News and Events

INQUA Loess 2013 - Second call for papers

kha5 — 2013-05-22T09:55:00Z

‘Loess & Dust: Geography-Geology-Archaeology'

10-12 September 2013

Deadline for registration & payment: 26th July 2013
Deadline for abstract submission: 16th August 2013

The meeting will be held in honour of Professor Ian Smalley for his outstanding contribution to loess research over more than fifty years. Ian "pioneered fundamental studies of loess origin, lithologic characteristics and depositional processes" (Dodonov and Zhou, 2008).

Confirmed highlights of the workshop so far include: our keynote speakers -

Professor Randy Schaetzl (Michigan State University): Loess deposits in the Midwestern United States: Geography matters!
Professor Ian Smalley (The University of Leicester): Loess: then, now, tomorrow, eventually

In addition, there will be tributes to Ian Smalley paid by Professor Claudio Vita Finzi (Natural History Museum) and Dr James Kwong (Yogi Kwong Engineers)

Information (including information on how to get to Leicester and accommodation options) about the workshop will be updated at the Loess Focus Group website http://www.inqua-loess.org). Remember you can top-up on your Loess Letter exposure at www.loessletter.msu.edu.

Registration Forms are attached to this email and this document can also be found at www.inqua-loess.org. If you are wishing to present a paper or poster please follow the abstract guidelines in the attached document. Please send your registration forms and abstracts to:

INQUA-LOESS2013@mail.cfs.le.ac.uk

Dr Sue McLaren sjm11@le.ac.uk; Professor Ken O'Hara-Dhand kod2@le.ac.uk

For Peat’s Sake: expert investigates tropical peatland in Southeast Asia

er134 — 2013-05-08T12:22:29Z

Professor Susan Page (pictured), from the Department of Geography will discuss the role of fascinating peatland ecosystems in the global cycle in her Inaugural lecture on Tuesday 14 May.

The lecture, For Peat’s Sake: Understanding the Vulnerability of the Tropical Peat Carbon Pool will explore Southeast Asia, where the largest area of tropical peatland is located, and the particular role that tropical peatlands play in the global carbon cycle, with the focus on the impact of human activities that have increased the vulnerability of their carbon pools.

The event will be held in the Ken Edwards Building, Lecture Theatre 1, at the University of Leicester on Tuesday 14 May at 5.30pm and is free and open to the public.

Press release

INQUA Loess 2013 – First call for papers

kha5 — 2013-04-30T15:20:00Z

Following the successful ‘Windy Day’ meeting at Leicester in 2012 the INQUA Loess Focus Group is organising a workshop at the Geography Department, Leicester University 10-12 September 2013.

‘Loess & Dust: Geography-Geology-Archaeology’

A meeting dedicated to interfaces between the various involved disciplines; also focussing on new regions where loess exploration and investigation is happening, geotechnical aspects of loess and new techniques to date and characterise loess material, and in particular aiming to look at the human/loess interface. Loess had a critical role to play in the development of human society.

The meeting will be held in honour of Professor Ian Smalley for his outstanding contribution to loess research over more than fifty years. Ian “pioneered fundamental studies of loess origin, lithologic characteristics and depositional processes” (Dodonov and Zhou, 2008). It is a residential workshop lasting 2 days followed by a 1 day field trip to the UK's best examples of loess deposits in the SE of England.
Find a bit more detail at the Loess Focus Group website and top-up on your Loess Letter exposure. Please register your interest and start to prepare an abstract. We follow Walt Whitman and head ‘towards the unknown region.’

The cost of the 3-day meeting, which includes lunch, tea/coffee and a fieldtrip on 12th September is £225.00. The cost to register for one day is £80.00.

If you wish to register please send an email to show interest:
INQUA-LOESS2013@le.ac.uk

Dr Sue McLaren sjm11@le.ac.uk
Professor Ken O'Hara-Dhand kod2@le.ac.uk or kohdhand@gmail.com

Professor Heiko Balzter in call for new satellite system to monitor world’s forests

hb91 — 2013-04-23T08:35:00Z

A new system of satellites will be needed to monitor the world's forests as part of the United Nations REDD+ programme for reducing emissions from forest degradation, argues Professor Heiko Balzter and colleagues in a Comment piece in this week's Nature.

The REDD+ working group of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which meets in Bonn, Germany, later this month, must choose a system of satellites now that will be capable of mapping tropical forests at suitable resolutions and timescales.

Current plans for monitoring tropical forests are not up to the task and "lack ambition and an understanding of the potential of satellites", the authors, led by Jim Lynch of the University of Surrey, write. The tropics cover almost half of Earth's land area, and forests are subject to illegal logging and conversion to agricultural uses, all of which needs to be tracked for the REDD+ programme to succeed.

Professor Balzter and colleagues say that, in particular, two Earth observation systems will be needed. A constellation of five radar satellites must be built and launched to provide daily monitoring to spot illegal logging, which, as well as damaging forests, costs governments billions of dollars a year in lost timber and carbon credits. And the operation of a network of optical satellites — including existing ones such as Landsat — must be agreed, with a ground crew to manage it and to carry out weekly to monthly monitoring of forests to capture seasonal changes. The UNFCCC must accept that such systems will be needed, and prepare guidelines now for how they will be delivered and implemented by governments.

“We urge policy-makers to back the right satellites and strategies to monitor and save the world’s forests,” the authors conclude.

CONTACT
Professor Heiko Balzter; 0116 252 3820

REFERENCE

Lynch, J., Maslin, M., Balzter, H. and Sweeting, M. (2013): Sustainability: Choose satellites to monitor deforestation, Nature 496, 293-294. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v496/n7445/full/496293a.html

Department of Geography 90th Anniversary Celebrations

kha5 — 2013-04-18T11:10:00Z

The celebrations start at the University’s Summer Reunion weekend on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 June. The weekend begins on the evening of Friday 28th June, with a ‘White Rose Ball’ organised by the University’s Development and Alumni Relations Office. This will be an opportunity for you to join fellow alumni and friends for a night of fine dining, music, dancing and socialising throughout the evening. The event will be attended by academics and representatives from the Geography Department and we would be delighted if you could join us in our 90th anniversary celebrations. You are also welcome to book a table, should you wish to meet up as a group with fellow alumni and friends.

The celebrations continue on campus with the Summer Reunion Open Day on Saturday 29 June, when we will be opening the Department with various hands-on events/talks/tours etc. At 3.00 p.m. we intend to have tea in the Department at which a cake will be cut to commemorate the occasion. This will be followed by a buffet and wine reception. A programme of the day will be available nearer the time, and will be posted on the Department’s web pages.

More information, including a full programme of events and booking forms for both the Summer Reunion White Rose Ball and Open Day will be available soon on the Summer Reunion web pages.

We are also producing a book entitled ‘Changing Places, Changing Spaces: 90 Years of Geography at Leicester’ which will be available to purchase for approx. £20 at the Summer Reunion weekend or via ‘shop@le.ac.uk’.

Other key events in the Department’s 2013 calendar include:

GIS Group 25th Anniversary Conference/Workshop (end August/beginning September)
Annual Lecture (lunchtime - Tuesday 10 December 2013): ‘A Tale of two Gulfs: The Accumulation of Insecurity and the Biopolitics of Risk in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Guinea’ by Professor Michael Watts (Berkeley University, USA)

Venues, times and further details for these events will also be posted, when available, on the Department’s web pages.
We would be delighted to see as many of you as possible at this year’s events and for you to share in our 90th Anniversary celebrations. Please keep checking the Summer Reunion and Department of Geography web pages for further information and details of how to book.

We look forward to seeing you!

Professor Susan Page
Head of Department

Lecturer in Geographical Information Science/Remote Sensing

kha5 — 2013-03-06T17:20:10Z

We aim to appoint a candidate whose research interests add to the research centre’s strategy and complement the GIScience and Remote Sensing Research Group in the Department of Geography. This post will predominantly strengthen the evolution of the centre’s research programme and contribute elements to the teaching programme in the Department of Geography. You should have a relevant PhD, a strong publication record and evidence of research excellence. You will be required to supervise PhD students, win research grants and teach on undergraduate and/or postgraduate programmes including supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation students.

Closing date for applications: 11 April 2013.
View further details