Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Soil acts as a sink for organic detritus and supports a remarkably diverse population of macrofauna (collembola, worms, mites etc.) and microorganisms (bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae and protazoa etc.) that mediate important links in the major elemental cycles, i.e. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. Water from overland precipitation will either pass through or over soil and hence the composition of solutes will be greatly affected by the chemical nature of the corresponding soil(s). Pollutants may be partially controlled through complexing/bonding mechanisms within the soil matrix or by being rendered innocuous through chemical degradation. Furthermore, compounds immobilised within the soil matrix may be utilised to determine processes relating to recent and ancient human activity.
My research interests broadly encompass the use and development of biomarker and compound specific stable isotope methodologies to investigate the fate of organic compounds in soil and other closely related environments. Specific areas of interest include:
- molecular fate of organic matter in soil,
- use of volatile compounds (VOCs) as proxies for soil function and health,
- chemical/microbiological consequences and fate of plastics in the soil,
- ancient/contemporary sewage pollution in soils, sediments and freshwater,
- effect that soil fauna have on the decomposition of soil organic matter,
- decomposition and detection of human and animal remains in soils,
- development of organic and light isotope mass spectrometric analytical methodologies,
- ultra complex mixture analysis of environmental samples.
Structured keywords and research groupings
- Cabot Institute Food Security Research
- Cabot Institute Environmental Change Research
Keywords
- chromatography
- mass spectrometry
- soil chemistry
- volatile organic compounds
- microplastics
- faecal biomarkers
- microbial community
- archaeological science
- forensics
- sustainable solutions
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Research output
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Intestinal Parasites in the Neolithic Population Who Built Stonehenge (Durrington Walls, 2500 BCE)
Mitchell, P., Anastasiou, E., Whelton, H. L., Bull, I. D., Parker Pearson, M. & Shillito, L-M., 20 May 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Parasitology. 149, 8, p. 1-7 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Mechanisms of nitrogen transfer in a model clover-ryegrass pasture: a 15N-tracer approach
Reay, M. K. M., Pears, K. A., Kuhl, A. M., Evershed, R. P., Murray, P. J., Cardenas, L. M., Dungait, J. A. J. & Bull, I. D., 28 Jul 2022, In: Plant and Soil.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Open Access -
Nutrient (C, N and P) enrichment induces significant changes in the soil metabolite profile and microbial carbon partitioning
Brown, R., Chadwick, D., Bending, G., Collins, C., Whelton, H. L., Daulton, E., Covington, J., Bull, I. D. & Jones, D., 18 Jul 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 172, 108779.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Data from: Fossilization of melanosomes via sulfurization
McNamara, M. E. (Contributor), Van Dongen, B. E. (Contributor), Lockyer, N. P. (Contributor), Bull, I. D. (Contributor) & Orr, P. J. (Contributor), Dryad, 18 Mar 2017
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.540q6, http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.540q6
Dataset
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Enchytraeid worm abundance and delta 13C cholesterol data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 2000 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
Black, H. I. J. (Contributor), Piertney, S. B. (Contributor), Macdonald, C. (Contributor), Standen, V. (Contributor), Bull, I. D. (Contributor), Evershed, R. P. (Contributor), Chaplow, J. S. (Contributor) & Thompson, A. M. (Contributor), Natural Environment Research Council, 15 Mar 2018
DOI: 10.5285/0a443a55-28b6-4d82-9042-5a35bfdbebe0, https://doi.org/10.5285%2F0a443a55-28b6-4d82-9042-5a35bfdbebe0
Dataset
Activities
- 1 Participation in conference
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Goldschmidt Virtual 2020
Tugba Isik (Participant), Heather L Buss (Participant) & Ian D Bull (Participant)
26 Jun 2020Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
Thesis
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New molecular methods for tracing natural and anthropogenic inputs to soils and sediments.
Author: Bull, I. D., 1997Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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