Dr John Murray

BA., Ph.D

 
researcher
 

Biography

Research Interests

I have wide-ranging research interests in all aspects of palaeontology, palaeoclimatology and carbonate sedimentology, with particular reference to the Carboniferous. I am interested in the genesis and development of carbonate mud-mounds, microbialites and evaporites and their impacts on coeval biota. My PhD examined facies change and palaeoenvironments in the Carboniferous (Mississippian) Shannon Basin, western Ireland, based principally on detailed field and lab-based analysis of carbonate sedimentology, petrography and palaeontology (macro & micro-palaeontology and palaeoecology). A significant element of the project involved the description of an unusual form of calcitised evaporite ('striped limestone'), which forms an 'event horizon' right across the basin. More recent Carboniferous research has focussed on conodont biostratigraphy, and also the timing and magnitude of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age, utilising stable isotope proxies preserved in conodont microfossils.

I have supervised research on the palaeontology and taphonomy of paropsonemids - an enigmatic group of soft-bodied discoidal fossil animals, including from Ordovician-aged field sites in Morocco. This work has helped to improve our understanding of the preservation and early evolution of Paleozoic marine ecosystems and it also afforded a greater insight into the preservation of some of the oldest, most important and controversial fossil organisms - the Ediacaran Biota. 

In terms of Quaternary research, the late Pleistocene to Holocene palaeoenvironmental history of Galway Bay has been investigated using a combination of detailed sedimentology, geochemistry and foraminiferal micropalaeontology. I also actively collaborate with an international team examining Middle to Late Pleistocene hominin evolution and migration. 

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2020) 'A Pleistocene depsoit preserved in deep karst at Coolough, County Galway, western Ireland'
Dolan, M.J.; McCabe, B.A.; Molloy, K.; Murray, J.; Henry, T., Daly, E.; O'Leary, D. (2020) 'A Pleistocene depsoit preserved in deep karst at Coolough, County Galway, western Ireland'. Geological Journal, [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'How does it feel? The affective domain and undergraduate student perception of fieldwork set in a broad pedagogical perspective'
Henry, T;Murray, J (2018) 'How does it feel? The affective domain and undergraduate student perception of fieldwork set in a broad pedagogical perspective'. Tuning Journal for Higher Education, 5 :263-292 [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'Effects of the Younger Dryas climate event recorded in sediment near the western Irish seaboard'
Wood, BL,Williams, DM,Murray, J (2018) 'Effects of the Younger Dryas climate event recorded in sediment near the western Irish seaboard'. Geological Journal, 53 :647-659 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Understanding hydrothermal circulation patterns at a low-enthalpy thermal spring using audio-magnetotelluric data: A case study from Ireland'
Blake, S., Henry, T., Muller, M.R., Jones, A.G., Moore, J.P., Murray, J., Campanya, J., Vozar, J., Walsh, J., Rath, V. (2016) 'Understanding hydrothermal circulation patterns at a low-enthalpy thermal spring using audio-magnetotelluric data: A case study from Ireland'. Journal Of Applied Geophysics, 132 :1-16 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Compositional multivariate statistical analysis of thermal groundwater provenance: A hydrogeochemical case study from Ireland'
Sarah Blake, Tiernan Henry, John Murray, Rory Flood, Mark R. Muller, Alan G. Jones, Volker Rath (2016) 'Compositional multivariate statistical analysis of thermal groundwater provenance: A hydrogeochemical case study from Ireland'. Applied Geochemistry, 75 :171-188 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Lower and Middle Ordovician conodonts of Laurentian affinity from blocks of limestone in the Rosroe Formation, South Mayo Trough, western Ireland and their palaeogeographic implication'
Stouge, S,Harper, DAT,Sevastopulo, GD,O'Mahony, D,Murray, J (2016) 'Lower and Middle Ordovician conodonts of Laurentian affinity from blocks of limestone in the Rosroe Formation, South Mayo Trough, western Ireland and their palaeogeographic implication'. Geological Journal, 51 :584-599 [DOI] [Details]
(2015) 'Conodonts of the genus Lochriea in Ireland and the recognition of the Visean-Serpukhovian (Carboniferous) boundary'
Barham, M,Murray, J,Sevastopulo, GD,Williams, DM (2015) 'Conodonts of the genus Lochriea in Ireland and the recognition of the Visean-Serpukhovian (Carboniferous) boundary'. Lethaia, 48 :151-171 [DOI] [Details]
(2015) 'Conodont biostratigraphy of the mid-Carboniferous boundary in Western Ireland'
Fallon, P,Murray, J (2015) 'Conodont biostratigraphy of the mid-Carboniferous boundary in Western Ireland'. Geological Magazine, 152 :1025-1042 [DOI] [Details]
(2015) 'The Contribution of William King to the Early Development of Palaeoanthropology'
John Murray, Heinz Peter Nasheuer, Cathal Seoighe, Grace P McCormack, D Michael Williams, David AT Harper (2015) 'The Contribution of William King to the Early Development of Palaeoanthropology'. Irish Journal Of Earth Sciences, 33 :1-16 [DOI] [Details]
(2012) 'The onset of the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation: reconciling global stratigraphic evidence with biogenic apatite delta O-18 records in the late Visean'
Barham, M;Murray, J;Joachimski, MM;Williams, DM (2012) 'The onset of the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation: reconciling global stratigraphic evidence with biogenic apatite delta O-18 records in the late Visean'. Journal Of The Geological Society, 169 :119-122 [DOI] [Details]
(2012) 'Diagenetic alteration of the structure and delta O-18 signature of Palaeozoic fish and conodont apatite: Potential use for corrected isotope signatures in palaeoenvironmental interpretation'
Barham, M,Joachimski, MM,Murray, J,Williams, DM (2012) 'Diagenetic alteration of the structure and delta O-18 signature of Palaeozoic fish and conodont apatite: Potential use for corrected isotope signatures in palaeoenvironmental interpretation'. Chemical Geology, 298 :11-19 [DOI] [Details]
(2010) 'Non-mineralised discoidal fossils from the Ordovician Bardahessiagh Formation, Co. Tyrone'
MacGabhann, B.A. & Murray, J. (2010) 'Non-mineralised discoidal fossils from the Ordovician Bardahessiagh Formation, Co. Tyrone'. Irish Journal Of Earth Sciences, 28 :1-2 [DOI] [Details]
(2007) 'Ediacaria booleyi: weeded from the Garden of Ediacara?'
MacGabhann, BA;Murray, J;Nicholas, C (2007) 'Ediacaria booleyi: weeded from the Garden of Ediacara?'. Rise And Fall Of The Ediacaran Biota, 286 :277-295 [DOI] [Details]

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
1998 Trinity College Dublin Bachelor of Arts Geology
2010 Trinity College Dublin PhD Geology (carbonate sedimentology, palaeontology)
2016 NUI Galway PG Cert Teaching and Learning

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
Semester 1 Evolution and the Tree of Life BO202
Semester 1 Palaeontology & Evolution EOS3103
Semester 2 Earth: from core to the crust EOS2102
Semester 2 History of Life EOS407
Semester 2 (Easter) Fieldskills training EOS3104