Niels de Winter receives Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award from EGU

Geochemist and palaeoclimatologist Niels de Winter has received an Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award from the European Geosciences Union (EGU). EGU is the most important geoscientific union in Europe. The Outstanding Early Career Scientist Awards recognise the scientific achievements of an early career scientist in a particular field. The award will be presented in April. 

"The award is an important recognition of my research so far and a significant step in my career as a scientist," says De Winter. "It is also a very nice compliment for me personally, because it shows that my international scientific colleagues appreciate my work."

Climate and temperature reconstructions

De Winter develops methods to reconstruct climate. He does this based on fossil shells, which he then compares with modern shells and teeth from, for example, deceased horses. The unusual comparative technique allows him to reconstruct seasonal differences in the geological past. He currently applies the new 'clumped isotope' technique at Utrecht University and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) to make very accurate seasonal temperature reconstructions from fossil shells. The innovative technique makes much more precise climate reconstructions possible.

De Winter's previous work showed that 70 million years ago the days were half an hour shorter than they are today, and that a year back then lasted for 372 days. He is also taking part in archaeological research on population migrations during the Neolithic period.