Tamara Fletcher

Tamara Fletcher

School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

I am a palaeoclimatologist and palaeoecologist with a focus on Arctic amplification of temperature. The Arctic is warming at 4x the global average, tracking or exceeding our most extreme climate model scenarios and the source of this error is unknown. Applying these same models to warm periods of the past, and testing them against climate reconstructions, allows us to investigate why they may be insensitive to Arctic warming. This will ultimately improve climate model prediction for policy and climate impact mitigation. This question has led to me to apply a broad range of palaeoclimate and palaeoecological reconstruction methods, using the remains of organisms from the past; from fire and cloud reconstruction, to beetles, molluscs, and plants as indicators of their climate, I take a systems approach to understanding our past, to better our future.

Central to this, is the interdisciplinary pursuit of data-model comparison. I am the lead of the Neoegene Terrestrial Climate group in the PAGES working group PlioMioVAR working toward a synthesis of Neogene terrestrial climate records; the terrestrial data representative on the PlioMIP3 steering committee; and a founding member of the PoLAR-FIT working group.

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2023 - ongoing Ramsay Fellow University of Adelaide
    2023 - ongoing Visiting Scholar University of Leeds
    2021 - 2023 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Independant Fellow University of Leeds
    2019 - 2021 President's International Fellowship Institute of Applied Ecology
    2017 - 2018 Endeavour Research Fellow University of Nevada Reno
    2015 - 2018 Postdoctoral Research Associate University of Montana

  • Awards and Achievements
    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2014 Award Future Leader Award University of Queensland Australia -

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2009 - 2014 University of Queensland Australia PhD in Palaeontology
    2008 - 2009 University of Queensland Australia Graduate Certificate in Science Communication
    2008 - 2009 University of Queensland Australia Graduate Certificate in Arts
    2006 - 2007 University of Queensland Australia Bachelor of Science (Honours)
    2003 - 2006 University of Queensland Australia Bachelor of Science

  • Certifications
    Date Title Institution name Country
    2024 Remote Area First Aid St Johns Ambulance Australia

  • Research Interests
    Climatological hazards (e.g. extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires) Fire ecology Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology Palaeontology Palaeontology (incl. palynology)

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2024 Haywood, A. M., Tindall, J. C., Burton, L. E., Chandler, M. A., Dolan, A. M., Dowsett, H. J., . . . Salzmann, U. (2024). Pliocene model intercomparison project Phase 3 (PlioMIP3) – Science plan and experimental design. Global and Planetary Change, 232, 104316-1-104316-11.
    DOI Scopus10
    2024 Schafstall, N., Benito, X., Brugger, S. O., Davies, A. L., Ellis, E., Pla-Rabes, S., . . . Suárez-Mozo, N. Y. (2024). Ten simple rules to bridge ecology and palaeoecology by publishing outside palaeoecological journals.. PLoS Comput Biol, 20(10), e1012487.
    DOI
    2024 Carter, L. D., Christensen, D., Hopkins, D. M., Matthews, J. V., Nelson, R. E., Ovenden, L. E., . . . Fletcher, T. L. (2024). Stratigraphy and paleontology (plant and arthropod fossils) from the Late Neogene Niguanak site, Arctic Slope, Northern Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 56(1), 16 pages.
    DOI
    2023 Su, J., Liu, Z., Wang, W., Jiao, K., Yu, Y., Li, K., . . . Fletcher, T. L. (2023). Evaluation of the Spatial Distribution of Predictors of Fire Regimes in China from 2003 to 2016. Remote Sensing, 15(20), 4946-1-4946-19.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1
    2023 Fletcher, T., Tindall, J., Voss, J., & Haywood, A. (2023). Cloudy with a chance it rained: Progress towards a proxy for palaeocloud.
    DOI
    2022 Tindall, J. C., Haywood, A. M., Salzmann, U., Dolan, A. M., & Fletcher, T. (2022). The warm winter paradox in the Pliocene northern high latitudes. Climate of the Past, 18(6), 1385-1405.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS1
    2022 Tindall, J. C., Haywood, A. M., Salzmann, U., Dolan, A. M., & Fletcher, T. (2022). The Warm Winter Paradox in the Pliocene High Latitudes.
    DOI
    2022 Tindall, J. C., Haywood, A. M., Salzmann, U., Dolan, A. M., & Fletcher, T. (2022). Supplementary material to "The Warm Winter Paradox in the Pliocene High Latitudes".
    DOI
    2022 Haywood, A., Burton, L., Dolan, A., Dowsett, H., Fletcher, T., Hill, D., . . . Tindall, J. (2022). PlioMIP3 A Science Programme Proposal to the Community.
    DOI
    2021 Jiao, K. W., Gao, J. B., Liu, Z. H., Wu, S. H., & Fletcher, T. L. (2021). Revealing climatic impacts on the temporal and spatial variation in vegetation activity across China: Sensitivity and contribution. Advances in Climate Change Research, 12(3), 409-420.
    DOI Scopus27 WoS17
    2021 Fletcher, T. L., Telka, A., Rybczynski, N., & Matthews, J. V. (2021). Neogene and early pleistocene flora from alaska, usa and arctic/subarctic Canada: New data, intercontinental comparisons and correlations. Palaeontologia Electronica, 24(1), 1-62.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS7
    2021 Fletcher, T., Eble, C., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S., Brown, K. J., Rybczynski, N., Gosse, J., . . . Ballantyne, A. (2021). Widespread wildfire across the Pliocene Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 584, 1-8.
    DOI Scopus3 WoS2
    2019 Fletcher, T. L., Warden, L., Damsté, J. S. S., Brown, K. J., Rybczynski, N., Gosse, J. C., & Ballantyne, A. P. (2019). Evidence for fire in the pliocene arctic in response to amplified temperature. Climate of the Past, 15(3), 1063-1081.
    DOI Scopus22 WoS19
    2019 Feng, R., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Xu, Y., Brady, E., Fletcher, T., & Ballantyne, A. (2019). Contributions of aerosol-cloud interactions to mid-Piacenzian seasonally sea ice-free Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(16), 9920-9929.
    DOI Scopus17 WoS13
    2019 Fletcher, T., Touchan, R., Lepley, K., Rouini, N., Bloye, R., Tremarelli, T. S., . . . Meko, D. M. (2019). TWO RECONSTRUCTIONS of AUGUST-JULY PRECIPITATION for CENTRAL NORTHERN ARIZONA from TREE RINGS. Tree-Ring Research, 75(2), 116-126.
    DOI Scopus1
    2019 Fletcher, T. L., Csank, A. Z., & Ballantyne, A. P. (2019). Identifying bias in cold season temperature reconstructions by beetle mutual climatic range methods in the Pliocene Canadian High Arctic. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 514, 672-676.
    DOI Scopus13 WoS10
    2018 Fletcher, T. L., Moss, P. T., & Salisbury, S. W. (2018). The palaeoenvironment of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) portion of the Winton Formation, Queensland, Australia. PeerJ, 6(9), e5513-1-e5513-39.
    DOI Scopus8 WoS6 Europe PMC5
    2017 Fletcher, T., Feng, R., Telka, A. M., Matthews, J. V., & Ballantyne, A. (2017). Floral dissimilarity and the influence of climate in the pliocene high arctic: Biotic and abiotic influences on five sites on the canadian arctic archipelago. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 5(MAR), 13 pages.
    DOI Scopus21 WoS19
    2017 Gosse, J. C., Ballantyne, A. P., Barker, J. D., Csank, A. Z., Fletcher, T. L., Grant, G. W., . . . Rybczynski, N. (2017). PoLAR-FIT: Pliocene landscapes and arctic remains-frozen in time. Geoscience Canada, 44(1), 47-54.
    DOI Scopus8 WoS7
    2017 Feng, R., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Fletcher, T. L., Tabor, C. R., Ballantyne, A. P., & Brady, E. C. (2017). Amplified Late Pliocene terrestrial warmth in northern high latitudes from greater radiative forcing and closed Arctic Ocean gateways. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 466, 129-138.
    DOI Scopus33 WoS31
    2015 Fletcher, T. L., Moss, P. T., & Salisbury, S. W. (2015). Wood growth indices as climate indicators from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) portion of the Winton Formation, Australia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 417, 35-43.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS8
    2014 Fletcher, T. L., Cantrill, D. J., Moss, P. T., & Salisbury, S. W. (2014). A new species of Protophyllocladoxylon from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) portion of the Winton Formation, central-western Queensland, Australia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 208, 43-49.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS13
    2014 Fletcher, T. L., Greenwood, D. R., Moss, P. T., & Salisbury, S. W. (2014). Paleoclimate of the late cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) portion of the Winton formation, central-western Queensland, Australia: New observations based on clamp and bioclimatic analysis. Palaios, 29(3), 121-128.
    DOI Scopus35 WoS25
    2014 Fletcher, T. L., & Salisbury, S. W. (2014). Probable oribatid mite (Acari: Oribatida) tunnels and faecal pellets in silicified conifer wood from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Turonian) portion of the Winton Formation, central-western Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa, 38(4), 541-545.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS6
    2013 Fletcher, T. L., Moss, P. T., & Salisbury, S. W. (2013). Foliar physiognomic climate estimates for the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) Lark Quarry fossil flora, central-western Queensland, Australia. Australian Journal of Botany, 61(8), 575-582.
    DOI Scopus15 WoS12
    2013 Delfino, M., Scheyer, T. M., Chesi, F., Fletcher, T., Gemel, R., Macdonald, S., . . . Salisbury, S. W. (2013). Gross morphology and microstructure of type locality ossicles of Psephophorus polygonus Meyer, 1847 (Testudines, Dermochelyidae). Geological Magazine, 150(5), 767-782.
    DOI Scopus17 WoS11
    2010 Fletcher, T. L., & Salisbury, S. W. (2010). New pterosaur fossils from the early cretaceous (Albian) of Queensland, Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30(6), 1747-1759.
    DOI Scopus27 WoS22

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2025 Fletcher, T., Brown, K., Power, M. J., Glückler, R., & Morrison, K. (2025). Long-term perspectives on wildfire in the Arctic. In E. A. Fernandes (Ed.), Arctic Wildland Fire Ecology Mapping and Monitoring (ArcticFIRE).
    2021 Barendregt, R. W., Matthews, J. V., Behan-Pelletier, V., Brigham-Grette, J., Fyles, J. G., Ovenden, L. E., . . . Fletcher, T. L. (2021). Biostratigraphy, Age, and Paleoenvironment of the Pliocene Beaufort Formation on Meighen Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In R. W. Barendregt, J. V. Matthews Jr, & V. Behan-Pelletier (Eds.), Biostratigraphy, Age, and Paleoenvironment of the Pliocene Beaufort Formation on Meighen Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago (Vol. 551, pp. 1-39). Virginia, USA: Geological Society of America.
    DOI Scopus5

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2012 Fletcher, T. L. (2012). PALEOCLIMATE OF THE DINOSAUR-BEARING, MID-CRETACEOUS WINTON FORMATION, CENTRAL-WESTERN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: NEW OBSERVATIONS BASED ON LEAF MARGIN ANALYSIS, CLIMATE LEAF ANALYSIS MULTIVARIATE PROGRAM, BIOCLIMATIC ANALYSIS AND FOSSIL WOOD GROWTH INDICES. In JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY Vol. 32 (pp. 94-95). NC, N Carolina Museum Nat Sci, Raleigh: TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC.

  • Preprint
    Year Citation
    2023 Haywood, A., Tindall, J., Burton, L., Chandler, M., Dolan, A., Dowsett, H., . . . Robinson, M. (2023). Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (Pliomip3) – Science Plan and Experimental Design.
    DOI

My research at the University of Adelaide is primarily funded by my Ramsay Fellowship, and the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences. 

My field work and travel are funded from many sources such as The Polar Continental Shelf Program, The Explorer's Club, National Geographic, the Geological Society of London, and the Environment Institute.

I am a member of the lecturing team for the third-year course, Geochronology, Fossils and Palaeoenvironments, and the first year course, Building a Habitable Planet.
 

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