Dr Vasile Ersek

Associate Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

Dr Ersek is a palaeoclimatologist and geochemist who studies past climate changes and human-environment interactions. His research spans cave and karst science, atmospheric processes, paleoclimatology, palaeoceanography, and peat geochemistry. By applying geochemical methods to cave formations, water, and peat deposits, Dr Ersek aims to unravel the mysteries of past climate and environmental changes, providing insights for understanding our current and future climate.

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ORCID

Past Education and Employment

Postdoctoral researcher, Oxford University

PhD, Oregon State University, USA

MSc, Mississippi State University, USA

BSc, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Research in the media

MSN.com: Hominins in Europe: Evidence pushes timeline back 150,000 years

Earth.com: Drowning mangroves: Climate change is pushing nature past its limits

Science Daily: New research brings greater understanding of Asian winter monsoon

Key question around limestone carbon capture to be answered by partnership project

Science Mag: Ancient megadrought may explain civilization’s ‘missing millennia’ in Southeast Asia

Daily Mail: Sahara turned from lush green grassland to a barren wasteland just 4,000 years ago and triggered a megadrought that crippled Southeast Asia for 1,000 years

World Economic Forum: How climate change caused the world’s first ever empire to collapse

EOS: The Akkadian Empire—Felled by Dust?

Newsweek: Ancient Curse of Akkad: World's First Empire Collapsed Because of Climate Change

Forbes: Climate Change May Have Contributed To The Extinction Of Neanderthals And Rise Of Modern Humans

Smithsonian Magazine: Climate Change Likely Iced Neanderthals Out Of Existence

Newsweek: Neanderthals: Climate Change May Have Killed Off Our Closest Human Relatives

CTV News: Cold, dry climate shifts linked to Neanderthal disappearance

Science Daily: Earliest European evidence of lead pollution uncovered in the Balkans

Phys.org: Earliest ever evidence of lead pollution found in the Balkans – from 3600 BC

Independent: Climate change: Nearly 700 'natural thermometers' demonstrate the world is warmer than its ever been

Phys.org: 1,800 years of global ocean cooling halted by global warming

OPB: Oregon Caves Weather The Passage Of Time

Fox News: Oregon stalagmite tells 13,000-year-long story

Campus Address

Ellison Building
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

Email Vasile

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Deciphering local and regional hydroclimate resolves contradicting evidence on the Asian monsoon evolution, Wolf, A., Ersek, V., Braun, T., French, A., McGee, D., Bernasconi, S., Skiba, V., Griffiths, M., Johnson, K., Fohlmeister, J., Breitenbach, S., Pausata, F., Tabor, C., Longman, J., Roberts, W., Chandan, D., Peltier, W., Salzmann, U., Limbert, D., Trinh, H., Trinh, A. 14 Sep 2023, In: Nature Communications
Glacial changes in sea level modulated millennial-scale variability of Southeast Asian autumn monsoon rainfall, Patterson, E., Johnson, K., Griffiths, M., Kinsley, C., McGee, D., Du, X., Pico, T., Wolf, A., Ersek, V., Mortlock, R., Yamoah, K., Bui, T., Tran, M., Do-Trong, Q., Vo, T., Dinh, T. 4 Jul 2023, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
End of Green Sahara amplified mid- to late Holocene megadroughts in mainland Southeast Asia, Griffiths, M., Johnson, K., Pausata, F., White, J., Henderson, G., Wood, C., Yang, H., Ersek, V., Conrad, C., Sekhon, N. 1 Dec 2020, In: Nature Communications
Precise timing of abrupt increase in dust activity in the Middle East coincident with 4.2 ka social change, Carolin, S., Walker, R., Day, C., Ersek, V., Sloan, R., Dee, M., Talebian, M., Henderson, G. 2 Jan 2019, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The impact of climate change on the transition of Neanderthals to modern humans in Europe, Staubwasser, M., Drăgușin, V., Onac, B., Assonov, S., Ersek, V., Hoffmann, D., Veres, D. 11 Sep 2018, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Editorial work: Scientific Reports (Journal) 2022

PGR Supervision

JIAOJIAO YUE Climatic Signals and Diagenetic Overprints in Lacustrine Sediments: Reconstructing Hydrological and Environmental Changes in Lake Van During the Middle Pleistocene Start Date: 17/02/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Dimitra Skoulikari A detailed climatic context for Crete, Greece: Speleothem-based climate reconstruction from the Last Glacial Period to present Start Date: 01/10/2023
Chloe Riviera ?Unlocking the secrets of Vietnam's past climate: A multi-proxy approach using cave stalagmites Start Date: 01/10/2022
JIAOJIAO YUE Climatic Signals and Diagenetic Overprints in Lacustrine Sediments: Reconstructing Hydrological and Environmental Changes in Lake Van During the Middle Pleistocene Start Date: 17/02/2025 End Date: 31/10/2025
Chloe Riviera Unlocking the secrets of Vietnam's past climate: A multi-proxy approach using stalagmites Start Date: 01/10/2022 End Date: 17/10/2025
Lucy Carruthers The impact of climate change on the natural resources of coral reef islands in the Maldives. Start Date: 18/01/2021 End Date: 26/04/2024
Dimitra Skoulikari A detailed climatic context for Crete, Greece: Speleothem-based climate reconstruction from the Last Glacial Period to present Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025