Cesca McInerney

Dr. Cesca McInerney is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of the Environment, University of Queensland. Her research focuses on paleoclimatology, isotopic geochemistry, and environmental reconstruction. She specializes in stable isotope analysis of plant materials to study historical climate change and vegetation dynamics.

Her work integrates techniques like leaf wax biomarker analysis and phytolith δ¹³C studies to reconstruct past ecosystems. Key projects include investigations of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and C₄ grassland expansions in Australia. She collaborates with global researchers on projects involving Southeast Asian archaeology, Australian sandalwood conservation, and Mediterranean-arid zone ecotones.

Recent studies highlight contributions to understanding environmental conditions linked to early human dispersals, soil carbon dynamics during extreme warming events, and fire feedback mechanisms in ancient grasslands. She leads efforts to create Australia's vegetation carbon isoscapes using field and remote sensing data.

Her datasets include the Australian Leaf Water Isoscapes (ALWI) portal and PETM carbon isotope compilations. While no specific awards are listed, her extensive publication record reflects sustained contributions to geosciences and environmental research.