Mark Hardiman

Dr Mark Hardiman is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography and Geosciences at the University of Portsmouth, affiliated with the School of the Environment and Life Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Health. His research focuses on Quaternary Science, particularly investigating past environmental changes and abrupt climate shifts through geochronology and wildfire analysis. He specializes in tephrochronology and charcoal-based paleofire reconstructions, contributing to understanding Earth system responses to climatic events.

Dr Hardiman has supervised numerous PhD and MRes students, including Dr Margarita Tsakiridou and Dr Paul Lincoln, focusing on wildfire dynamics and environmental transitions in the British Isles and beyond. His work integrates field-based studies with advanced analytical techniques like Bayesian statistics and SEM imaging.

Key research areas include:

• Geochronological frameworks using tephra layers to synchronize environmental records
• Paleofire reconstructions to assess wildfire roles in geomorphic and climatic events
• Climate change impacts on Arctic and temperate ecosystems
• Standardization of charcoal analysis methodologies

Recent contributions include global fire regime analyses (2024), Greenland wildfire studies (2022–2024), and Holocene peatland burning investigations (2023). He has advised on UK Arctic policy and contributed to interdisciplinary projects like the RESET tephra lattice initiative (2015).

Affiliated with the Institute of the Earth and Environment, his work bridges geoscience, archaeology, and environmental policy, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding Earth's past and present environments.