Life Story of Jade d'Alpoim Guedes: A Glance at the Scientist's Journey
Jade d'Alpoim Guedes, an archaeologist at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), is delving into the past to understand how ancient human societies responded to climate changes. With a unique interdisciplinary approach, she combines climate data, computational models, ethnobotany, and archaeology to unravel the secrets of the past.
D'Alpoim Guedes, who joined UC San Diego in 2018, grew up on a farm in Portugal, fostering an early interest in farming. This background has proven invaluable in her current research, particularly in high-latitude and high-altitude environments that are sensitive to climate change.
One of the areas she works in is the Tibetan Plateau, where the livelihoods of Tibetans based on farming and pastoralism are threatened by recent climate changes. D'Alpoim Guedes studies how Tibetans have adapted to changing climate over the past millennia, a question that is central to her field.
In her research, she uses computational models to predict how climate change impacted the types of crops people were able to grow in the past. She also extracts ancient seeds and animal bones from archaeological sites, identifies them, and creates data sets of how their proportions are changing over the millennia of occupation at these sites.
D'Alpoim Guedes' work at UC San Diego is conducted within Scripps Oceanography, one of the world's most important centers for global earth science research and education. Scripps Oceanography operates a fleet of four oceanographic research vessels and is home to Birch Aquarium at Scripps, a public exploration center that welcomes 500,000 visitors each year.
One of her significant findings suggests that moderate levels of human disturbance, such as raising animals on pastures, cutting down trees for occasional housing construction or firewood, or the creation of small fields, have been beneficial to enhancing biodiversity in landscapes like Jiuzhaigou National Park for many thousands of years.
Another key aspect of her research is the growing acknowledgement among climate policymakers and scientists of the value of indigenous knowledge. D'Alpoim Guedes expresses this in her work, highlighting the wealth of knowledge in the archaeological record about how people have farmed for many thousands of years, and this is something that can be learned from.
The University of California San Diego, established in 1960, is shaped by exceptional scholars who aren't afraid to look deeper, challenge expectations, and redefine conventional wisdom. Known for its culture of exploration and experimentation, UC San Diego is one of the top 15 research universities in the world.
D'Alpoim Guedes joined UC San Diego's Scripps Oceanography because it is a center for global earth science research and education that encourages cross-disciplinary research. She holds a master's degree in art history and archaeology from Sorbonne IV in Paris and a PhD in anthropology from Harvard University.
Her work continues to shed light on how past climate changes affected ancient human societies, particularly their responses and adaptations to environmental stress and variability. As we navigate the challenges of climate change today, understanding these past adaptations may offer valuable insights for our future.
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