Dr Ian Bull, BSc (Hons) PhD CSci CChem MRSC

Dr Ian Bull image

Background

I obtained a BSc (Hons) degree in Chemistry at the University of Bristol in 1993 then subsequently stayed at Bristol to study for a PhD investigating soil organic chemistry and its applications to archaeology and the environment. I was awarded my PhD in February 1998 and have since been employed as a NERC funded postdoctoral research assistant working on the trophic preferences and interactions of micro and mesofauna found in terrestrial soil systems. This project was carried out in collaboration with The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. In September 2001 I took over management of the Bristol node of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (LSMSF). Since November 2003 I have been employed as a University funded Research Associate in Mass Spectrometry and have also continued in my capacity as Manager of the NERC LSMSF Bristol Node.

Research

My research interests broadly encompass the use and development of biomarker and/or compound specific stable isotope methodologies to investigate elemental cycling (principally carbon) within a diverse range of settings within the terrestrial and fresh water environments. Current areas of interest include:

For a more lengthy overview of my research interests please refer to my personal website.

Publications

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Peer reviewed research articles

1. van Bergen, P. F., Bull, I. D., Poulton, P. R. and Evershed, R. P. (1997) Organic geochemical studies of soils from the Rothamsted Classical Experiments-I. Total lipid extracts, solvent insoluble residues and humic acids from Broadbalk Wilderness. Organic Geochemistry 26 , 117-135.

2. Bull, I. D., van Bergen, P. F., Poulton, P. R. and Evershed, R. P. (1998) Organic geochemical studies of soils from the Rothamsted Classical Experiments-II, Soils from the Hoosfield Spring Barley Experiment treated with different quantities of manure. Organic Geochemistry 28 , 11-26.

3. Simpson, I. A., Dockrill, S. J., Bull, I. D. and Evershed, R. P. (1998) Early anthropogenic soil formation at Tofts Ness, Sanday, Orkney. Journal of Archaeological Science 25 , 729-746.

4. van Bergen, P. F., Nott, C. J., Bull, I. D., Poulton, P. R. and Evershed, R. P. (1998) Organic geochemical studies of soils from the Rothamsted Classical Experiments-IV. Preliminary results from astudy of the effect of soil pH on organic matter decay. Organic Geochemistry 29 , 1779-1795.

5. Bull, I. D. , Simpson, I. A., van Bergen, P. F. and Evershed, R. P. (1999) Muck 'n' molecules: Organic geochemical methods for detecting ancient manuring. Antiquity 73 , 86-96.

6. Simpson, I. A., Bol, R., Bull, I. D., Evershed, R. P., Petzke, K. -J. and Dockrill, S. J. (1999) Interpreting early land management through compound specific stable isotope analyses of archaeological soils. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 13 , 1315-1319.

7. Bull, I. D., Bergen, P. F., Bol, R., Brown, S., Gledhill, A. G., Gray, A. J., Harkness, D. D., Woodbury, S. E. and Evershed, R. P. (1999) Estimating the contribution of Spartina anglica to salt-marsh sediments using compound specific stable carbon isotope measurements. Organic Geochemistry 30 , 477-484.

8. Bull, I. D., Simpson, I. A., Dockrill, S. J. and Evershed, R. P. (1999) Organic geochemical evidence for the origin of ancient anthropogenic soil deposits at Tofts Ness, Sanday, Orkney. Organic Geochemistry 30 , 535-556.

9. Bull, I. D., Betancourt, P. P. and Evershed, R. P. (1999) Chemical evidence supporting the existence of a structured agricultural manuring regime on Pseira Island, Crete during the Minoan Age. Aegaeum 20 , 69-75.

10. Bull, I. D., van Bergen, P. F., Nott, C. J., Poulton, P. R. and Evershed, R. P. (2000) Organic geochemical studies of soils from the Rothamsted Classical Experiments-V. The fate of lipids in different long-term experiments. Organic Geochemistry 31 , 389-408.

11. Bull, I. D., Parekh, N. R., Hall, G. H., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2000) Detection and classification of methane oxidizing bacteria in soil. Nature 405 , 175-178.

12. Bull, I. D., Nott, C. J., van Bergen, P. F., Poulton, P. R. and Evershed, R. P. (2000) Organic geochemical studies of soils from the Rothamsted Classical Experiments-VI. The occurrence and source of organic acids in an experimental grassland soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32 , 1367-1376.

13. Bull, I. D., Betancourt, P. P. and Evershed, R. P. (2002) An organic geochemical investigation of the practice of manuring at a Minoan site on Pseira Island, Crete. Geoarchaeology 16 , 223-242.

14. Bull, I. D., Lockheart, M. J., Elhmmali, M. M., Roberts, D. J. and Evershed, R. P. (2002) The origin of faeces by means of biomarker detection. Environment International 27 , 647-654.

15. Bull, I. D., Elhmmali, M. M., Roberts, D. J. and Evershed, R. P. (2003) Using steroidal biomarkers to track the abandonement of a Roman wastewater course at the Agora (Athens, Greece). Archaeometry 45 , 149-161.

16. Chamberlain, P. M., Bull, I. D., Black, H. J., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2004) Lipid content and carbon assimilation in Collembola: implications for the use of compound-specific carbon isotope analysis in animal dietary studies. Oecologia 139 , 325-335.

17. Bull, I. D., Elhmmali, M. M., Perret, P., Matthews, W., Roberts, D. J. and Evershed, R. P. (2005) Biomarker Evidence of Faecal Deposition in Archaeological Sediments at Çatalhöyük. In Inhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995-1999 Seasons (Ed. I. Hodder). McDonald Institute Monographs, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK and the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, c/o British Academy, London, UK , 415-420.

18. Chamberlain, P. M., Bull, I. D., Black, H. J., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2005) Fatty acid composition and change in Collembola fed differing diets: identification of trophic biomarkers. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37, 1608-1624.

19. Evershed, R. P., Crossman, Z. M., Bull, I. D., Mottram, H. R., Dungait, J. A. J., Maxfield, P. J. and Brennand, E. L. (2006) 13C-Labelling of lipids to investigate microbial communities in the environment. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 17, 72-82.

20. Al-Muhareb, E. M., Karaca, F., Morgan, T. J., Herod, A. A., Bull, I. D. and Kandiyoti, R. (2006) Size exclusion chromatography for the unambiguous detection of aliphatics in fractions from petroleum vacuum residues, coal liquids, and standard materials, in the presence of aromatics. Energy Fuels 20, 1165-1174.

21. Rawlins, A. J., Bull, I. D., Poirier, N., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2006) The biochemical transformation of oak (Quercus robur) leaf litter consumed by the pill millipede (Glomeris marginata). Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38, 1063-1076.

22. Chamberlain, P. M., Bull, I. D., Black, H. J., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2006) The effect of diet on isotopic turnover in Collembola examined using the stable carbon isotopic compositions of lipids. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38, 1146-1157.

23. Chamberlain, P. M., Bull, I. D., Black, H. J., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2006) Collembolan trophic preferences determined using fatty acid distributions and compound-specific stable carbon isotope values. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38, 1275-1281.

24. Rawlins, A. J., Bull, I. D., Ineson, P. and Evershed, R. P. (2007) Stabilisation of soil organic matter in invertebrate faecal pellets through leaf litter grazing. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39, 1202-1205.

25. Scott, A. C., Sparks, R. S. J., Bull, I. D., Knicker, H., and Evershed, R. P. (2008) Temperature proxy data and their significance for the understanding of pyroclastic density currents. Geology 36, 143-146.

26. Karaca, F., Millan-Agorio, M., Morgan, T. J., Bull, I. D., Herod, A. A., and Kandiyoti, R. (2008) The pentane- and toluene-soluble fractions of a petroleum residue and three coal tars by size exclusion chromatography and UV-fluorescence spectroscopy. Oil & Gas Science and Technology 63, 129-137.

27. van Geel, B., Aptroot, A., Baittinger, C, Birks, H. H., Bull, I. D., , Cross, H. B., Evershed, R. P., Gravendeel, B., Kompanje, E. J. O., Kuperus, P., Mol, D., Nierop, K. D. J., Pals, J. P., Tikhonov A. N., van Reenen, G., van Tienderen, P. H. (2008) The ecological implications of a Yakutian mammoth's last meal. Quaternary Research 69, 361-376.

28. Bull, I. D., , Knicker, H., Poirier, N., Porter, H. C., Scott, A. C., Sparks, R. S. J. and Evershed, R. P. (2008) Biomolecular characteristics of an extensive tar layer generated during eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, West Indies. Organic Geochemistry 39, 1372-1383.

29. Mead, M I., Khan, M. A. H., Bull, I. D., White, I. R., Nickless, G. and Shallcross, D. E. (2008) Stable carbon isotope analysis of selected halocarbons at parts per trillion concentration in an urban location. Environmental Chemistry 5, 340-346.

30. Bull, I. D., Berstan, R., Vass, A. and Evershed, R. P. (2009) Identification of a disinterred grave by molecular and stable isotope analysis. Science and Justice 49, 142-149.

31. Karaca, F., Morgan, T. J., George, A., Bull, I. D., Herod, A. A., Millan, M. and Kandiyoti, R. (2009) Molecular mass ranges of coal tar pitch fractions by mass spectrometry and size-exclusion chromatography. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 23, 2087-2098.

32. Dickson, L., Bull, I. D., Gates, P.J., and Evershed, R. P. (2009) A simple modification of a silicic acid lipid fractionation protocol to eliminate free fatty acids from glycolipid and phospholipid fractions. Journal of Microbiological Methods 78, 249-254.

33. Gill, F. L., Crump, M. P., Schouten, R. and Bull, I. D. (2009) Lipid analysis of a ground sloth coprolite. Quaternary Research 72, 284-288.

34. Dungait, J.A.J., Bol, R., Bull, I. D., and Evershed, R.P., (2009) Tracking the fate of dung-derived carbohydrates in a temperate grassland soil using compound-specific stable isotope analysis. Organic Geochemistry (Accepted).


Book Chapters

1. Evershed, R. P., Bull, I. D., Corr, L. T., Crossman, Z. M., van Dongen, B. E., Evans, C. J., Jim, S., Mottram, H. R., Mukherjee, A. J. and Pancost, R. D. (2006) Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Analysis in Ecological Research. In Stable Isotopes in Ecology and Environmental Science (Ecological Methods and Concepts) 2nd Edition (Eds. R. Michener and K. Lajtha), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, pp. 480-540.

ISI listed abstracts

1. van Bergen, P. F., Nott, C. J., Bull, I. D., Poulton, P. R. and Evershed RP(1996) Molecular changes in soluble and insoluble soil organic matter from the Rothamsted classical experiments. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 212, 54-GEOC Part 1 Aug 25.

2. Simpson, I. A., Evershed, R. P., Bull, I. D. and Dockrill, S. J. (1997) Identification of manuring practices associated with early anthropogenic soil formation in Orkney, Scotland. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 213, 54-GEOC Part 1 Apr 13.

3. Evershed, R. P., Crossman, Z., Evans, C., Bull, I. D., Chamberlin, P. M., Black, H. and Ineson, P. (2003) Compound-specific stable isotope approaches to the investigation of carbon cycling in soils. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 225, 036-GEOC Part 1 Mar.