key member of several collaborative projects.
To name but a few, Joy has worked within The Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment (BRIDGE) research group, which tests current climate models in a historical context in order to allow for better future predictions of climate variability. She is currently a member of the iGlass consortium, a project detailing ice-sheet and sea-level changes in response to climate forcing, using interglacial data (i.e. periods between ice ages) in order to offer insights into the sea-level changes of the future.
Joy has lectured widely on a number of subjects, from the interactions between climate change and hominids, to the collapse of civilisations in early history. She has previously spoken to BBC News about her use of bioengineering to alter the reflective properties of crops in order to cool the climate and mitigate global warming. Joy consulted and animated on the 2009 documentary The Incredible Human Journey with Dr Alice Roberts, and appeared on Discovery series Man on Earth, where she interviewed archaeologists globally to discuss the effects of climate change on society and culture.
The Valentina Project 