Research Interests

I am studying the link between ice sheets and the marine geological record, from the shelf to the deep sea, with special focus on Antarctic glacial history, past ice-sheet reconstructions, dating ice retreat, and the relationships between glacial geomorphology and sub-ice geology, including investigating the processes operating at ice-sheet beds. State-of-the-art and novel geophysical and geological techniques underpin most of my research, and include studies with multibeam echo-sounders, ROVs/AUVs, industry standard seismic data, and sediment cores.

At present, I am working extensively on geological records of major palaeo-ice streams, in parts of the polar regions currently undergoing rapid change, including the Amundsen Sea Embayment, the Bellingshausen Sea, and Weddell Sea. Such studies provide a history of ice retreat that is significantly longer than modern observations, and thus form a critical geological context for future changes in a warming world.

My research is increasingly multi-disciplinary in its approach. Current research projects include collaborations with oceanographers on glacial retreat in Pine Island Glacier, biologists and geochemists on the exploration of Southern Ocean hydrothermal vents, and climate scientists on sub-Antarctic ice-cap history. I also maintain key research interests in Pleistocene glaciations of the North Sea, the form and evolution of sediment drifts on the Antarctic margin, the production of bathymetric models for ice-ocean modelling, and geological constraints on biodiversity including the whereabouts of glacial refugia.

Funding:

I am Principal Investigator on a NERC New Investigator Award (NE/K000527/1): Testing the extent and timing of past glaciations on the largest sub-Antarctic island, South Georgia, Dec 2012 - Dec 2014.