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Professor Robert Spicer

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Profile summary

  • Visiting Informal Academic
  • Emeritus Professor
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • School of Environment, Earth & Ecosystem Sciences
  • robert.spicer

Professional biography

I am an Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences in the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, a Visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan, China (http://english.xtbg.cas.cn/) and an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing, China. Trained initially as a botanist at Imperial College London I subsequently obtained a PhD in Geology, also at Imperial College. That was followed by a three year period working with the United States Geological Survey at Menlo Park California first as a Lindemann Fellow and then as a Research Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. On my return to the UK my first lecturing position was in the Life Sciences department of Goldsmiths College, London, followed by a move to Oxford University where I was a lecturer in Earth Sciences and a Fellow of St Hugh's College. I joined the Open University as Professor and Head of Earth Sciences in 1994 and subsequently became the founding director of CEPSAR (Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research), before university-wide restructuring led to the creation of the school structure including my current unit, the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences.

in 2018 I was awarded the T.M. Harris medal for my 'lifetime achievement' in palaeobotany.

 

Research interests

 

Palaeobotany and Palaeoclimatology

I have ongoing interests in using plant fossils as indicators of past climates with particular emphasis on polar environments at times of global warmth (http://arcticfossils.nsii.org.cn), the uplift of the Himalaya, the formation of the Tibetan Plateau and the development of the Asian monsoon systems. I have an active research program in collaboration with staff at the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, for the development of the quantitative plant-based palaeoclimate proxy known as CLAMP (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program) http://clamp.ibcas.ac.cn, and for understanding the development of Asian palaeotopography, climate and biodiversity with colleagues at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

I use plant fossil proxy climate data in relation to numerical global climate modelling for past and present climates including the essessment of uncertainties in both modelling and proxies. 

Fundamental to understanding uncertainty in the proxies is determining the processes by which the plant fossil accumulations form (plant taphonomy) and how the these processes may affect the climate signal.

Plants are excellent climate indicators as we can readily see from the world around us. Plants in deserts have few, if any, leaves and those that they do have tend to be small. Rainforest trees and plants on the other hand can have very large leaves and often large numbers of them. These architectural features of plants are similar in similar climates so that rainforests, for example, in Africa, South East Asia and South America look alike even though they contain quite different species. This convergence of form is expressed in the architecture of the whole plant, but also strongly in the form of the leaves.

Leaves are readily fossilised so the geological record contains a vast amount of information about past climates. Qualitative surveys of rocks and fossils show that the average temperature of the Earth has fluctuated through time, but that for about 80% of the time that animals and plants have lived on land the world has been warmer than it is now. Using plant fossils we can quantify a range of parameters such as temperature and rainfall for those past climates. Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program - CLAMP - is a powerful tool for decoding the signal of ancient climate encoded in leaf form. To learn more about CLAMP follow the this link http://clamp.ibcas.ac.cn.

The development of CLAMP is the focus of one of my current research projects being carried out at the Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, P.R. China and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India. Another project uses CLAMP to track the uplift of the Himalaya and Tibet, as well as climate changes and biodiversity development associated with the evolution of the Asian monsoon systems.

Recent Research Outputs:

Wambulwa, M.C., Milne, R., Wu, Z.-Y., Spicer, R.A., Provan, J., Luo, Y.-H., Zhu, G.-F., Wang, W.-T., Wang, H., Gao, L.-M., Li, D.-Z., Liu, J. 2021. Spatio-temporal maintenance of flora in the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot: current knowledge and future perspectives. Ecology and Evolution https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.7906

Huang, Y.-J., Zhu, H., Su, T., Spicer, R.A., Hu, J.J., Jia, L.-B., Zhou, Z.-K. 2021. The rise of herbaceous diversity at southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau: first insight from fossils. Journal of Systematics and Evolution. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jse.12755

Shi, C., Cai, H.-H., Jiang, R.-X., Wang, S., Engel, M.S., Yuan, J., Bai, M., Yang, D., Long, C.L., Zhao, Z.-T., Zhang, D.X., Zhang, X.-C., Peng, H., Wang, Y.D., Spicer, R.A. 2021. Balance scientific and ethical concerns to achieve a nuanced perspective on ‘Blood Amber’. Nature Ecology and Evolution 5: 705-706. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01479-z

Hazra, T., Hazra, M., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Mahato, S., Bera, S., Kumar, S., Khan, M.A. 2021. Albizia Durazz.(Fabaceae) from the latest Neogene sediments of Jharkhand, eastern India: reappraisal of its biogeography during the Cenozoic of Southeast Asia. Palaeoworld. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2021.03.004.

Wang, B., Shi, G., Xu, C., Spicer, R.A., Perrichot, V., Schmidt, A.R., Feldberg, K., Heinrichs, J., Chény, C., Pang, H., Liu, X., gao, T., Wang, Z., Ślipiński, A., Solórzano-Kraemer, M.M., Heads, S.W., Thomas, M.J., Sadowski, E-M., Szwedo, J., Azar, D., Nel, A., Liu, Y., Chen, J., Zhang, Q., Luo, C., Yu, T., Zheng, D., Zhang, H., Engel, M.S. 2021. The mid-Miocene Zhangpu biota reveals an outstandingly rich rainforest biome in East Asia. Science Advances 7: eabg0625. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/18/eabg0625.full

Tian, Y. Spicer, R.A., Huang, J., Zhou, Z., Su, T., Widdowson, M., Jia, L., Li, S., Wu, W., Li Xue, L., Luo, P., Zhang, S., 2021. Late Paleocene Tectonic deformation and Biodiversity in Yunnan, SW China: new constrains from zircon U-Pb geochronology. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 565 116929 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116929

Maslova, P., Karasev, E.Y., Xu, S.-L., Spicer, R.A., Liu, X.-Y., Kodrul, T.M., Spicer, T.E.V., Jin, J.-H. 20 21. Variations in morphological and epidermal features of shade and sun leaves of two species: Quercus bambusaefolia and Quercus myrsinifolia (Section Cyclobalanopsis). American Journal of Botany. Accepted

Farnsworth, A., Valdes, P.J., Spicer, R.A., Lin, D., Witkowski, C., Lauretano, V., Li, S.-F., Li, S.-H., Zhou, Z.-K., 2021. Palaeoclimate model-derived thermal lapse rates: towards increasing precision in palaeoaltimetry studies. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 564, 116903 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116903

Bhatia, H., Khan, M.A., Srivastava, G., Hazra, T., Spicer, R.A., Mehrotra, R.C., Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S., Roy, K., 2021. Late Cretaceous–Paleogene Indian monsoon climate vis-à-vis movement of the Indian plate and the birth of the South Asia Monsoon. Gondwana Research, 93, 89–100. https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S1342-937X(21)00028-9

Li, S., Valdes, P. J., Farnsworth, A., Barnard, T.D., Su, T., Liu, J., Lunt, D.J., Spicer, R.A., Liu, J., Deng, W., Huang, J., Tang, H., Ridgwell, A., Chen, L., Zhou, Z. 2021. Orographic evolution of northern Tibet shaped vegetation and plant diversity in eastern Asia. Science Advances, 7, eabc7741. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc7741

Su, T., Spicer, R.A., Wu, F.-X., Farnsworth, A., Huang, J., Deng, T., Ding., L., Deng, W.-Y.-D., Huang, Y.-J., Hughes, A., Jia, L.-B., Jin, J.-H., Li, S.-f., Liang, S.-Q., Liu, J., Liu, X.-Y., Sherlock, S., Spicer, T., Srivastava, G., Tang, H., Valdes, P.J., Wang, T.-X., Widdowson, M., Wu, M.-X., Xing, Y.-W., Xu, C.-L., Yang, J., Zhang, S.-T., Zhang, X.-W., Zhao, F., Zhou, Z.-K. 2020. A middle Eocene lowland humid subtropical ‘Shangri-La’ ecosystem in central Tibet. PNAS 117: 32989–32995.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012647117

Spicer, R.A., Yang, J., Spicer, T.E.V., Farnsworth, A. Woody dicot leaf traits as a palaeoclimate proxy: 100 years of development and application. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.110138

Bhatia, H., Srivastava, G., Spicer, R.A., Farnsworth, A., Spicer, T.E.V., Mehrotra, R.C., Paudayal, K., Valdes. P.J., 2021. Leaf physiognomy records the Miocene intensification of the South Asia Monsoon. Global and Planetary Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2020.103365

Khan, M.A., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Roy, K., Bera, M., Hazra, T., Mahato S., Bera, S., 2020. Dipterocarpus Gaertn. (Dipterocarpaceae) leaves from the K-Pg of India: A Cretaceous Gondwana origin of the Dipterocarpaceae. Plant Systematics and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-020-01718-z

Khan, M.A., Hazra, M., Mahato, S., Spicer, R.A., Roy, K., Hazra, T., Bandopadhaya, M.,  Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S.. 2020. A Cretaceous Gondwana origin of the wax palm subfamily (Ceroxyloideae: Arecaceae) and its palaeobiogeographic context. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 283, 104318. DOI: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2020.104318.

Zolina, A.A., Golovneva, L.B., Spicer, R.A., 2020. Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) climate of the Koryak Upland of North- East Russia based on a quantitative analysis of a palaeo-polar flora. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 560, 109997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109997

Tang, H., Li, S.-F., Su, T., Spicer, R.A., Zhang, S.-T., Li, S.-H., Liu, J., Lauretanao, V., Witkowski, C., Spicer, T.E.V., Deng, W.-Y.-D., Wu, Meng-X., Ding, W.N., Zhou, Z.-K., 2020. Early Oligocene vegetation and climate of southwestern China inferred from palynology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 560, 109988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109988

Biswas, A., Bera, M., Khan, M.A., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Acharya, K., Bera, S. 2020. Evidence of fungal decay in petrified legume wood from the Neogene of Bengal Basin, India. Fungal Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2020.08.003

Hazra, M., Hazra, T., Spicer, R.A., Sarkar, S., Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S., 2020. In situ occurrence of a gall midge (Insecta, Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) on fossilized angiosperm leaf cuticle fragments from the Pliocene sediments of eastern India. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 23, 762–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2020.06.004

Spicer, R.A., Farnsworth, A., Su, T. 2020. Cenozoic topography, monsoons and biodiversity conservation within the Tibetan Region: An evolving story. Plant Diversity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2020.06.011

Ding, W.-N., Ree, R.H, Spicer, R.A., Xing, W.-W., 2020. Ancient orogenic and monsoon-driven assembly of the world's richest temperate alpine flora. Science 369, 578–581. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4484

Li, S.H., Su, T., Spicer, R.A., Xu, C., Sherlock, S., Halton, A., Hoke, G. Tian, Y., Zhou, Z-K. Deng, C.-L., Zhu, R.-X., 2020Oligocene deformation of the Chuandian terrane in the SE margin of the Tibetan Plateau related to the extrusion of Indochina. Tectonics 39, e2019TC005974. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019TC005974.

Spicer, R.A., Su, T., Valdes, P.J., Farnsworth, A., Wu, F.-X., Shi, G., Spicer, T.E.V., Zhou, Z.-K., 2020. Why the 'uplift of the Tibetan Plateau' is a myth. National Science Review nwaa091, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa091.

Hasra, T.,Spicer, R.A., Hasra, M., Mahato, S., Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S., Valdes, P.J., Farnsworth, A., Hughes, A.C., Yang, J., Khan, M.A., 2020. Latest Neogene monsoon of the Chotanagpur Plateau, eastern India, as revealed by fossil leaf architectural signatures. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 545 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109641

Song, B., Spicer, R.A., Zhang,K., Ji, J., Farnsworth, A., Hughes, A.C., Yang, Y., Han, F., Xu, Y., Spicer, T.E.V., Shen, T., Lunt,D.J., Shi,G., 2020. Qaidam Basin leaf fossils show northeastern Tibet was high, wet and cool in the early Oligocene. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 537: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116175

Xiong, Z., Ding, L., Spicer, R.A., Farnsworth, A., Wang, X., Valdes, P.J., Su, T., Zhang, Q., Zhang, L., Cai, F., Wang, H., Li, Z., Song, P., XGuo, X., Yue Y. (2020). The early Eocene rise of the Gonjo Basin, SE Tibet: from Low Desert to High Forest. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 543, 116312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116312

Murray, M., Soh, W.K., Yiotis, C., Spicer, R.A., Lawson, T. McElwain, J.C. 2020. Consistent Relationship between Field-measured Stomatal Conductance and Theoretical Maximum Stomatal Conductance in C3 Woody Angiosperms in Four Major Biomes. International Journal of Plant Sciences.181 (1). Doi:10.1086/706260

Cédric Del Rio, Teng-Xiang Wang, Jia Liu, Shui-Qing Liang, Robert A. Spicer, Fei-Xiang Wu, Zhe-Kun Zhou, Tao Su. Asclepiadospermum gen. nov., the earliest fossil record of Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae) from the early Eocene of central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its biogeographic implications. American Journal of Botany 107 (1): 1–13. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1418

Guo, S.-X., Spicer, R.A., Widdowson, M., Herman, A.B., Domogatskaya, K.V. 2019. The Composition of the Middle Miocene (15 Ma) Namling Palaeoflora, South Central Tibet, in the Context of other Tibetan and Himalayan Floras. Review of Palaeobotany and palynology, 271 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2019.06.011

Wuu Kuang Soh, Charilaos Yiotis, Michelle Murray, Andrew Parnell, Ian J. Wright, Robert A. Spicer, Tracy Lawson, Rodrigo Caballero, Jennifer C. McElwain. 2019. Rising CO2 rise drives divergence in water-use efficiency of evergreen and deciduous plants. Science Advances 5: eaax7906.

Paul J Valdes, Ding Lin, Alex Farnsworth, Robert A. Spicer, Shi-Hu Li, Su Tao. 2019. Comment on “Revised paleoaltimetry data show low Tibetan Plateau elevation during the Eocene” Technical Comment: 10.1126/science.aax8474. Science.

Zhou, Z.-K., Su, T. Spicer, R.A., 2019 Understanding the Evolution of Biodiversity in Asia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology (Editorial).

Spicer, R.A., Valdes, P.J., Hughes, A.C., Yang, J., Spicer, T.E.V., Herman, A.B., Farnsworth, A. 2019. New insights into the thermal regime and hydrodynamics of the early Late Cretaceous Arctic. Geological magazine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756819000463

 Murray, M., Soh, W.K., Yiotis, C. Batke, S., Parnell, A., Spicer, R., Lawson, T., Caballero, R., Wright, I., Purcell, C. McElwain, J. 2019. Convergence in Maximum Stomatal Conductance of C3 Woody Angiosperms in Natural Ecosystems Across Bioclimatic Zones. Frontiers in Plant Science. 10: Article 558. May 7 2019. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00558

Tang, He; Liu, Jia; Wu, Feixiang; Magner, T.E.V.; Spicer, R.A.; Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong; Xu, Congli; Zhao, Fan; Huang, Jian; Li, Shu-Feng; Su, Tao; Zhou, Zhekun 2019. An extinct genus Lagokarpos reveals a biogeographic connection of the Tibet with other regions in the Northern Hemisphere during the Paleogene. Journal of Systematics and Evolution. https://doi-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1111/jse.12505

Jia Liu, Tao Su, Robert A. Spicer, He Tang, Wei-Yu-Dong Deng, Fei-Xiang Wu, Gaurav Srivastava, Teresa Spicer, Truong Van Do, Tao Deng, Zhe-Kun Zhou, 2019. Biotic Interchange through lowlands of Tibetan Plateau suture zones during Paleogene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 524:33-40.

Su, T., Farnsworth, A., Spicer, R.A., Huang, J., Wu, F.-X. Liu, J.  Li, S.-F., Xing, Y.-W. Huang, Y.-J. Deng, W.-Y.-D. Tang, H. Xu, C.-L. Zhao, F. Srivastava, G., Valdes, P. J., Deng, T. Zhou, Z.-K., 2019. No high Tibetan Plateau until the Neogene. Science Advances. 5:eaav2189.

Maslova, N.P., Karasev, E.V., Kodrul, T.M., Spicer, R.A.,Volkova, L.D., Spicer, T.E.V., Jin, J.-H., Liu, X.-Y. Sun and shade leaf variability in Liquidambar chinensisChampion and Liquidambar formosanaHanse (Altingiaceae): implications for paleobotany. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.188:296–315. https://doi-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1093/botlinnean/boy047

Khan, M.A. Bera, M., Spicer, R.A.,Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S., 2019. Palaeoclimatic estimates for the late Cenozoic (Mio-Pliocene) Siwalik Flora of Bhutan: Evidence for the development of the South Asian Monsoon in the eastern Himalaya. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 514: 326–335.

Khan, M.A. Bera, M., Spicer, R.A.,Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S, 2018.Floral diversity and environment during the middle Siwalik sedimentation (Pliocene) in the Arunachal sub-Himalaya. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-018-0351-2

Khan, M.A. Bera, M., Spicer, R.A.,Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S. 2018. Evidence of simultaneous occurrence of tylosis formation and fungal interaction in a late Cenozoic angiosperm from the eastern Himalaya. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 259, 171-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2018.10.004

Su, T., Spicer, R.A., Li, S-H., Xu, H., Huang, J., Sherlock, S., Huang, Y-J., Li, S-F., Wang, L., Jia, L-B., Deng, W-Y-D., Deng, C-L. Zhang, S-T, Valdes, P.J., Zhou, Z-K., 2018.  Uplift, Climate and Biotic Changes at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition in Southeast Tibet, National Science Review. https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwy062/5036537

Spicer, R.A. Phytopalaeoaltimetry: using plant fossils to measure past land surface elevation. In: Mountains Climate and Biodiversity, Editors Hoorn, C., Perrigo, A.L. and Antonelli, A.. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN: 978-1-119-15987-2.

Spicer, R.A., 2017. Tibet, the Himalaya, Asian Monsoons and Biodiversity - In what ways are they related? Plant Diversity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2017.09.001

165. Kahn, M.A., Bera, M., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S., 2017. First occurrence of mastixioid (Cornaceae) fossil in India and its biogeographic implications. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. Available Online https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2017.08.006

Spicer, R.A., Yang, J., Herman, A., Kodrul, T., Aleksandrova, G., Maslova, N., Spicer, T. E. V., Ding. L., Xu, Q., Shukla, A., Srivastava, G., Mehrotra, R.C., Jin, J.-H., 2017. Paleogene Monsoons across India and South China: Drivers of Biotic Change. Gondwana Research 49: 350–363.

Herman, A., Spicer, R.A., Aleksandrova, G.N., Yang, J., Kodrul, T., Maslova, N.P., Spicer, T.E.V., Chen, G., Jin J.-H., 2017. Eocene – Early Oligocene climate and vegetation change in southern China: evidence from the Maoming Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 479: 126–137.

Khan, M.A., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S., 2017. Evidence for diversification of Calophyllum L. (Calophyllaceae) in the Neogene Siwalik forests of eastern Himalaya. Plant Systematics and Evolution https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-016-1376-5.

Ding, L., Spicer, R.A., Yang, J., Xu, Q., Cai, F., Li, S., Lai, Q., Wang, H., Spicer, T.E.V., Yue, Y., Shukla, A., Srivastava, G., Khan, M.A., Bera, S., Mehrotra, R.C., 2017. Quantifying the rise of the Himalaya orogen and implications for the South Asian monsoon. Geology 45: 215–218.

Spicer, R.A., Yang, J., Herman, A.B., Kodrul, T., Maslova, N., Spicer, T.E.V., Aleksandrova, Jin, J., 2016. Asian Eocene Monsoons as revealed by leaf architectural signatures. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 449: 61-68.

Li, S.–F., Jacques, F.M.B., Spicer, R.A., Su, T., Spicer, T.E.V., Yang, J., Zhou, Z. 2016. Artificial neural networks reveal a high-resolution climatic signal in leaf physiognomy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 442: 1-11.

Herman, A.B., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., 2016. Environmental constraints on terrestrial vertebrate behaviour and reproduction in the high Arctic of the Late Cretaceous.  Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 441:317–338.

Sun, B., Wang, Y.-F.,Li, C.S., Yang, J.,Li, J-F., Li, Y.-L., Deng, T., Wang, S.-Q., Zhao, M., Spicer, R.A., Ferguson, D.K., Mehrotra, R.C. 2015. Early Miocene elevation in northern Tibet estimated by palaeobotanical evidence. Nature Scientific Reports 5:10379 DOI: 10. 1038/srep10379.

Li, S.–Y., Mao, L.–M., Spicer, R.A., Lebreton-Anberré, J., Su, T., Sun, M., Zhou, Z.–K. 2015. Late Miocene vegetation dynamics under monsoonal climate in southwestern China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 425:14-40.

Yang J., Spicer R.A., Spicer T.E.V., Arens N.C., Jacques F.M.B., Su T., Kennedy E.M., Herman A.B., Steart D.C., Srivastava G., Mehrotra R.C., Valdes P.J., Mehrotra N.C., Zhou Z.K., Lai J.S., 2015. Leaf Form-Climate Relationships on the Global Stage: An Ensemble of Characters. Global Ecology and Biogeography 10:1113- 1125.

Spicer, R.A., Herman, A.b., Liao, W., Spicer, T.E.V., Kodrul, T.M., Yang, J., Jin, J. 2014. Cool tropics in the Middle Eocene: Evidence from the Changchang Flora, Hainan Island, China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 412 (2014) 1–16

Shukla, A., Mehrotra, R.C., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Kumar, M. 2014. Cool equatorial terrestrial temperatures and the South Asian monsoon in the Early Eocene: Evidence from the Gurha Mine, Rajasthan, India. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 412:187–198.

Utescher, T., Bruch, A.A., Erdei, B., François, L., Ivanov, D., Jacques, F.M.B., Kern, A.K., Liu, Y.-S.(C.), Mosbrugger, V., Spicer, R.A. 2014. The Coexistence Approach—Theoretical background and practical considerations of using plant fossils for climate quantification.  Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 410:58–73

Spicer, R.A., Herman, A.B., Yang, J., Spicer, T.E.V. 2014. Why future climate change is likely to be underestimated: evidence from palaeobotany. J. Bot. Soc. Bengal 67:75–88.

Khan, M., Spicer, R.A., Bera, S., Ghosh, R., Yang, J., Spicer, T.E.V., Guo, S., Su, T., Jacques, F., Grote, P.J., 2014. Miocene to Pleistocene floras and climate of the Eastern Himalayan Siwaliks, and New Palaeoelevation estimates for the Namling-Oiyug Basin, Tibet. Global and Planetary Change 113:1–10.

Khan, M.A., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Bera, S. 2014. Fossil evidence of insect folivory in the eastern Himalayan Neogene Siwalik forests. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 410:264–277.

Spicer, R.A., Collinson, M.E., 2014. Plants and floral change at the K–Pg boundary: three decades on. Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 505:117–132.

Jacques, F.M.B., Su, T., Spicer, R.A., Xing, Y.-W., Huang, Y.-J., Zhou, Z. 2014. Late Miocene southwestern Chinese floristic diversity shaped by the southeastern uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 411:208–215.

Kennedy, E.M., Arens, N.C., Reichgelt, T., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Stranks, L., Yang, J. 2014. Deriving temperature estimates from Southern Hemisphere leaves. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 412:80–90.

Khan, M.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Spicer, R.A., Bera, S. 2014. Occurrence of Gynocardia odorata Robert Brown (Achariaceae, formerly Flacourtiaceae) from the Plio-Pleistocene sediments of Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India and its palaeoclimatic and phytogeographic significance. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 211:1-9.

Srivastava, G., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Yang, J., Kumar, M., Mehrotra, R., Mehrotra, N. 2012. Megaflora and palaeoclimate of a Late Oligocene tropical delta, Makum Coalfield, Assam: Evidence for the early development of the South Asian Monsoon. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 342-343, 130-142. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.05.002

Kumar, M., Srivastava, G., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Mehrotra R.C., Mehrotra N.C. 2012. Sedimentology, palynostratigraphy, and palynofacies of the Late Oligocene Makum Coalfield, Assam, India: a window on lowland tropical vegetation during the most recent episode of significant global warmth. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 342- 343, 143-162. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.05.001

Hofmann, C-C., Spicer, R.A., Ahlberg, A., Herman, A.B. 2011. Scanning electron microscopy investigation of monads and tetrads of basal core eudicots from the Upper Cretaceous Vilui Basin, Siberia: Evidence for reticulate evolution. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 167, 196-211. DOI 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.08.007

Yang, J., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., Li, C-S., 2011. ‘CLAMP Online’: a new web-based palaeoclimate tool and its application to the terrestrial Paleogene and Neogene of North America. Palaeobiodiversity and palaeoenvironments 91, 163-183. DOI 10.1007/s12549-011-0056-2

Daly, R.J., Jolley, D.W., Spicer, R.A., and Ahlberg, A., 2011, A palynological study of an extinct Arctic ecosystem from thePaleocene of northern Alaska. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, v. 166, p. 107-116. 

Daly, R.J., Jolley, D.W., Spicer, R.A., 2011. The role of angiosperms in Palaeocene arctic ecosystems: A palynological study from the Alaskan North Slope. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 309, 374-382. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.07.007

Jacques, F.M.B., Tao, S., Spicer, R.A., Xing, Y., Huang, Y., Wang, W., Zhou, Z., 2011. Leaf physiognomy and climate: are monsoon systems different? Global and Planetary Change 76 (1-2), 56–62. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.11.009

Spicer, R.A., Bera, S., De Bera, S., Spicer, T.E.V., Srivastava, S., Mehrotra, R., Mehrotra, N., Yang, J., 2011. Why do foliar physiognomic climate estimates sometimes differ from those observed? Insights from taphonomic information loss and a CLAMP case study from the Ganges Delta. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 302, 381-395. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.01.024

Teodorides, V., Mazouch, P., Spicer, R.A., Uhl, D., 2011. Refining CLAMP — Investigations towards improving the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 299, 39-48. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.10.031.

Spicer R.A. and Yang, J., 2010. Quantification of Uncertainties in Fossil Leaf Paleoaltimetry - Does Leaf Size Matter? Tectonics, 29, TC6001, doi:10.1029/2010TC002741.

Steart, D.C., Spicer, R.A., Bamford, M.K., 2010. Is southern Africa different? An investigation of the relationship between leaf physiognomy and climate in southern African mesic vegetation. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 162, 607–620. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2010.08.002.

Song, X-Y., Spicer R.A., Yang, J., Yao, Y-F and Li, C.S., 2010. Pollen evidence for an Eocene to Miocene elevation of centralsouthern Tibet predating the rise of the High Himalaya. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatolgy, Palaeoecology. 297: 159-168.

Spicer, R.A. and Herman, A.B. 2010. The Late Cretaceous Environment of the Arctic: A quantitative reassessment using plant fossils. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatolgy, Palaeoecology. 295: 423-442.

Velasco -de Leon, M.P., Spicer, R.A., and Steart, D.C., 2010. Climatic reconstruction of two Pliocene floras from Mexico. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvionments. 90: 99-110.

Herman, A.B., and Spicer, R.A., 2010. Mid-Cretaceous floras and climate of the Russian high Arctic (Novosibirsk Islands, Northern Yakutia). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatolgy, Palaeoecology, 295: 409-422.

Moiseeva, M.G., Herman, A.B., and Spicer, R.A., 2009. Late Paleocene Flora of the Northern Alaska peninsula: The Role of Transberingian Plant Migrations and Climate Change. Palaeontological Journal, 43: 1298-1308.

Spicer, R.A., Valdes, P.J., Spicer, T.E.V., Craggs, H.J., Srivastava, G., Mehrotra, R.C., Yang, J., 2009. New developments in CLAMP: calibration using global gridded meteorological data. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatolgy, Palaeoecology, 283: 91- 98.

Spicer, R.A., Daly, R.J., Jolley, D.W., Herman, A,.B., Ahlberg, A., Moiseeva, N., 2009 Climate and Vegetation of the Selandian-Thanetian Paleocene Sagwon Section, Northern Alaska (Palaeolatitude 85°N).In Crouch, E.M., Strong, C.P., Hollis, C.J., (editors) 2009. Climatic and Biotic Events of the Paleogene (CBEP 2009), extended abstracts from an international conference in Wellington, New Zealand, 12-15 January 2009. GNS Science Miscellaneous Series 18, 131- 134.

 

Teaching interests

 

Past Contributions to OU Teaching

Course team member S279.

Course team member SXR260.

Tutor SXR 208 Astronomy (Observing the Universe).

Senior Tutor SXR369 Weeks for students with additional requirements.

Author of S199 (Weather and Climate Modelling).

Course Team Chair Course Team Member and author S369 (The Geological Record of Environmental Change).

Course Team, Tutor and Exam Board Member SXR 369 (The Geological Record of Environmental Change Residential School).

Chair of S269 (Earth and Life) Course Team and Exam Board.

More recently I have been contributing to Masters and PhD programmes at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Impact and engagement

I have been an academic consultant for numerous television programmes and made several TV and radio appearances. An example is NOVA's 'Arctic Dinosaurs'. 

External collaborations

I am collaborating with Bristol University, UK, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan, China and The Institute of Tibetan Plateau research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, all being funded as part of the NERC/NSFC Biosphere Evolution, Transitions & Resilience (BETR) Research Programme. Our project is called 'The evolution of vegetation and biodiversity change during the Palaeogene and early Neogene', but is better known under the acronym "UMBRELLA" (Understanding Monsoons and Biodiversity Relevant to Landscapes and Livelihoods in Asia). https://www.umbrella.bridge.bristol.ac.uk

I have numerous international collaborations involving colleagues in Russia, China, New Zealand, and India.

Research groups

NameTypeParent Unit
Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research (CEPSAR)CentreFaculty of Science

Publications

The Progressive Co-evolutionary Development of the Pan-Tibetan Highlands, the Asian Monsoon system and Asian Biodiversity (2025-06)
Spicer, Robert A.; Farnsworth, Alex; Su, Tao; Ding, Lin; Witkowski, Caitlyn R.; Li, Shu-Feng; Xiong, Zhongyu; Zhou, Zhekun; Li, Shihu; Hughes, Alice C.; Valdes, Paul J.; Widdowson, Mike; Zhang, Xinwen; He, Songlin; Liu, Jia; Huang, Jian; Herman, Alexei B.; Xu, Qiang; Liu, Xiaoyan; Jin, Jianhua; Pancost, Richard D.; Lunt, Daniel J. and Zhang, Shitao
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 549(1) ((Early access))

An updated chronostratigraphic framework for the Cenozoic sediments of southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau: Implications for regional tectonics (2024-05)
Li, Shihu; Spicer, Robert A.; Su, Tao; Zhou, Zhekun and Deng, Chenglong
Global and Planetary Change, 236, Article 104436

Earliest megafossils of scandent calamoid palms from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds of Central India and their paleobiogeographic implications (2024-05)
Kumar, Sanchita; Roy, Kaustav; Spicer, Robert A. and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Journal of Palaeogeography ((Early access))

Orbital-paced silicate weathering intensity and climate evolution across the Eocene-Oligocene transition in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (2024-03)
Tang, He; Cui, Hao; Li, Shu-Feng; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shi-Hu; Su, Tao; Zhou, Zhe-Kun; Witkowski, Caitlyn R.; Lauretano, Vittoria and Wei, Gang-Jian
Global and Planetary Change, 234, Article 104388

The earliest fossil evidence of spiny feather (pinnate-leaved) palms from the K-Pg of Gondwana (2024-02)
Kumar, Sanchita; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A. and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Palaeontologia Electronica, 27, Article a12(1)

Monsoon influence on plant diversity in northern Indochina: Evidence from the late Miocene Yen Bai flora, northern Vietnam (2024)
Nguyen, Hung Ba; Huang, Jian; Do, Truong Van; Nguyen, Hoa Mai Thi; Li, Shu-Feng; Nguyen, Minh Trung; Doan, Hung Dinh; Zhou, Zhe-Kun; Spicer, Robert A. and Su, Tao
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 634, Article 111925

The early Paleocene (Danian) climate of Svalbard based on palaeobotanical data (2023-11)
Golovneva, Lina B.; Zolina, Аnastasia А. and Spicer, Robert A.
Papers in Palaeontology, 9, Article e1533(6)

The oldest fossil record of Bauhinia s.s. (Fabaceae) from the Tibetan Plateau sheds light on its evolutionary and biogeographic implications (2023-10-17)
Gao, Yi; Song, Ai; Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong; Chen, Lin-Lin; Liu, Jia; Li, Wei-Cheng; Srivastava, Gaurav; Spicer, Robert A.; Zhou, Zhe-Kun and Su, Tao
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 21, Article 2244495(1)

Siwalik plant megafossil diversity in the Eastern Himalayas: A review (2023-05)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Mahato, Sumana; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Ali, Ashif; Hazra, Taposhi and Bera, Subir
Plant Diversity, 45(3) (pp. 243-264)

Paleogene Ficus leaves from India and their implications for fig evolution and diversification (2023-03-28)
Chandra, Kajal; Spicer, R. A.; Shukla, Anumeha; Spicer, Teresa; Mehrotra, R.C. and Singh, Amit Kumar
American Journal of Botany, 110, Article e16145(3)

Limits of oxygen isotope palaeoaltimetry in Tibet (2023-03-15)
Farnsworth, Alex; Valdes, Paul J.; Ding, Lin; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shi-Hu; Su, Tao; Li, Shufeng; Witkowski, Caitlyn R. and Xiong, Zhongyu
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 606, Article 118040

Coryphoid palms from the K-Pg boundary of central India and their biogeographical implications: Evidence from megafossil remains (2023-02-15)
Kumar, Sanchita; Hazra, Taposhi; Spicer, Robert A.; Hazra, Manoshi; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Bera, Subir and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Plant Diversity, 45(1) (pp. 80-97)

Cenozoic plants from Tibet: An extraordinary decade of discovery, understanding and implications (2023-02)
Zhou, Zhekun; Liu, Jia; Chen, Linlin; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shufeng; Huang, Jian; Zhang, Shitao; Huang, Yongjiang; Jia, Linbo; Hu, Jinjin and Su, Tao
Science China Earth Sciences, 66(2) (pp. 205-226)

The first megafossil of Cibotium within its modern distribution (2023-01)
Hu, Jia-Rong; Zhang, Hao; Huang, Lu-Liang; Wu, Xin-Kai; Spicer, Robert A.; Quan, Cheng and Jin, Jian-Hua
Journal of Palaeogeography, 12(1) (pp. 96-106)

High-Latitude Dinosaur Nesting Strategies during the Latest Cretaceous in North-Eastern Russia (2023)
Amiot, Romain; Golovneva, Lina B.; Godefroit, Pascal; Goedert, Jean; Garcia, Géraldine; Lécuyer, Christophe; Fourel, François; Herman, Alexei B. and Spicer, Robert A.
Diversity, 15, Article 565(4)

Mercury isotopes show vascular plants had colonized land extensively by the early Silurian (2023)
Yuan, Wei; Liu, Mu; Chen, Daizhao; Xing, Yao-Wu; Spicer, Robert A.; Chen, Jitao; Them, Theodore R.; Wang, Xun; Li, Shizhen; Guo, Chuan; Zhang, Gongjing; Zhang, Liyu; Zhang, Hui and Feng, Xinbin
Science Advances, 9(17)

The late Eocene rise of SE Tibet formed an Asian ‘Mediterranean’ climate (2023)
Zhao, Chenyuan; Xiong, Zhongyu; Farnsworth, Alex; Spicer, Robert A.; He, Songlin; Wang, Chao; Zeng, Deng; Cai, Fulong; Wang, Houqi; Tian, Xiaolong; Valdes, Paul J.; Lamu, Ciren; Xie, Jing; Yue, Yahui and Ding, Lin
Global and Planetary Change, 231, Article 104313

Fruits of Firmiana and Craigia (Malvaceae) from the Eocene of the Central Tibetan Plateau with emphasis on biogeographic history (2022-11-11)
Del Rio, Cédric; Wang, Teng‐Xiang; Li, Shu‐Feng; Jia, Lin‐Bo; Chen, Pei‐Rong; Spicer, Robert A.; Wu, Fei‐Xiang; Zhou, Zhe‐Kun and Su, Tao
Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 60(6) (pp. 1440-1452)

Podocarpium (Fabaceae) from the late Eocene of central Tibetan Plateau and its biogeographic implication (2022-10)
Li, Wei-Cheng; Huang, Jian; Chen, Lin-Lin; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shu-Feng; Liu, Jia; Gao, Yi; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Farnsworth, Alex; Valdes, Paul J.; Zhou, Zhe-Kun and Su, Tao
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 305, Article 104745

Galling: the prevalent form of insect folivory in the latest neogene monsoon-influenced tropical forests of the chotanagpur plateau, eastern india (2022-09)
Hazra, Manoshi; Hazra, Taposhi; Spicer, Robert A.; Kumar Sarkar, Subhankar; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Bera, Subir and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Palaeoworld, 31(3) (pp. 550-564)

Name and scale matters: Clarifying the geography of Tibetan Plateau and adjacent mountain regions (2022-07-16)
Liu, Jie; Milne, Richard I.; Zhu, Guang-Fu; Spicer, Robert A.; Wambulwa, Moses C.; Wu, Zeng-Yuan; Boufford, David E.; Luo, Ya-Huang; Provan, Jim; Yi, Ting-Shuang; Cai, Jie; Wang, Hong; Gao, Lian-Ming and Li, De-Zhu
Global and Planetary Change, 215, Article 103893

The early Oligocene establishment of modern topography and plant diversity on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (2022-07)
Wu, Mengxiao; Huang, Jian; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shufeng; Zhao, Jiagang; Deng, Weiyudong; Ding, Wenna; Tang, He; Xing, Yaowu; Tian, Yimin; Zhou, Zhekun and Su, Tao
Global and Planetary Change, 214, Article 103856

Long-term floristic and climatic stability of northern Indochina: Evidence from the Oligocene Ha Long flora, Vietnam (2022-05-01)
Huang, Jian; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shu-Feng; Liu, Jia; Do, Truong Van; Nguyen, Hung Ba; Zhou, Zhe-Kun and Su, Tao
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 593, Article 110930

Plant–insect interaction patterns in the late Neogene palaeoforest of Chotanagpur Plateau, eastern India (2022-05)
Hazra, Manoshi; Spicer, Robert A.; Hazra, Taposhi; Sarkar, Subhankar Kumar; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Bera, Subir and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 300, Article 104633

Fossil Capsular Valves of Koelreuteria (Sapindaceae) from the Eocene of Central Tibetan Plateau and Their Biogeographic Implications (2022-05)
Chen, Pei-Rong; Del Rio, Cédric; Huang, Jian; Liu, Jia; Zhao, Jia-Gang; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shu-Feng; Wang, Teng-Xiang; Zhou, Zhe-Kun and Su, Tao
International Journal of Plant Sciences, 183(4) (pp. 307-319)

Tracing the Evolution of Plant Diversity in Southwestern China (2022-05)
Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A. and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
Diversity, 14, Article 434(6)

The rise of herbaceous diversity at southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau: first insight from fossils (2022-04-29)
Huang, Yong‐Jiang; Zhu, Hai; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Hu, Jin‐Jin; Jia, Lin‐Bo and Zhou, Zhe‐Kun
Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 60(5) (pp. 1109-1123)

Plant–insect and –fungal interactions in Taxodium-like wood fossils from the Oligocene of southwestern China (2022-04-26)
Deng, Weiyudong; De Franceschi, Dario; Xu, Xiaoting; Del Rio, Cédric; Low, Shook Ling; Zhou, Zhekun; Spicer, Robert A.; Ren, Lili; Yang, Raoqiong; Tian, Yimin; Wu, Mengxiao; Yang, Jiucheng; Liang, Shuiqing; Wappler, Torsten and Su, Tao
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 302, Article 104669

New discovery of rare insect damage in the Pliocene of India reinforces the biogeographic history of Eurasian ecosystems (2022-03)
Hazra, Taposhi; Adroit, Benjamin; Hazra, Manoshi; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Bera, Subir and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 298, Article 104589

Bauhinia (Leguminosae) Fossils from the Paleogene of Southwestern China and Its Species Accumulation in Asia (2022-03)
Jia, Lin-Bo; Hu, Jin-Jin; Zhang, Shi-Tao; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Liu, Jia; Yang, Jiu-Cheng; Zou, Pu; Huang, Yong-Jiang and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
Diversity, 14, Article e173(3)

The rise and demise of the Paleogene Central Tibetan Valley (2022-02-11)
Xiong, Zhongyu; Liu, Xiaohui; Ding, Lin; Farnsworth, Alex; Spicer, Robert A; Xu, Qiang; Valdes, Paul; He, Songlin; Zeng, Deng; Wang, Chao; Li, Zhenyu; Guo, Xudong; Su, Tao; Zhao, Chenyuan; Wang, Houqi and Yue, Yahui
Science Advances, 8, Article eabj0944(6)

Pliocene Albizia (Fabaceae) from Jharkhand, eastern India: reappraisal of its biogeography during Cenozoic in Southeast Asia (2022)
Hazra, Taposhi; Hazra, Manoshi; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Mahato, Sumana; Bera, Subir; Kumar, Sanchita and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Palaeoworld, 31(1) (pp. 153-168)

First fossil evidence of Hylodesmum palaeoglutinosum from India and comments on its extinction from the subcontinent (2022)
Hazra, Taposhi; Hazra, Manoshi; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E. V.; Bera, Subir and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Botany Letters, 169(1) (pp. 140-154)

Fire-prone Rhamnaceae with South African affinities in Cretaceous Myanmar amber (2022)
Shi, Chao; Wang, Shuo; Cai, Hao-hong; Zhang, Hong-rui; Long, Xiao-xuan; Tihelka, Erik; Song, Wei-cai; Feng, Qi; Jiang, Ri-xin; Cai, Chen-yang; Lombard, Natasha; Li, Xiong; Yuan, Ji; Zhu, Jian-ping; Yang, Hui-yu; Liu, Xiao-fan; Xiang, Qiao-ping; Zhao, Zun-tian; Long, Chun-lin; Schneider, Harald; Zhang, Xian-chun; Peng, Hua; Li, De-Zhu; Fan, Yong; Engel, Michael S.; Wang, Yong-dong and Spicer, Robert A.
Nature Plants, 8 (pp. 125-135)

Rapid Eocene diversification of spiny plants in subtropical woodlands of central Tibet (2022)
Zhang, Xinwen; Gélin, Uriel; Spicer, Robert A; Wu, Feixiang; Farnsworth, Alexander; Chen, Peirong; Del Rio, Cédric; Li, Shufeng; Liu, Jia; Huang, Jian; Spicer, Teresa E V; Tomlinson, Kyle W; Valdes, Paul J; Xu, Xiaoting; Zhang, Shitao; Deng, Tao; Zhou, Zhekun and Su, Tao
Nature communications, 13, Article 3787(1)

A distinctive Eocene Asian monsoon and modern biodiversity resulted from the rise of eastern Tibet (2022)
He, Songlin; Ding, Lin; Xiong, Zhongyu; Spicer, Robert A.; Farnsworth, Alex; Valdes, Paul J.; Wang, Chao; Cai, Fulong; Wang, Houqi; Sun, Yong; Zeng, Deng; Xie, Jing; Yue, Yahui; Zhao, Chenyuan; Song, Peiping and Wu, Chen
Science Bulletin ((Early access))

First fossil evidence of leaf‐feeding caterpillars from India and their feeding strategies (2021-12)
Hazra, Taposhi; Spicer, Robert A.; Hazra, Manoshi; Sarkar, Subhankar Kumar; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Bera, Subir and Khan, Mahasin Ali
Lethaia, 54(5) (pp. 891-905)

Variations in morphological and epidermal features of shade and sun leaves of two species: Quercus bambusifolia and Q. myrsinifolia (2021-08-25)
Maslova, Natalia P.; Karasev, Eugeny V.; Xu, Sheng‐Lan; Spicer, Robert A.; Liu, Xiao‐Yan; Kodrul, Tatiana M.; Spicer, Teresa E. V. and Jin, Jian‐Hua
American Journal of Botany, 108(8) (pp. 1441-1463)

New early oligocene zircon U-Pb dates for the ‘Miocene’ Wenshan Basin, Yunnan, China: Biodiversity and paleoenvironment (2021-07-01)
Tian, Yimin; Spicer, Robert A.; Huang, Jian; Zhou, Zhekun; Su, Tao; Widdowson, Mike; Jia, Linbo; Li, Shihu; Wu, Wenjian; Xue, Li; Luo, Penghui and Zhang, Shitao
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 565, Article 116929

Paleoclimate model-derived thermal lapse rates: Towards increasing precision in paleoaltimetry studies (2021-06-15)
Farnsworth, Alex; Valdes, Paul J.; Spicer, Robert A.; Ding, Lin; Witkowski, Caitlyn; Lauretano, Vittoria; Su, Tao; Li, Shufeng; Li, Shihu and Zhou, Zhekun
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 564, Article 116903

Balance scientific and ethical concerns to achieve a nuanced perspective on ‘blood amber’ (2021-06-04)
Shi, Chao; Cai, Hao-hong; Jiang, Ri-xin; Wang, Shuo; Engel, Michael S.; Yuan, Ji; Bai, Ming; Yang, Ding; Long, Chun-lin; Zhao, Zun-tian; Zhang, Dian-xiang; Zhang, Xian-chun; Peng, Hua; Wang, Yong-dong and Spicer, Robert A.
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(6) (pp. 705-706)

Late Cretaceous–Paleogene Indian monsoon climate vis-à-vis movement of the Indian plate, and the birth of the South Asian Monsoon (2021-05)
Bhatia, Harshita; Khan, Mahasin Ali; Srivastava, Gaurav; Hazra, Taposhi; Spicer, Robert; Hazra, Manoshi; Mehrotra, R.C.; Spicer, T.E.V.; Bera, Subir and Roy, Kaustav
Gondwana Research, 93 (pp. 89-100)

The mid-Miocene Zhangpu biota reveals an outstandingly rich rainforest biome in East Asia (2021-04-28)
Wang, Bo; Shi, Gongle; Xu, Chunpeng; Spicer, Robert A.; Perrichot, Vincent; Schmidt, Alexander R.; Feldberg, Kathrin; Heinrichs, Jochen; Chény, Cédric; Pang, Hong; Liu, Xingyue; Gao, Taiping; Wang, Zixi; Ślipiński, Adam; Solórzano-Kraemer, Mónica M.; Heads, Sam W.; Thomas, M. Jared; Sadowski, Eva-Maria; Szwedo, Jacek; Azar, Dany; Nel, André; Liu, Ye; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Qi; Zhang, Qingqing; Luo, Cihang; Yu, Tingting; Zheng, Daran; Zhang, Haichun and Engel, Michael S.
Science Advances, 7, Article eabg0625(18)

Orographic evolution of northern Tibet shaped vegetation and plant diversity in eastern Asia (2021-01-27)
Li, Shu-Feng; Valdes, Paul J.; Farnsworth, Alex; Davies-Barnard, T.; Su, Tao; Lunt, Daniel J.; Spicer, Robert A.; Liu, Jia; Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong; Huang, Jian; Tang, He; Ridgwell, Andy; Chen, Lin-Lin and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
Science Advances, 7, Article eabc7741(5)

Why ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ is a myth? (2021-01)
Spicer, Robert A; Su, Tao; Valdes, Paul J; Farnsworth, Alexander; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Shi, Gongle; Spicer, Teresa E V and Zhou, Zhekun
National Science Review, 8, Article nwaa091(1)

Leaf physiognomy records the Miocene intensification of the South Asia Monsoon (2021-01)
Bhatia, Harshita; Srivastava, Gaurav; Spicer, R. A.; Farnsworth, Alex; Spicer, T.E.V.; Mehrotra, R.C.; Paudayal, Khum N. and Valdes, Paul
Global and Planetary Change, 196, Article 103365

The topographic evolution of the Tibetan Region as revealed by palaeontology (2021)
Spicer, Robert; Su, Tao; Valdes, Paul J.; Farnsworth, Alexander; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Shi, Gongle; Spicer, Teresa E. V. and Zhou, Zhekun
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 101 (pp. 213-243)

Fossil infructescence from southwestern China reveals Paleogene establishment of Cladrastis in Asia (2021)
Jia, Lin-Bo; Huang, Jian; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Zhang, Shi-Tao; Li, Shu-Feng; Pan, Bo; Nam, Gi-Soo; Huang, Yong-Jiang and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 292, Article 104456

Spatiotemporal maintenance of flora in the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot: Current knowledge and future perspectives (2021)
Wambulwa, Moses C.; Milne, Richard; Wu, Zeng‐Yuan; Spicer, Robert A.; Provan, Jim; Luo, Ya‐Huang; Zhu, Guang‐Fu; Wang, Wan‐Ting; Wang, Hong; Gao, Lian‐Ming; Li, De‐Zhu and Liu, Jie
Ecology and Evolution, 11(16) (pp. 10794-10812)

A Middle Eocene lowland humid subtropical “Shangri-La” ecosystem in central Tibet (2020-12-29)
Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Farnsworth, Alexander; Huang, Jian; Del Rio, Cédric; Deng, Tao; Ding, Lin and ,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(52) (pp. 32989-32995)

Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) climate of the Koryak Upland of North-East Russia based on a quantitative analysis of a palaeo-polar flora (2020-12-15)
Zolina, Anastasia; Golovneva, Lina and Spicer, Robert
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 560, Article 109997

Early Oligocene vegetation and climate of southwestern China inferred from palynology (2020-12-15)
Tang, He; Li, Shu-Feng; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Zhang, Shi-Tao; Li, Shi-Hu; Liu, Jia; Lauretano, Vittoria; Witkowski, Caitlyn R.; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong; Wu, Meng-Xiao; Ding, Wen-Na and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 560, Article 109988

A Cretaceous Gondwana origin of the wax palm subfamily (Ceroxyloideae: Arecaceae) and its paleobiogeographic context (2020-12)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Hazra, Manoshi; Mahato, Sumana; Spicer, Robert A.; Roy, Kaustav; Hazra, Taposhi; Bandopadhaya, Manosij; Spicer, Teresa E.V. and Bera, Subir
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 283, Article 104318

Evidence of fungal decay in petrified legume wood from the Neogene of the Bengal Basin, India (2020-11)
Biswas, Anwesha; Bera, Meghma; Khan, Mahasin Ali; Spicer, R. A,; Spicer, T. E. V.; Acharya, Krishnendu and Bera, Subir
Fungal Biology, 124(11) (pp. 958-968)

New insights into the thermal regime and hydrodynamics of the early Late Cretaceous Arctic (2020-10)
Spicer, Robert; Valdes, Paul; Hughes, Alice; Yang, Jian; Spicer, Teresa; Herman, Alexei and Farnsworth, Alexander
Geological Magazine, 157(10) (pp. 1729-1746)

The early Eocene rise of the Gonjo Basin, SE Tibet: From low desert to high forest (2020-08-01)
Xiong, Zhongyu; Ding, Lin; Spicer, Robert A.; Farnsworth, Alexander; Wang, Xu; Valdes, Paul J.; Su, Tao; Zhang, Qinghai; Zhang, Liyun; Cai, Fulong; Wang, Houqi; Li, Zhenyu; Song, Peiping; Guo, Xudong and Yue, Yahui
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 543, Article 116312

Cenozoic topography, monsoons and biodiversity conservation within the Tibetan Region: an evolving story (2020-08)
Spicer, Robert A.; Farnsworth, Alexander and Su, Tao
Plant Diversity, 42(4) (pp. 229-254)

Ancient orogenic and monsoon-driven assembly of the world's richest temperate alpine flora. (2020-07-31)
Ding, Wen-Na; Ree, Richard H.; Spicer, Robert A. and Xing, Yao-Wu
Science, 369(6503) (pp. 578-581)

Oligocene deformation of the Chuandian terrane in the SE margin of the Tibetan Plateau related to the extrusion of Indochina (2020-06-27)
Li, Shihu; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A; Xu, Congli; Sherlock, Sarah; Halton, Alison; Hoke, Gregory; Yimin, Tian; Zhang, Shitao; Zhou, Zhekun; Deng, Chenglong and Zhu, Rixiang
Tectonics, 39, Article e2019TC005974(7)

Asclepiadospermum gen. nov., the earliest fossil record of Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae) from the early Eocene of central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and its biogeographic implications (2020-01-21)
Del Rio, Cédric; Wang, Teng-Xiang; Liu, Jia; Liang, Shui-Qing; Spicer, Robert A.; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Zhou, Zhe-Kun and Su, Tao
American Journal of Botany, 107(1) (pp. 126-138)

Consistent Relationship between Field-Measured Stomatal Conductance and Theoretical Maximum Stomatal Conductance in C3 Woody Angiosperms in Four Major Biomes (2020)
Murray, Michelle; Soh, Wuu Kuang; Yiotis, Charilaos; Spicer, Robert A.; Lawson, Tracy and McElwain, Jennifer C.
International Journal of Plant Sciences, 181(1) (pp. 142-154)

Rising CO2 drives divergence in water use efficiency of evergreen and deciduous plants (2019-12-11)
Soh, Wuu Kuang; Yiotis, Charilaos; Murray, Michelle; Parnell, Andrew; Wright, Ian J.; Spicer, Robert A.; Lawson, Tracy; Caballero, Rodrigo and McElwain, Jennifer C.
Science Advances, 5, Article eaax7906(12)

Understanding the evolution of biodiversity in Asia (2019-12)
Zhou, Z.-K.; Su, T. and Spicer, R. A.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 271, Article 104107

The composition of the middle Miocene (15 Ma) Namling paleoflora, South Central Tibet, in the context of other Tibetan and Himalayan Floras (2019-12)
Shuang-Xing, Guo; Spicer, Robert A.; Widdowson, Mike; Herman, Alexei B. and Domogatskaya, Ksenia V.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 271, Article 104088

Extinct genus Lagokarpos reveals a biogeographic connection of Tibet with other regions in the Northern Hemisphere during the Paleogene (2019-11)
Tang, He; Liu, Jia; Wu, Fei‐Xiang; Spicer, Teresa; Spicer, Robert A.; Deng, Wei‐Yu‐Dong; Xu, Cong‐Li; Zhao, Fan; Huang, Jian; Li, Shu‐Feng; Su, Tao and Zhou, Zhe‐Kun
Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 57(6) (pp. 670-677)

Comment on “Revised paleoaltimetry data show low Tibetan Plateau elevation during the Eocene” (2019-09-20)
Valdes, Paul J.; Lin, Ding; Farnsworth, Alex; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shi-Hu and Tao, Su
Science, 365, Article eaax8474(6459)

Floral diversity and environment during the middle Siwalik sedimentation (Pliocene) in the Arunachal sub-Himalaya (2019-09)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Bera, Meghma; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E. V. and Bera, Subir
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 99(3) (pp. 401-424)

Biotic interchange through lowlands of Tibetan Plateau suture zones during Paleogene (2019-06-15)
Liu, Jia; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert; Tang, He; Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Srivastava, Gaurav; Spicer, Teresa; Van Do, Truong; Deng, Tao and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 524 (pp. 33-40)

Uplift, Climate and Biotic Changes at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition in Southeast Tibet (2019-05-31)
Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Li, Shi-Hu; Xu, He; Huang, Jian; Sherlock, Sarah; Huang, Yong-Jiang; Li, Shu-Feng; Wang, Li; Jia, Lin-Bo; Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong; Liu, Jia; Deng, Cheng-Long; Zhang, Shi-Tao; Valdes, Paul J. and Zhou, Zhe-Kun
National Science Review, 6(3) (pp. 495-504)

Convergence in Maximum Stomatal Conductance of C3 Woody Angiosperms in Natural Ecosystems Across Bioclimatic Zones (2019-05)
Murray, Michelle; Soh, Wuu Kuang; Yiotis, Charilaos; Batke, Sven; Parnell, Andrew C.; Spicer, Robert A.; Lawson, Tracy; Caballero, Rodrigo; Wright, Ian J.; Purcell, Conor and McElwain, Jennifer C.
Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, Article 558

No high Tibetan Plateau until the Neogene (2019-03-01)
Su, T.; Farnsworth, A.; Spicer, R. A.; Huang, J.; Wu, F-X.; Liu, J.; Li, S-F.; Xing, Y-W.; Huang, Y-J.; Deng, W-Y-D.; Tang, H.; Xu, C-L.; Zhao, F.; Srivastava, G.; Valdes, P. J.; Deng, T. and Zhou, Z-K.
Science Advances, 5, Article eaav2189(3)

Palaeoclimatic estimates for a latest Miocene-Pliocene flora from the Siwalik Group of Bhutan: Evidence for the development of the South Asian Monsoon in the eastern Himalaya (2019-01-15)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Bera, Meghma; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V. and Bera, Subir
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 514 (pp. 326-335)

Evidence of simultaneous occurrence of tylosis formation and fungal interaction in a late Cenozoic angiosperm from the eastern Himalaya (2018-12)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Bera, Meghma; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V. and Bera, Subir
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 259 (pp. 171-184)

Sun and shade leaf variability in Liquidambar chinensis and Liquidambar formosana (Altingiaceae): implications for palaeobotany (2018-11)
Maslova, Natalia P.; Karasev, Eugeny V.; Kodrul, Tatiana M.; Spicer, Robert A.; Volkova, Lyudmila D.; Spicer, Teresa E. V.; Jin, Jianhua and Liu, Xiaoyan
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 188(3) (pp. 296-315)

First occurrence of mastixioid (Cornaceae) fossil in India and its biogeographic implications (2017-12)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Bera, Meghma; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V. and Bera, Subir
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 247 (pp. 83-96)

Tibet, the Himalaya, Asian monsoons and biodiversity - In what ways are they related? (2017-10)
Spicer, Robert
Plant Diversity, 39(5) (pp. 233-244)

Paleogene monsoons across India and South China: Drivers of biotic change (2017-09)
Spicer, Robert; Yang, Jian; Herman, Alexei; Kodrul, Tatiana; Aleksandrova, Galina; Maslova, Natalia; Spicer, Teresa; Ding, Lin; Xu, Qiang; Shukla, Anumeha; Srivastava, Gaurav; Mehrotra, Rakesh; Liu, Xiao-Yan and Jin, Jian-Hua
Gondwana Research, 49 (pp. 350-363)

Eocene–early Oligocene climate and vegetation change in southern China: Evidence from the Maoming Basin (2017-04-29)
Herman, Alexei B.; Spicer, Robert A.; Aleksandrova, Galina N.; Yang, Jian; Kodrul, Tatiana M.; Maslova, Natalia P.; Spicer, Teresa E.V.; Chen, Gang and Jin, Jian-Hua
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 479 (pp. 126-137)

Reconstructing Cenozoic vegetation from proxy data and models – A NECLIME synthesis (Editorial) (2017-02-01)
François, Louis; Bruch, Angela A.; Utescher, Torsten; Spicer, Robert A. and Spicer, Teresa
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 467 (pp. 1-4)

Occurrence of Shorea Roxburgh ex C. F. Gaertner (Dipterocarpaceae) in the Neogene Siwalik forests of eastern Himalaya and its biogeography during the Cenozoic of Southeast Asia (2016-10)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E.V. and Bera, Subir
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 233 (pp. 236-254)

Aporosa Blume from the paleoequatorial rainforest of Bikaner, India: Its evolution and diversification in deep time (2016-09)
Shukla, Anumeha; Mehrotra, Rakesh C.; Spicer, Robert A. and Spicer, Teresa E.V.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 232 (pp. 14-21)

Palynostratigraphy and palynofacies of the early Eocene Gurha lignite mine, Rajasthan, India (2016)
Kumar, Madhav; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E. V.; Shukla, Anumeha; Mehrotra, R.C. and Monga, Priyanka
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 461 (pp. 98-108)

Scanning electron microscopy investigation of monads and tetrads of basal core eudicots from the Upper Cretaceous Vilui Basin, Siberia: Evidence for reticulate evolution (2011-10)
Hofmann, Christa-Charlotte; Spicer, Robert A.; Ahlberg, Anders and Herman, Alexei B.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 167(3-4) (pp. 196-211)

The role of angiosperms in Palaeocene arctic ecosystems: a palynological study from the Alaskan North Slope (2011-09-01)
Daly, R. J.; Jolley, D. W. and Spicer, R. A.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 309(3-4) (pp. 374-382)

Why do foliar physiognomic climate estimates sometimes differ from those observed? Insights from taphonomic information loss and a CLAMP case study from the Ganges Delta (2011-03-15)
Spicer, Robert A.; Bera, Subir; De Bera, Sreelekha; Spicer, Teresa E. V.; Srivastava, Gaurav; Mehrotra, Rakesh; Mehrotra, Naresh and Yang, Jian
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 302(3-4) (pp. 381-395)

Leaf physiognomy and climate: Are monsoon systems different? (2011-03)
Jacques, Frédéric M. B.; Su, Tao; Spicer, Robert A.; Xing, Yaowu; Huang, Yongjiang; Wang, Weiming and Zhou, Zhekun
Global and Planetary Change, 76(1-2) (pp. 56-62)

Refining CLAMP - investigations towards improving the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (2011)
Teodorides, Vasilis; Mazouch, Petr; Spicer, Robert A. and Uhl, Dieter
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 299(1-2) (pp. 39-48)

‘CLAMP Online’: a new web-based palaeoclimate tool and its application to the terrestrial Paleogene and Neogene of North America (2011)
Yang, Jian; Spicer, Robert A.; Spicer, Teresa E. V. and Li, Cheng-sen
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 91(3) (pp. 163-183)

Floral diversity during Plio-Pleistocene Siwalik sedimentation (Kimin Formation) in Arunachal Pradesh, India, and its palaeoclimatic significance (2011)
Khan, Mahasin Ali; Ghosh, Ruby; Bera, Subir; Spicer, Robert A. and Spicer, T. E. V.
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 91(4) (pp. 237-255)

Is southern Africa different? An investigation of the relationship between leaf physiognomy and climate in southern African mesic vegetation (2010-11)
Steart, D. C.; Spicer, R. A. and Bamford, M. K.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 162(4) (pp. 607-620)

Pollen evidence for an Eocene to Miocene elevation of central southern Tibet predating the rise of the High Himalaya (2010-11)
Song, Xiao-Yan; Spicer, Robert; Yang, Jian; Yao, Yi-Feng and Li, Cheng-Sen
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 297(1) (pp. 159-168)

Mid-Cretaceous floras and climate of the Russian high Arctic (Novosibirsk Islands, Northern Yakutiya) (2010-09-15)
Herman, Alexei B. and Spicer, Robert A.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 295(3-4) (pp. 409-422)

The late Cretaceous environment of the Arctic: A quantitative reassessment based on plant fossils (2010-09-15)
Spicer, R. A. and Herman, A. B.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 295(3-4) (pp. 423-442)

Climatic reconstruction of two Pliocene floras from Mexico (2010)
Velasco-de León, Maria Patricia; Spicer, Robert A. and Steart, David C.
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 90(2) (pp. 99-110)

Quantification of uncertainties in fossil leaf aleoaltimetry: does leaf size matter? (2010)
Spicer, Robert A. and Yang, Jian
Tectonics, 29(TC6001) (pp. 1-13)

New developments in CLAMP: Calibration using global gridded meteorological data (2009-12)
Spicer, R. A.; Valdes, P. J.; Spicer, T. E. V.; Craggs, H. J.; Srivastava, G.; Mehrotra, R. C. and Yang, J.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 283(1-2) (pp. 91-98)

Late Paleocene Flora of the Northern Alaska Peninsula: The Role of Transberingian Plant Migrations and Climatic Change (2009)
Moiseeva, M. G.; Herman, A. B. and Spicer, R. A.
Palaeontological Journal, 43(10) (pp. 1298-1308)

The Late Cretaceous continental interior of Siberia: A challenge for climate models (2008-03)
Spicer, Robert A.; Ahlberg, Anders; Herman, Alexei B.; Hofmann, Christa-Charlotte; Raikevich, Michail; Valdes, Paul J. and Markwick, Paul J.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 267(1-2) (pp. 228-235)

Climatic reconstruction at the Miocene Shanwang basin, China, using leaf margin analysis, CLAMP, coexistence approach, and overlapping distribution analysis (2007-04)
Yang, Jian; Wang, Yu-Fei; Spicer, Robert A.; Mosbrugger, Volker; Li, Cheng-Sen and Sun, Qi-Gao
American Journal of Botany, 94(4) (pp. 599-608)

The sensitivity of CLAMP to taphonomic loss of foliar physiognomic characters (2005-10)
Spicer, Robert A.; Herman, Alexei B. and Kennedy, Elizabeth M.
Palaios, 20(5) (pp. 429-438)

Coastal ecosystem responses to late stage Deccan Trap volcanism: The post K-T boundary (Danian) palynofacies of Mumbai (Bombay), west India (2005-02-01)
Cripps, J. A.; Widdowson, M.; Spicer, R. A. and Jolley, D. W.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 216(3-4) (pp. 303-332)

Uncertainty in predictions of the climate response to rising levels of greenhouse gases (2005-01-27)
Stainforth, D.A.; Aina, T.; Christensen, C.; Collins, M.; Faull, N.; Frame, D.J.; Kettleborough, J.A.; Knight, S.; Martin, A.; Murphy, J.M.; Piani, C.; Sexton, D.; Smith, L.A.; Spicer, R.A.; Thorpe, A.J. and Allen, M.R.
Nature, 433(7024) (pp. 403-406)

Foliar physiognomic record of climatic conditions during dormancy: Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) and the cold month mean temperature (2004-11)
Spicer, Robert A.; Herman, Alexei B. and Kennedy, Elizabeth M.
Journal of Geology, 112(6) (pp. 685-702)

Maastrichtian-Paleocene floras of northeastern Russia and North Alaska and floral changes at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (2004)
Herman, A.B.; Moiseeva, M.G.; Spicer, R.A. and Ahlberg, A.
Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation, 12(5) (pp. 485-494)

Constant elevation of southern Tibet over the past 15 million years (2003-02-06)
Spicer, Robert A.; Harris, Nigel B.W.; Widdowson, Mike; Herman, Alexei B.; Guo, Shuangxing; Valdes, Paul J.; Wolfe, Jack A. and Kelley, Simon P.
Nature, 421(6923) (pp. 622-624)

Enigmatic late Cretaceous high palaeo-latitude lonestones in Chukotka, northeasternmost Asia (2002-12)
Ahlberg, A.; Herman, A.B.; Raikevich, M.; Rees, P.M. and Spicer, R.A.
GFF, 124(4) (pp. 197-199)

Quantitative palaeoclimate estimates from Late Cretaceous and Paleocene leaf floras in the northwest of the South Island, New Zealand (2002-08-15)
Kennedy, Elizabeth M.; Spicer, Robert A. and Rees, Peter M.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 184(3-4) (pp. 321-345)

Palaeoenvironment and ecology of the middle Cretaceous Grebenka flora of northeastern Asia (2002-08-01)
Spicer, Robert A.; Ahlberg, Anders; Herman, Alexei B.; Kelley, Simon P.; Raikevich, Mikhail I. and Rees, Peter M.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 184(1-2) (pp. 65-105)

Cretaceous flora from the Kukpowruk River, Northwestern Alaska (2002)
Herman, A.B. and Spicer, R.A.
Palaeontological Journal(3) (pp. 94-95)

The Albian-Cenomanian flora of the Kukpowruk River, western North Slope, Alaska: Stratigraphy, palaeofloristics, and plant communities (2001-02)
Spicer, R.A. and Herman, A.B.
Cretaceous Research, 22(1) (pp. 1-40)

Geological Field Techniques (2010)
Coe, Angela L.; Argles, Thomas; Rothery, David and Spicer, Robert
ISBN : 978-1-4443-3061-8 | Publisher : Wiley Blackwell in association with the OU | Published : Chichester

The Life and career of Jack A. Wolfe (July 10, 1936 - August 12, 2005) (2007)
Upchurch, G. R.; Spicer, R. A. and Leopold, E. B.
In: Jarzen, David M.; Manchester, Steven R.; Retallack, Gregory J. and Jarzen, Susan A. eds. Advances in Angiosperm Paleobotany and Paleoclimatic Reconstruction (pp. 11-19)
ISBN : 978-3-510-61388-5 | Publisher : Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg

Recent and Future Developments of CLAMP: Building on the Legacy of Jack A. Wolfe (2007)
Spicer, R. A.
In: Jarzen, David M.; Manchester, Steven R.; Retallack, Gregory J. and Jarzen, Susan A. eds. Advances in Angiosperm Paleobotany and Paleoclimatic Reconstruction (pp. 109-118)
ISBN : 978-3-510-61388-5 | Publisher : Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg

Cenozoic climate reconstructions associated with the formation of Tibet and the biodiversification of terrestrial ecosystems (2019-09)
Witkowski, C.R.; Lauretano, V.; Mayser, J.P.; Spicer, R.A.; Su, T.; Zhou, Z.-K.; Spicer, T.E.V.; Valdes, P.J.; Farnsworth, A. and Pancost, R.D.
In : 29th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (1-6 Sep 2019, Gothenburg, Sweden)

Climate and vegetation of the Selandian-Thanetian Paleocene Sagwon Section, Northern Alaska (Palaeolatitude 85°N) (2009)
Spicer, R. A.; Daly, R. J.; Jolley, D. W.; Herman, A. B.; Ahlberg, A. and Moiseeva, M.
In : Climatic and Biotic Evenets of the Paleogene (12-15 Jan 2009, Wellington, New Zealand)