Royal Holloway, University of London

Post-Doc, Earth Sciences

About

Specialisms:
Analogue and numerical modelling of density current deposition
Experimental design and analysis
Managing large datasets
Fieldwork
Multidisciplinary research to solve complex problems
Investigating behaviour of dense granular flows, turbidity currents and pyroclastic density currents
Teaching and lecturing

My research interests are currently focussed on the investigation of deposition from geophysical flows. The project I am presently engaged in focusses on the numerical forward and inverse modelling of turbidite deposition to assess 3D properties of the resulting architecture, with particular focus on the suitability of sand-grade sequences to act as hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Work during my PhD investigated the internal architecture of deposits formed by granular fluids (analagous to debris flow, dense pyroclastic and avalanche systems in the field), and particularly the morphologies created by reworking between fluid-substrate systems.  Using analogue modelling techniques adapted from sedimentary sand-box modelling methods, a method was developed to preserve and visualise three-dimensional structures within deposits.  In addition, by running sequential charges  architectural evolution is built up in deposits, granting insights into the poorly understood internal dynamics (e.g. particle segregation, sorting and grading, sidewall interactions, granular temperature conduction, shear zone evolution) during deposition within  granular flows.

As well as my laboratory and numerical modelling work, I am keen to perform validation of observations and interpretations through field work.  In this respect I have been particularly concentrated in the Bandas del Sur pyroclastic successions in Tenerife, and the 1975 flows on the North West flank of Ngauruhoe, New Zealand.  Turbidite modelling case studies have focussed in depocentres offshore of Nice (France), Morocco, Canada and in the North Sea, as well as numerous reconstructed basins around the world.

Outreach
I offer a wide range of outreach activities which can be tailored to suit a variety of audiences.  Many of these are particularly well suited to KS 3 4 and 5 students of geography and science, and activities can be tied into specific sections of the curricula where appropriate.  Activities may be presented as lectures, seminars, tutorials, practicals or a combination of the above, and can in most cases be provided as anything between 45 minute to full day activities.
Example topics might include:

Volcanoes: How they form, where they occur, what risks are associated with different types, how to mitigate those risks, case studies

Earthquakes: What causes them, what are the risks, risk mitigation, case studies.
Earth structure: Plate tectonics, how the earth formed, what it's made up of, how we know what we know, geophysics, application to other planets.

An introduction to geological time: Understanding how the earth has developed, getting your head around how old is old, what may happen in the future.

Rocks: What a rock is, how rocks form, identifiying sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Erosion, transport and deposition processes. Case studies.

Flow behaviour and deposition: Rather more specialised talks dealing with the behaviour of pyroclastic flows, submarine turbidity currents, landslides, lahaars and debris flows, with case studies

Contact Information