Dr Naomi Holmes PhD, PGCert, BSc, FHEA

Naomi graduated from the University of Exeter with a BSc in Biology and Geography. She then undertook a NERC-funded PhD ('Evaluating the use of subfossil chironomids for the reconstruction of Holocene climate in N and NW Iceland'). During her PhD she spent three months with the Department of Biology at the University of Bergen in Norway as a Marie Curie Predoctoral Fellow.

Naomi then worked as a postdoctoral researcher on a number of projects at the University of Exeter and University College Dublin. Following this she held the position of Senior Lecturer in Biogeography and Palaeoecology at the University of Northampton.  Naomi joined the Department of the Natural and Built Environment at Sheffield Hallam University in September 2015, and took on the role of BSc Environmental Science Course Leader in September 2016.  

Naomi is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassador and has been involved in a number of events aimed at getting school children interested in science. Naomi was Chief Scientist on youth expeditions to Norway (2014), the Indian Himalayas (2015 and 2016) and the Canadian Yukon (2017 and 2018) with British Exploring Society.

Level 4
Personal Tutor

Level 5
Glaciers and Glaciation
International Fieldwork (Amsterdam)
International Fieldwork (Iceland)
Outdoor Learning for the Environment and Geography
Research Methods for Environmental, Geographical and Social Sciences [Co-module Leader]
Personal Tutor

Level 6
Advanced Field Research (Snowdonia) [Module Leader]
Quaternary Environmental Change [Module Leader]
Dissertation project supervisor
Personal Tutor

Naomi is a physical geographer who has carried out research in a range of subjects, mostly mud related.  Naomi started out as a palaeoecologist/palaeolimnologist reconstructing Holocene environmental changes from lake sediments.   After a number of palaeoecological post-doc research positions Naomi became a full time geography lecturer which led to the development of learning and teaching research projects.  In the last few years Naomi has managed to combine her research interests and an interest in outdoor learning by coordinating and leading the scientific programme of youth expeditions to remote locations.  

Recent research projects include:
Environmental change:
• Investigating recent environmental change through geomorphological mapping of glacial landforms in Ladakh (with Dr Rob Storrar, SHU).
• Investigating landscape change in the Peak District (with Prof. Ian Rotherham, SHU).
• Holocene environmental change in Iceland.

Learning and teaching: 
• What do we want? Student perspectives on what a learning community should offer (with Dave Gubbins, SHU; Funded by a Sheffield Hallam Learning and Teaching Award).
• Increasing student engagement through continuous assessment.
• Outdoor learning and the benefits of learning in the field.
• A critical exploration of equality of access to Geographic fieldwork in Higher Education.  (With Anna Hawkins, SHU).
• The use of technology in fieldwork learning (with Dr Scott Turner, University of Northampton and Adel Gordon, Falmouth University).

Expedition science projects:
Naomi has coordinated the science programme on youth expeditions to Finnmark (Norway), Ladakh (India) and the Yukon (Canada).  Data produced from a number of the expedition science projects have been published in peer reviewed journals,  and presented at conferences.  

Journal articles

Hawkins, A., Sharpe, R., Spence, K., & Holmes, N. (2018). Inappropriate flushing of menstrual sanitary products. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Water Management. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/toc/jwama/0/0

Holmes, N. (2018). Mapping glacial landscapes: a case study from the Himalaya. Geography Review, 31 (4), 2-5. https://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview

Holmes, N. (2018). Engaging with assessment: increasing student engagement through continuous assessment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 19 (1), 23-34. http://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417723230

Rodrigo-Rech, A., Dalsgaard, B., Sandel, B., Sonne, J., Svenning, J.-.C., Holmes, N., & Ollerton, J. (2016). The macroecology of animal versus wind pollination: ecological factors are more important than historical climate stability. Plant Ecology and Diversity, 9 (3), 253-262. http://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2016.1207722

Holmes, N., Langdon, P.G., Caseldine, C.J., Wastegard, S., Leng, M.J., Croudace, I.W., & Davies, S.M. (2016). Climatic variability during the last millennium in Western Iceland from lake sediment records. The Holocene, 26 (5), 756-771. http://doi.org/10.1177/0959683615618260

Turner, J.N., Holmes, N., Davis, S.R., Leng, M.J., Langdon, C., & Scaife, R.G. (2015). A multiproxy (micro-XRF, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope) lake sediment record for the Lateglacial to Holocene transition from Thomastown Bog, Ireland. Journal of Quaternary Science, 30 (6), 514-528. http://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2796

Holmes, N. (2014). Student perceptions of their learning and engagement in response to the use of a continuous e-assessment in an undergraduate module. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 40 (1), 1-14. http://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.881978

Holmes, N., Langdon, P.G., Caseldine, C., Brooks, S.J., & Birks, H.J.B. (2011). Merging chironomid training sets: Implications for palaeoclimate reconstructions. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30 (19-20), 2793-2804. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.06.013

Langdon, P.G., Leng, M.J., Holmes, N., & Caseldine, C.J. (2010). Lacustrine evidence of early-holocene environmental change in northern Iceland: A multiproxy palaeoecology and stable isotope study. Holocene, 20 (2), 205-214. http://doi.org/10.1177/0959683609354301

Holmes, N., Langdon, P.G., & Caseldine, C.J. (2009). Subfossil chironomid variability in surface sediment samples from Icelandic lakes: Implications for the development and use of training sets. Journal of Paleolimnology, 42 (2), 281-295. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-008-9276-5

Langdon, P.G., Holmes, N., & Caseldine, C.J. (2008). Environmental controls on modern chironomid faunas from NW Iceland and implications for reconstructing climate change. Journal of Paleolimnology, 40 (1), 273-293. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9157-3

Holmes, N. (2008). Validation of chironomid-inferred temperature reconstructions in Iceland: The potential for reconstructing quantitative changes in holocene climate. Geographica Helvetica, 63 (1), 4-14. http://doi.org/10.5194/gh-63-4-2008

Caseldine, C., Langdon, P., & Holmes, N. (2006). Early Holocene climate variability and the timing and extent of the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) in northern Iceland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 25 (17-18), 2314-2331. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.02.003

Conference papers

Biddulph, M., Collins, A.L., Foster, I.D.L., & Holmes, N. (2017). The scale problem in tackling diffuse water pollution from agriculture : insights from the Avon Demonstration Test Catchment programme in England. River Research and Applications, 33 (10), 1527-1538. http://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3222

Evans, J., Foster, I., Boardman, J., & Holmes, N. (2017). SMART – Sediment Mitigation Actions for the River Rother, UK. Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, 375, 35-39. http://www.proc-iahs.net/375/35/2017/

Lotter, A., Poska, A., Huusko, A., Lučeničová, B., Odgaard, B., Caseldine, C., ... Veski, S. (2008). The use of modelling and simulation approach in reconstructing past landscapes from fossil pollen data: A review and results from the POLLANDCAL network. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 17 (5), 419-443. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-008-0169-3

Book chapters

Holmes, N. (2014). Section 4.1.3: Chironomid analysis: background, methods and geomorphological applications. In Cook, S.J., Clarke, L.E., & Nield, J.M. (Eds.) Geomorphological Techniques (Online Edition). London, UK: British Society for Geomorphology: http://www.geomorphology.org.uk/sites/default/files/geom_tech_chapters/4.1.3_Chironomids.pdf

Posters

Holmes, N., & Lem, R. (2016). Wild science: undertaking geomorphological research on youth expeditions. Presented at: British Society for Geomorphology Annual Meeting, Plymouth, 2016

Holmes, N., Storrar, R., Wright, H., Stefaniak, A., Cranmer, R., Feng, H., ... Sterrow, C. (2016). Investigating recent environmental change through geomorphological mapping of glacial landforms in Ladakh, India: a geomorphological outreach project. Presented at: British Society for Geomorphology Annual Meeting, Plymouth, 2016

Sharpe, R., Holmes, N., & Douterelo, I. (2016). A methodological proposal to investigate the long term storage of pollutants in freshwater sediment biofilms and their response to environmental disturbances. Presented at: British Society for Geomorphology Annual Meeting, Plymouth, 2016

Membership of Professional Bodies
• British Society for Geomorphology
• Higher Education Academy (Fellow)
• Royal Geographical Society (Fellow)
• Quaternary Research Association

Naomi has refereed submissions to a number of peer reviewed journals and grant applications for research funding.

Naomi will be the External Examiner for BSc Environmental Science at the University of Central Lancashire from September 2019.  

Naomi was the External Examiner for BSc Geography and Archaeology at the University of Brighton (2014 – 2018).