Dr Jack Lacey is a Senior Isotope Geoscientist at the British Geological Survey and an Honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham. Based within the Stable Isotope Facility, a node of the NERC National Environmental Isotope Facility, he leads the Organics, Silicates and Carbonates laboratories and oversees isotope ratio mass spectrometry across a diverse suite of analytical platforms. His research uses stable isotope geochemistry to reconstruct environmental and climatic change, investigate biogeochemical and nutrient cycling, and assess ecosystem responses to natural and human-induced pressures. Through the development of innovative analytical methods and the study of natural archives including sediments, soils and minerals, his work provides insights into environmental variability, ecosystem resilience, and Earth system change.
Jack Lacey’s biography
- 2026 to present: University of Nottingham, Honorary Assistant Professor
- 2022 to present: BGS Senior Isotope Geoscientist
- 2017 to 2022: BGS Isotope Geoscientist
- 2016 to 2017: BGS Stable Isotope Research Assistant
- 2012 to 2016: University of Nottingham, PhD
- 2008 to 2012: University of Leicester, MGeol Geology
ORCID
Research interests
- Stable isotope geochemistry
- Isotope ratio mass spectrometry
- Climate & environmental change
- Human impact on the environment
- Palaeolimnology & limnogeology
Innovation in isotope analytical techniques
- Microfluorination for oxygen isotopes in silicates, biogenic silica & heavy metal oxides: a novel method has been developed for the analysis of oxygen isotopes in silicates, biogenic silica, and heavy metal oxides using instrumentation funded through a NERC Strategic Capital award. The microfluorination technique reduces the amount of sample material required by more than 30-fold compared with conventional fluorination methods, representing a significant advance in analytical capability at BGS. Method development was supported by a collaborative PhD between BGS, the University of Nottingham, and AWE Nuclear Security Technologies, which investigated the application of oxygen isotopes as a nuclear forensic tracer (student: Paulina Baranowska). The innovation and potential impact of the technique have already been recognised through its inclusion in a recent NERC Pushing the Frontiers grant, where it was highlighted as an enabling technology for addressing key environmental change research challenges
Past and current PhD students
- 2026 to 2030: Sophie Jackson, Swansea University, NERC CROCUS DLA, ʦNew insights into the timing and scale of past Mediterranean volcanism and climate change from Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania)ʦ
- 2023 to 2026: Paulina Baranowska, University of Nottingham, Industry-funded (AWE), ʦExploring the role of the stable oxygen isotopic signature in nuclear forensicsʦ
- 2022 to 2026: Hamish Duncalf-Youngson, University of Nottingham, NERC Envision DTP, ʦAssessing human impacts in a protected tropical wetland (Loktak Lake, India)ʦ
Published outputs
Skills
- Carbon & nitrogen isotopes in organic materials
- Oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica, silicates, and heavy metal oxides
- Carbon & oxygen isotopes in carbonates
- Application of stable isotope geochemistry to human impact, environmental change, and biogeochemical cycling research
- High precision analysis of light stable isotopes (HCNOS) by isotope ratio mass spectrometry
Professional associations
- Honorary Assistant Professor,
- Board Member & Secretary of the
- Convener of the
- Fellow of the
- Member of the