Ireland’s bogs first formed towards the end of the last ice age. Since then, they have been accumulating peat, which comprises the partly decomposed remains of the plants that once grew on the bog, as well as insects and microscopic fauna that lived on the bog, and steadily capturing snapshots of environmental change over the millennia.
This fieldtrip will visit Sluggan Moss, Co. Antrim, where we can track the bog’s development over time through its exposed peat face.
We will consider the different techniques palaeoecologists use to reconstruct past environmental and climate change. Using a peat corer, we can probe further back in time, all the way to the Last Ice Age. Transport will be provided from QUB.