Who we Are
We are the John Lab, a research group led by Professor Cédric John and hosted in the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) at Queen Mary University of London. At DERI, Professor John leads the Data Science for the Environment and Sustainability Research Platform, one of four key research directions for the institute. Before joining DERI, the group was based for nearly 16 years in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London.
Our research approach blends machine learning and AI with cutting edge field and experimental methods in Earth and Planetary Sciences. The Digital Environment Research Institute is the centre of digital, data science, and AI research at Queen Mary and it underpins the university’s vision for its research Strategy 2030. For us, DERI is the perfect home for an interdisciplinary team working on scientific machine learning applied to environmental and Earth Science problems.
DERI and Queen Mary University of London are affiliated with the Alan Turing Institute.
Testimonials
Hear what former members of the lab have to say about their time with us.
Sarah Robinson (PhD Student, 2019-2022)
Niranjana Sundararajan (MSc Student, 2022)
Marta Marchegiano(Postdoc, 2019-2021)
John MacDonald (Postdoc, 2013-2015)
Annabel Dale (PhD Student, 2011-2015)
Qi Adlan (PhD Student, 2019-2022)
Adhipa Herlambang (PhD Student, 2018-2021)
Tobias Kluge (Postdoc, 2012-2015)
research Highlights
We have two main research themes: Applied Artificial Intelligence for Earth and Space Sciences (we call it Earth-Centric AI) and Carbonate Research. You can also find about our publications and the software and data stemming from our research.
AI Research
Our group applies data-centric machine learning techniques to Earth and planetary sciences, leading to innovative approaches for analyzing and interpreting data in these fields.
Carbonate Research
Our research in carbonates focuses on the processes involved in their formation and alteration, and how these processes impact the geochemistry and stratigraphy of carbonate rocks.
Publications
Our group has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in a variety of fields, including clumped isotopes, carbonate diagenesis, climate change, stratigraphy, AI and machine learning.
Software and Data
Our research has led to the development of free software tools that have been widely used by researchers in our fields. These tools have made it easier to analyze and interpret data..
Spotlight on our Papers:
Eustatic variations during the Paleocene‐Eocene greenhouse world
We reconstruct eustatic variations during the latest Paleocene and earliest Eocene (∼58–52 Ma). Dinoflagellate cysts, grain size fractions, and organic biomarkers in marine sections at four sites from three continents indicate an increased distance to the coast during the Paleocene‐Eocene…
Evaluating climatic response to external radiative forcing during the late Miocene to early Pliocene: New perspectives from eastern equatorial Pacific (IODP U1338) and North …
Orbital‐scale climate variability during the latest Miocene‐early Pliocene is poorly understood due to a lack of high‐resolution records spanning 8.0–3.5 Ma, which resolve all orbital cycles. Assessing this variability improves understanding of how Earth’s system sensitivity to insolation evolves and provides…
Changes in fluid regime in syn-orogenic sediments during the growth of the south Pyrenean fold and thrust belt
The eastern sector of the south Pyrenean fold and thrust belt developed during the Alpine compression and affected Upper Cretaceous to lower Oligocene foreland basin deposits. In this study, we determine the changes in fluid regime and fluid composition during…
Rapid sedimentation, overpressure, and focused fluid flow, Gulf of Mexico continental margin
Expedition 308 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) was the first phase of a two-component project dedicated to studying overpressure and fluid flow on the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico. We examined how sedimentation, overpressure, fluid flow,…
Clumped-isotope palaeothermometry and LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of lava-pile hydrothermal calcite veins
Calcite veins are a common product of hydrothermal fluid circulation. Clumped-isotope palaeothermometry is a promising technique for fingerprinting the temperature of hydrothermal fluids, but clumped-isotope systematics can be reset at temperatures of > ca. 100 °C. To model whether the reconstructed temperatures represent…
Evolution of hot fluids in the Chingshui geothermal field inferred from crystal morphology and geochemical vein data
The Chingshui geothermal field once hosted the first geothermal power plant in Taiwan from 1981 to 1993. After a long period of inactivity, this field is attracting renewed interest to meet the need for clean energy. A 213-m length of…
Anaerobic oxidation of methane by Mn oxides in sulfate-poor environments
Strongly 13C-depleted authigenic carbonates (e.g., δ13CVPDB
Effects of Improved 17O Correction on Inter‐Laboratory Agreement in Clumped Isotope Calibrations, Estimates of Mineral‐Specific Offsets, and Temperature Dependence of Acid …
The clumped isotopic composition of carbonate‐derived CO2 (denoted Δ47) is a function of carbonate formation temperature and in natural samples can act as a recorder of paleoclimate, burial, or diagenetic conditions. The absolute abundance of heavy isotopes in the universal…
The Palaeocene–Eocene carbon isotope excursion: constraints from individual shell planktonic foraminifer records
The Palaeocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) is characterized by a global negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) and widespread dissolution of seafloor carbonate sediments. The latter feature supports the hypothesis that the PETM and CIE were caused by the rapid release of…
Magmatic-like fluid source of the Chingshui geothermal field, NE Taiwan evidenced by carbonate clumped-isotope paleothermometry
The Chingshui geothermal field, a moderate-temperature and water-dominated hydrothermal system, was the site of the first geothermal power plant in Taiwan. Many geological, geophysical and geochemical studies using more than 21 drilled wells have been performed since the 1960s. However,…
Evidence of taxonomic non-equilibrium effects in the clumped isotope composition of modern cephalopod carbonate
The stable oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of ammonites and belemnites is a common proxy for Jurassic and Cretaceous sea temperatures. The challenges and uncertainties associated with cephalopod δ18O and other proxy based paleotemperature reconstructions make cephalopods such as ammonites and…
Early dolomitization and partial burial recrystallization: a case study of Middle Triassic peritidal dolomites in the Villány Hills (SW Hungary) using petrography, carbon …
Peritidal carbonates of the Csukma Formation (Csukma Dolomite Member) in the Villány Hills, SW Hungary, were investigated to determine the nature of the dolomitization and recrystallization processes that affected these rocks during their complex tectonic evolution, and to evaluate if…