My research is geared towards understanding and utilizing the climate sensitivity of alpine glaciers to reconstruct Late Quaternary climate variability in Earth`s high latitudes. I investigate sites near both poles - on Svalbard, Greenland, South Georgia and the Kerguelen islands. Although the methods I employ also encompass geomorphological mapping and remote sensing techniques, I primarily harness the potential of lake sediments as continuous records of past (glacier-climate) change. My past (PhD) research mostly focused on fingerprinting the signature of glacial rock flour - reflective of variations in glacier extent. To do so, I employed a combination of established physical analyses as well as novel (XRF and CT) scanning techniques. My current research integrates this sedimentological approach with biomarker (alkenones) paleothermometry to help constrain the climate signature of past glacier change. As a scarcity or organic material often precludes precise classic ¹⁴C dating of high-latitude (lake) sediments, I also utilize the geochronological potential of isochronously deposited layers of microscopic volcanic ash (tephra). My on-going and near-future research will expand the outlined multi-disciplinary method toolbox with molecular paleohydrology (hydrogen isotopes) techniques – to detect changes in the source, amount, and phase of precipitation under warmer-than-present conditions, as well as Computed Tomography (CT) – to fingerprint the invisible traces of geohazards like floods, volcanic eruptions, or extreme storms in sediment archives.

2022 New Scientisist, ’Spitsbergen rings the alarm’

2022 Trouw (newspaper), ’Observations from melting Spitsbergen’

2022 NOS (television), ’Seen climate change with my own eyes’

2021 NRC (newspaper), ‛How Europe`s largest waterfall was formed in weeks’

2021 Geoforskning (online), 65 536 shades of grey can help us understand our geological past

2019 Forskning.no (news site; NO), Naturlig nedkjøling fikk isbreene til å vokse

2019 Radio interview (Radio 1; NL), ’Awaking scientist’

 

 

 

2019 Forskning.no (news site; NO), Naturlig nedkjøling fikk isbreene til å vokse

2019 Radio interview (Radio 1; NL), ’Awaking scientist’

2019 TV documentary (NRK; NO), ’Does the Earth go under?’

2018 Arctic Research blog (online) for the EU-Interact transnational access program

2017 National Geographic (online), Expedition Braves Arctic Perils for Climate Science

2017 Harvest.no kronikk (NO), ‛Ice adrift’

2017 IB Times interview, ‛Ash from ancient volcano halfway round the world‛

2016 Science Daily, Algal fat opens window on past Arctic temperatures

AG 326 Arctic Quaternary Environments 

GEOV 322 Master Level Field Excursion in Quaternary Geology

GEOV 101 Undergraduate course Introduction to Geology 

 

2025

• Auer, Andreea-Gabriela; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Schomacker, Anders et al. (2025). Hydroclimate intensification likely aided glacier survival on Svalbard in the Early Holocene. (external link)

2024

• Simon, Margit Hildegard; Göktürk, Ozan mert; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria et al. (2024). Investigation of biomarkers from Blombos Cave, South Africa and from Rabat-Temara Caves in Morocco: Insights into Middle Stone Age sites Palaeoclimate. . (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Bjune, Anne Elisabeth et al. (2024). Long-distance transported pollen record from sub-Antarctic Kerguelen shows Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind dynamics during the Holocene. (external link)
• Simon, Margit Hildegard; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Morkved, Pål Tore et al. (2024). Investigation of biomarkers from Blombos Cave, South Africa and from Rabat-Temara Caves in Morocco: Insights into Middle Stone Age sites . (external link)
• Hardeng, Johannes; Bakke, Jostein; Cederstrøm, Jan Magne et al. (2024). A 7000-year record of extreme flood events reconstructed from a threshold lake in southern Norway. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Schneider, Tobias et al. (2024). Holocene changes in the position of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies recorded by long-distance transport of pollen to the Kerguelen Islands. (external link)
• Sleire, Jarle Børve; Bakke, Jostein; Arnaud, Fabien et al. (2024). Multiple late Holocene glacier advances on the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen (49°S) islands: evidence from a 1200 yr sediment core from a glacial threshold basin. (external link)
• Stachowska, Zofia; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Strzelecki, Mateusz C. (2024). Coastal lake sediments from Arctic Svalbard suggest colder summers are stormier. (external link)

2023

• van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; D`Andrea, William Joseph; Zwier, Maaike et al. (2023). Holocene leaf wax isotopes from South Georgia reveal unprecedented shifts in Southern Westerlies during Common Era. (external link)
• van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; D`Andrea, William Joseph (2023). Last Glacial Maximum Lake sediments capture High Arctic surface ocean warming during Heinrich Event 2. (external link)
• van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria (2023). The researcher. (external link)
• van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; D`Andrea, William Joseph (2023). Last Glacial Maximum Svalbard Lake sediments reveal warm stadial summers. (external link)
• Barr, Iestyn D.; Adamson, Kathryn; Lane, Timothy P. et al. (2023). Using Drones to Map and Visualise Glacial Landscapes. (external link)
• van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria (2023). Even a modest eruption can end a civilization. (external link)
• Göktürk, Ozan mert; Simon, Margit Hildegard; Sobolowski, Stefan Pieter et al. (2023). Behaviourally modern humans in coastal southern Africa experienced an increasingly continental climate during the transition from Marine Isotope Stage 5 to 4. (external link)
• Karstens, Jens; Preine, Jonas; Crutchley, Gareth et al. (2023). Revised Minoan eruption volume as benchmark for large volcanic eruptions. (external link)
• Maffezzoli, Niccolò; Cook, Eliza; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria et al. (2023). Detection of ice core particles via deep neural networks. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Schneider, Tobias et al. (2023). Exotic pollen reveals Holocene wind dynamics in the sub-Antarctic. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Bakke, Jostein et al. (2023). Long-distance transported pollen record from sub-Antarctic Kerguelen shows Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind dynamics during the Holocene. (external link)
• Sleire, Jarle Børve; Bakke, Jostein; Arnaud, Fabien et al. (2023). Reconstructing glacier advances on the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen (49°S, 69°E) Islands for the last millennium. (external link)

2022

• van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; D’Andrea, William J.; Oppedal, Lea Toska et al. (2022). Stable Southern Hemisphere westerly winds throughout the Holocene until intensification in the last two millennia. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Bakke, Jostein et al. (2022). Holocene vegetation variability on sub-Antarctic islands: Palynological inferred climate reconstructions.. (external link)
• Hardeng, Johannes; Bakke, Jostein; Sabatier, Pierre et al. (2022). Lake sediments from southern Norway capture Holocene variations in flood seasonality. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; Bjune, Anne Elisabeth; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria et al. (2022). Holocene vegetation and climate variability inferred from lake sediment records in the sub-Antarctic. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Bakke, Jostein et al. (2022). Palynological evidence of Holocene climate variability and Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind dynamics in the sub-Antarctic. (external link)
• Holthuis, Max; Nixon, Francis Chantel; Kylander, Malin E. et al. (2022). Late Holocene sea-level change and storms in southwestern Norway based on new data from intertidal basins and salt marshes. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria; Bakke, Jostein et al. (2022). Palynological evidence of Holocene climate variability and Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind dynamics in the sub-Antarctic. (external link)
• Holthuis, Max; Nixon, Francis Chantel; Kylander, Malin E. et al. (2022). Late Holocene sea-level change and storms in southwestern Norway based on new data from intertidal basins and salt marshes. (external link)

2021

• Bilt, Willem Godert Maria van der; Barr, Iestyn D.; Berben, Sarah Miche Patricia et al. (2021). Late Holocene canyon-carving floods in northern Iceland were smaller than previously reported. (external link)
• Zwier, Maaike; Bilt, Willem Godert Maria van der; de Stigter, Henko et al. (2021). Pollen evidence of variations in Holocene climate and Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind strength on sub- Antarctic South Georgia. (external link)
• Cederstrøm, Jan Magne; van der Bilt, Willem G. M.; Støren, Eivind W. N. et al. (2021). Semi‐automatic Ice Rafted Debris quantification with Computed Tomography. (external link)
• Cederstrøm, Jan Magne; Bilt, Willem Godert Maria van der; Støren, Eivind Wilhelm Nagel et al. (2021). Semi-automated quantification of Ice Rafted Debris in sediment archives with Computed Tomography. (external link)
• Van Der Bilt, Willem; Cederstrøm, Jan Magne; Støren, Eivind Wilhelm Nagel et al. (2021). Rapid tephra identification in geological archives with computed tomography: Experimental results and natural applications. (external link)

2020

• Rutledal, Sunniva; Berben, Sarah Miche Patricia; Dokken, Trond Martin et al. (2020). Tephra horizons identified in the western North Atlantic and Nordic Seas during the Last Glacial Period: Extending the marine tephra framework. (external link)
• Bakke, Jostein; Støren, Eivind Wilhelm Nagel; Van Der Bilt, Willem et al. (2020). Late glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations at the Sub-Antarctic Island Kerguelen in the Southern Indian Ocean . (external link)
• Van Der Bilt, Willem; Kong, Yuen Man (2020). Report on the “past, present and future glacier-climate change in an interdisciplinary light” Summer School. (external link)
• Møller, Tor Einar; Van Der Bilt, Willem; Roerdink, Desiree et al. (2020). Microbial community structure in Arctic lake sediments reflect variations in Holocene climate conditions. (external link)
• Bakke, Jostein; Arnaud, Fabien; Deline, Phillip et al. (2020). Late glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations at the Sub-Antarctic Island Kerguelen in the Southern Indian Ocean. (external link)
• Van Der Bilt, Willem (2020). How to record climate extremes by not turning liquid on a hot summer day. (external link)
• Van Der Bilt, Willem (2020). Early Holocene temperature oscillations exceed amplitude of measured and modelled change in three Svalbard lakes. (external link)
• Van Der Bilt, Willem (2020). A story of ice and fire: Slackwater sediments reveal moderate magnitude of canyon-carving outburst floods on Iceland . (external link)
• Alsos, Inger Greve; Sjøgren, Per Johan E; Brown, Antony et al. (2020). Last Glacial Maximum environmental conditions at Andøya, northern Norway; evidence for a northern ice-edge ecological “hotspot”. (external link)
• Alsos, Inger Greve; Sjøgren, Per Johan E; Brown, Antony et al. (2020). Last Glacial Maximum environmental conditions at Andøya, northern Norway; evidence for a northern ice-edge ecological “hotspot” . (external link)

2019

• Ólafsdóttir, Sædis; Reilly, Brendan T; Bakke, Jostein et al. (2019). Holocene paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) near 80° N, Northwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard: Implications for evaluating High Arctic sediment chronologies . (external link)
• Cederstrøm, Jan Magne; Bilt, Willem van der; Støren, Eivind Wilhelm Nagel et al. (2019). Harnessing the potential of CT scanning to identify cryptotephra in sediment cores: a controlled experiment.. (external link)
• Bilt, Willem van der; Bakke, Jostein; Smedsrud, Lars H. et al. (2019). Climate in Svalbard 2100 . (external link)
• Haaga, Kristian Agasøster ; Bilt, Willem van der; Born, Andreas (2019). Was common Era glacier expansion in the Arctic Atlantic region triggered by unforced atmospheric cooling?. (external link)
• Bilt, Willem van der; Lane, Christine S. (2019). Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. (external link)
• Rutledal, Sunniva; Berben, Sarah Miche Patricia; Dokken, Trond Martin et al. (2019). Last Glacial tephra horizons identified in the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. (external link)
• Hardeng, Johannes; Bakke, Jostein; Støren, Eivind Wilhelm Nagel et al. (2019). Climate Hazards and Extremes (CHEX) – palaeoflood reconstructions from southernmost Norway. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

1. 2022               van der Bilt, W.G.M., D`Andrea, W.J., Oppedal, L.T., Bakke, J., Bjune, A.E., Zwier, M. Stable Southern Hemisphere westerly winds throughout the Holocene until intensification in the last two millennia. Nature Communications – Earth and Environment

2. 2022 Hardeng, J., Bakke, J., Sabatier, P., Støren, E.W.N., van der Bilt, W.G.M. Lake sediments from southern Norway capture Holocene variations in flood seasonality. Quaternary Science Reviews, as PhD supervisor

3. 2021 Zwier, M., van der Bilt, W.G.M., de Stigter, H., Bjune, A.E., Pollen evidence of variations in Holocene climate and Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind strength on sub-Antarctic South Georgia. The Holocene, as PhD supervisor

4. 2021 Cederstrøm, J.M., van der Bilt, W.G.M., Støren, E.W., Rutledal, S. Semi‐automatic Ice Rafted Debris quantification with Computed Tomography. Paleoceanography & Paleoclimatology

5. 2021 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Barr, I., Berben, S.M.P., Hennekam, R., Lane, T., Adamson, K., Bakke, J. Slackwater sediments reveal moderate magnitude of canyon-carving outburst floods on Iceland. Nature Communications – Earth and Environment

6. 2021 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Cederstrøm, J.M., Støren, E.W.N., Berben, S.M.P, Rutledal, S. Rapid and non-destructive cryptotephra identification with Computed Tomography (CT). Frontiers in Earth Science, without PhD supervisors

7. 2020 Møller, T.E., van der Bilt, W.G.M., Roerdink, D.L., Jørgensen, S.L. Microbial community structure in Arctic lake sediments reflect variations in Holocene climate conditions. In press. Frontiers in Microbiology, without PhD supervisors 

8. 2020 Alsos, I.G., Sjögren, P.J., Brown, A.G., Gielly, L., Føreid Merkel, Paus, A., Lammers, Y., Edwards, M.E., Alm, T., Leng, M., Goslar, T. Langdon, C.T., Bakke, J., van der Bilt, W.G.M. Last Glacial Maximum environmental conditions at Andøya, northern Norway; evidence for a northern ice-edge ecological “hotspot”. Quaternary Science Reviews

9. 2020 Rutledal S, Berben SM, Dokken TM, van der Bilt W.G.M., Cederstrøm JM, Jansen E. Tephra horizons identified in the western North Atlantic and Nordic Seas during the Last Glacial Period. Quaternary Science Reviews, without PhD supervisors

10. 2019 van der Bilt, W.GM., D`Andrea, W.J., Bakke. J. Early Holocene temperature oscillations exceed amplitude of measured and modelled change in three Svalbard lakes. Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Volume 46, Issue 24

11. 2019 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Lane, C.S. Late glacial lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free interval on coastal northwest Spitsbergen. Science Advances, vol. 5 no. 10, without PhD supervisors

12. 2019 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Born, A., Haaga, K.A. Was Common Era glacier expansion in the Arctic Atlantic region triggered by unforced atmospheric cooling? Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 222, without PhD supervisors

13. 2019 Ólafsdóttir, S., Bakke, J., Stoner, J.S., Bradley, R.S, Gjerde, M., van der Bilt, W.G.M. Holocene paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) near 80° N, Northwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard: Implications for evaluating High Arctic sediment chronologies. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 210, pp. 90-102

14. 2019 Beldring, S., van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bogen J. and 7 other lead authors. Climate in Svalbard 2100: a knowledge base for climate adaptation. The Norwegian Centre for Climate Service. NCCS report 01/2019, without PhD supervisors

15. 2018 Oppedal, L.T., van der Bilt, W.G.M., Balascio, N.L., Bakke, J. Patagonian ash on sub-Antarctic South Georgia: expanding the tephrostratigraphy of southern South America into the Southern Ocean. Journal of Quaternary Science. Volume 33, pp. 482-486

16. 2018 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Roerdink, D.L., Jørgensen, S.L., Spagnolo, M., Rea, B., Bakke, J. East Greenland lake sediments highlight geomorphological sensitivity to Holocene climate transitions. Global and Planetary Change.

17. 2018 Bakke, J., Balascio, N.L., van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bradley, R.S., D`Andrea W.J., Gjerde, M., Ólafsdóttir, S., Røthe, T., De Wet, G. The Island of Amsterdamøya: a key site for studying past climate in the Arctic. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 183, pp. 188-203

18. 2018 Oppedal, L.T., Bakke, J., Paasche, Ø., Werner, J., van der Bilt, W.G.M. Cirque glacier rejuvenation and retreat on South Georgia during last 10 ka. Frontiers in Earth Science.

19. 2017 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Lane, C.S., Bakke, J. Ultra-distal Kamchatkan ash on Arctic Svalbard: Towards hemispheric cryptotephra correlation. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 164

20. 2017 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bakke, J., Werner, J.P., Paasche, Ø., Rosqvist, G., Vatle, S.S. Late Holocene glacier reconstruction reveals retreat behind present limits and two-stage Little Ice Age on sub-antarctic South Georgia. Journal of Quaternary Science. V.32, pp. 888–901

21. 2017 Sijtsma, F.J., van der Bilt, W.G.M., van Hinsberg, H., de Knegt, B., van der Heide, M., Leneman, H., Verburg, R. Planning nature in an urbanized country: an analysis of impacts of conservation policy scenarios in the Netherlands. Heliyon. V.3, without PhD supervisors

22. 2016 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bakke, J., Vasskog, K., Røthe, T., Støren, E.N. Glacier-fed lakes as paleoenvironmental archives. Geology Today. Volume 32, pp. 188-203

23. 2016 van der Bilt, W.G.M., D`Andrea, W.J., Bakke, J., Balascio, N.L., Werner, J., Gjerde, M., Bradley, R.S. Alkenone-based reconstructions reveal four-phase Holocene temperature evolution for High Arctic Svalbard. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 183, pp. 204-213

24. 2016 van der Bilt, W.G.M. Towards a process-based understanding of Holocene polar climate change. Doctoral thesis, University of Bergen, ISBN 978-82-308-3337-7, pp. 1-133

25. 2015 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bakke, J., Balascio, N.L. Mapping sediment–landform assemblages to constrain lacustrine sedimentation in a glacier-fed lake catchment in northwest Spitsbergen. Journal of Maps. Volume 12

26. 2015 van der Bilt, W.G.M., Bakke, J., Vasskog, K., D'Andrea, W.J., Bradley, R.S., Ólafsdóttir, S. Reconstruction of glacier variability from lake sediments reveals dynamic Holocene climate in Svalbard. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 126, pp. 201-218

2021-2025 Trond Mohn Foundation (TMS) starting grant, Past constraints on a warmer and wetter future Arctic climate (PASTFACT), PI

2021-2025 National Science Centre (NCN) Opus grant, Arctic storm impacts recorded in beach ridges and lake archives: scenarios for a less icy future (ASPIRE), co-PI

2017-2022 Norwegian Research Council (NFR) Polar Program, Past behavior of the Southern Ocean’s atmosphere and cryosphere (SOUTHSPHERE, WP leader

2020-2021 Centre for Climate Dynamics at the Bjerknes Centre (SKD), Fast Track Initiative (FTI), diagnosing sediment archives with Computed Tomography (DISECT), PI

2020-2021 Positioning Funding (POS), Past fingerprints of future European weather extremes, PI

2020-2021 Norwegian Research Council (NFR), Svalbard Strategic Grant (SSG), Svalbard Holocene Assembly (SVALHOLA), co-leader

2018-2020 European Research Council (ERC), Transnational Access grant (INTERACT), 2018, Glacier-climate fingerprints of cooling events in the subarctic Atlantic (GLACTIC), PI

2020 Research school on changing climates in the coupled earth system (CHESS), Summer School funding, past present and future glacier-climate change in an interdisciplinary light, co-leader