Members of the Physical Geography Research Group (Balzter, Berrio, Boom, Carr, Harper, Kaduk, McLaren, Page, Powell, Tansey) are all internationally renowned scientists in the fields of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, Quaternary landscape evolution, tropical vegetation dynamics, biogeochemical cycling, atmosphere-biosphere interactions, remote sensing and fluvial system dynamics. The principal foci of the group are to:
i) advance our understanding of the nature of landscape and environmental change over Quaternary, Holocene and contemporary timescales,
ii) improve our understanding of the key processes that drive landscape and environmental change and
iii) inform current policy debates on managing landscape and environmental change.
Interdisciplinarity is a key strength (the group incorporates geochemists, mathematicians, botanists, ecologists as well as geographers) and its members exploit a wide range of techniques including fieldwork, flume and other laboratory experiments, geochemistry, geochronology, Earth Observation, GIS and mathematical modelling. Research is funded by NERC, Leverhulme, National Geographic, ERC, EU, DEFRA amongst others, and is supported by 28 postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, and makes a major contribution to a number of national and international research programmes.
Carbon in Peatlands
| Staff |
Research |
| Dr Arnoud Boom |
Biogeochemistry; stable isotopes; palaeoenvironments and ecology |
| Dr Jörg Kaduk |
Interactions of biosphere and atmosphere under climate variability and change; global biogeochemical cycling; eddy flux measurements |
| Dr Kevin Tansey |
Optical and radar remote sensing of forests and vegetation fires |
| Dr Sue Page |
Ecology of tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia (biodiversity, role in Quaternary carbon cycle, impacts of fire and land-use change) |
Carbon Cycle - Land Surface Interaction
| Staff |
Research |
| Prof Heiko Balzter |
Environmental change; climate-land surface interactions; remote sensing; greenhouse gas accounting methods; wildfires |
| Dr Jörg Kaduk |
Interactions of biosphere and atmosphere under climate variability and change; global biogeochemical cycling; eddy flux measurements |
Long-term Quaternary Landform Evolution
| Staff |
Research |
| Dr Andrew Carr |
Quaternary environmental change; dryland and aeolian geomorphology; geochronology; luminescence dating |
| Dr Sue Mclaren |
Quaternary studies; palaeoenvironments; desert environments; sedimentology; carbonate diagenesis; geochemical sediments |
Nature, Environment and Society
| Staff |
Research |
| Heiko Balzter |
Environmental change; climate-land surface interactions; remote sensing; greenhouse gas accounting methods; wildfires |
| Juan Carlos Berrio |
Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the neotropics; tropical biogeography |
| Sue Page |
Ecology of tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia (biodiversity, role in Quaternary carbon cycle, impacts of fire and land-use change) |
Quaternary Geochemistry/Biomarker Work
| Staff |
Research |
| Dr Juan Carlos Berrio |
Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the neotropics; tropical biogeography |
| Dr Arnoud Boom |
Biogeochemistry; stable isotopes; palaeoenvironments and ecology |
| Dr Andrew Carr |
Quaternary environmental change; dryland and aeolian geomorphology; geochronology; luminescence dating |
| Dr Sue Mclaren |
Quaternary studies; palaeoenvironments; desert environments; sedimentology; carbonate diagenesis; geochemical sediments |
Sediment Dynamics (+LiDAR)
| Staff |
Research |
| Dr Sue Mclaren |
Quaternary studies; palaeoenvironments; desert environments; sedimentology; carbonate diagenesis; geochemical sediments |
| Dr Mark Powell |
Sediment transport dynamics of gravel-bed rivers; arid zone hydrology, sediment transport and channel dynamics |
| Dr Nick Tate |
GIS; spatial statistics; characterization and modelling of surfaces |
| Dr David Harper |
|
Tropical Vegetation Dynamics
| Staff |
Research |
| Dr Juan Carlos Berrio |
Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the neotropics; tropical biogeography |
| Dr Arnoud Boom |
Biogeochemistry; stable isotopes; palaeoenvironments and ecology |
| Dr Andrew Carr |
Quaternary environmental change; dryland and aeolian geomorphology; geochronology; luminescence dating |
| Dr Sue Page |
Ecology of tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia (biodiversity, role in Quaternary carbon cycle, impacts of fire and land-use change) |
Remote Sensing of the Land Surface
| Staff |
Research |
| Prof Heiko Balzter |
Environmental change; climate-land surface interactions; remote sensing; greenhouse gas accounting methods; wildfires |
| Dr Kevin Tansey |
Optical and radar remote sensing of forests and vegetation fires |
| Dr Sue Page |
Ecology of tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia (biodiversity, role in Quaternary carbon cycle, impacts of fire and land-use change) |
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