Earth Sciences and Geography

ES&GNewsletter

In this Issue

No 24, Summer 2007

2 New Fieldcourse to Italy3 ES&G Staff in geoconservation3 Hamps and Manifold Geotrail4 The Kashmir Earthquake5 New Staff5 New Postgraduates6 New Chair for ECORD6 Peter Styles chairs nuclear waste disposal

committee6 Introducing Geology - A review6 ES&G student wins business award7 Award for excellence in Learning and

Teaching7 Conferences and Workshops7 New Book published8 Sedimentary Structures published8 Grants8 Conferences Abstracts and papers given10 Publications; Goodbye and

Congratulations

Earth Sciences and Geography – buoyant science

Keele University

During the last year, Earth Sciences and Geography, now part of the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, has begun to reap the benefi ts of this amalgamation, which has provided opportunities for laboratory renovation and purchase of new teaching equipment, without reducing the student intake numbers. Optical problems found to occur in the new polarising microscopes bought to help train the Forensic Scientists (as well as Geologists) have been satisfactorily overcome by collaboration with the suppliers and manufacturers at no extra cost to the School.

We welcome as new members of staff Katie Szkornik, fi xed term lecturer in Physical Geography, and Lisa Lau, Lecturer in Cultural and Social Geography. We have also appreciated the cheerful help from Isobel Tomlinson, who as a teaching fellow in Geography taught courses from the autumn until June. All these appointees, together with sessional teaching by Phil Kivell, have helped deliver the Geography

course during the fi nal stages of the current Geography regeneration.

The departure of Chris Banks, who started a career with Schumberger in the autumn has been mitigated by the news that he has won the Clough Memorial Award, based on his excellent research undertaken in the Scottish Highlands

while a postgraduate, and latterly a postdoctoral Fellow at Keele.

Congratulations are also due to Nigel Cassidy and Nigel Mountney, who obtained well-deserved promotions to Senior Lecturer in March.

The arrival of many new staff has naturally been accompanied by several changes in the research interests pursued. The major refurbishment plan for the William Smith and Flume Buildings has now been completed: the fi nal stages included the installation of a new Cold Laboratory in the newly named Woodland Geoscience Laboratory

(formerly the Flume building), and modern fume cupboards in the Geochemistry Laboratory. A new scheme to refurbish the old wing of the William Smith Building is now in an advanced stage of planning. This scheme is intended to combine the Beaver Laboratory (G10), the Mineralogy Laboratory (G7) and the dividing corridor into one huge teaching area, divisible

as needed by the use of a moving soundproofed partition, with the bulk of rocks stored for the teaching collection to be housed, using the existing cabinets, in the area currently occupied by the Workshop.

Recent visitors to the William Smith Building cannot fail to notice the looming presence of the new Claus Moser Centre, currently being built beyond the metasequoia trees of the Burnaby Memorial Garden. Its construction has necessitated the removal of the Cope Memorial Gingko Tree

from its original position: its new location has yet to be decided.

The many other successful activities undertaken by staff and students in the School during the previous year are detailed in the articles that follow. The staffi ng and room use alterations and the new activities undertaken by newer members of staff continue to show the current pace of change, and illustrate how Earth Sciences and Geography continues to adapt dynamically to face future challenges.

John Winchester

New geology fi eldcourse venue a great success. See page 2 for a full report.

Ian Stimpson has set up a group on the social networking site Facebook for Keele Geology and ESS Alumni. This will allow announcement of details of events such as the biennial reunions to be made much more easily than maintaining a manual database and mass e-mailings.

To join, go to keele.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2340207951 (you will need to be registered on Facebook [facebook.com] fi rst but most of our current students are already).

Facebook users might also want to check out the groups “GeoSoc”, “Ralf Gertisser Appreciation Society”, “Micheal Montenari = Hero” and “Stimo- The Legend!”.

Keele Geology/ESS Alumni Group on Facebook

Page 2 ES&G Newsletter

New Fieldcourse to Southern Italy

On 13th May 2007 a group of sixteen third- and fourth-year Geology and Earth System Science students and two staff members – Graham Lees and Ralf Gertisser – headed to Southern Italy to explore some of the region’s famous volcanoes as part of the fi eldwork component of module ESC-30023 “Magmatic and Volcanic Processes”.

The fi rst part of the trip was devoted to the Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields) and Vesuvius, two active volcanic areas around Naples. After our arrival, a short visit to Solfatara, a large volcanic crater with powerful fumaroles, allowed us to relax from the long journey and the chaotic traffi c in Naples.

On the next day, the group went to the place where volcanology was born: at Vesuvius where the volcano destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79. After a short climb to the summit of Vesuvius, we visited Pompeii to study the deposits of the AD 79 eruption and to speculate about life in ancient Pompeii and the tragic events on that hot August day almost 2000 years ago (“What caused the contorted limbs seen on the bodies found at Pompeii”?).

On the third day, we visited the Osservatorio Vesuviano, which gave us the opportunity to discuss volcano monitoring andthe emergency plans for the Neapolitan area, before heading to Torregaveta to have a closer look at the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff and the Campanian Ignimbrite; the volcanic products of two gigantic eruptions of the Phlegrean Fields that dwarf even the greatest eruptions of Vesuvius.

After a visit to the Temple of Serapis in Pozzuoli, where visible evidence of recent ground uplift in the Phlegrean Fields is preserved, we left Naples on an overnight ferry to the Aeolian Islands with the (almost) permanently active Stromboli, “the Lighthouse of the Tyrrhenian Sea”, Lipari, famous for its obsidian lava fl ow and pumice deposits, Salina, known to some students as Ralf’s island, and smoking Vulcano, where the type “Vulcanian” eruption took place in 1888-90, and home of “Vulcan”, the god himself.

Overall, staff and students alike agreed that the fi eldtrip was a great success and it is hoped that it will become a regular addition to the ES&G fi eld course programme in the years to come.

Needless to say introducing such a trip wouldn’t have been possible without the support of all ES&G staff, especially Stuart Egan, Nigel Cassidy, Ian Wilshaw, Malcolm Wright, Andy Lawrence and Peter Greatbatch.

Ralf Gertisser

Students investigating the deposits of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption in Pompeii

Keele students enjoying the fumaroles on Vulcano

Appoaching non-active Stromboli volcano

ES&G Newsletter Page 3

School staff take a leading role in local geoconservation activities

Hamps and Manifold Geotrail

Over the past decade, there has been an increasing recognition of the unique nature and importance of the country’s geological and geomorphological heritage and the need for its protection within planning legislation. Whilst the focus of planners, conservation groups and other organisations has in the past been largely restricted to issues of “biodiversity”, the importance of “geodiversity” has gained increasing prominence at local, regional and national levels, and is now explicitly incorporated in key planning policies, such as the Government’s Planning Policy Statement 9 entitled “Biodiversity and Geological Conservation”.

UK RIGS, formed in 1999, is one of the principal organisations involved in geoconservation activities. It comprises a series of regional RIGS groups whose principal purpose is to identify and appraise “RIGS” sites (Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites). Once approved, these can then be used to encourage the appreciation, conservation and promotion of local and regional geodiversity and thereby complement existing SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientifi c Interest). In so doing, RIGS groups work collaboratively with other organisations such as “Natural England” (which has replaced English Nature) in identifying and helping conserve local geodiversity and to promote its responsible use.

A number of ES&G staff, both past and present, are active in the Staffordshire RIGS group. Richard Waller is the current Chair of the group and Ian Simpson has played a key role in a range of activities, including the development of the group’s website. Over the past year, the group’s effort has been largely channelled into the development and completion of a “Geotrail” that runs through the Hamps & Manifold Valleys in the Peak District from Waterhouses to Upper Hulme, and which was funded by the Staffordshire Aggregates Levy Grant Scheme (SALGS) (see below). It is hoped that this will be the fi rst of a series of county geotrails, and the group is currently submitting a bid for the next round of SALGS funding for another geotrail that, if successful, will follow the Churnet Valley from Leek to Alton.

The group is always looking for willing volunteers and if you would like to get involved in their activities please contact Richard.

Staffordshire RIGS group - http://www.esci.keele.ac.uk/srigsUK RIGS - http://www.ukrigs.org.uk

Richard Waller & Ian Stimpson

Over the past year, the bulk of the Staffordshire RIGS group’s energies have been directed towards the development of a geotrail following the Hamps and Manifold Valleys in the Peak District. This project, lead by Pat Cossey from Staffordshire University, but also including signifi cant contribu-tions from Keele staff Richard Waller and Ian Stimpson, has recently come to a successful conclu-sion with the publication of a colour trail guide.

The 13 km trail explores the geology and scenery of this fascinating part of the Peak District and mainly follows the resurfaced trackbed of the old Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway between Hulme End and Waterhouses. The leafl et provides a “walk through” guide of the principal features of interest along the route, supported by a simplifi ed map of the local geology. Key features include various exposures of the Carboniferous limestones, whose fauna were fi rst examined in detail by the local teacher Samuel Carrington (1798-1870); the old mineral workings around Ecton, formerly one of the world’s richest copper mining areas, and; well known landmarks such as Thor’s Cave.

The leafl et also provides background information on the geology, geomorphology and industrial heritage of the region, as well as the archive of palaeontological and archaeological information contained in the caves that line the valleys.

If you would like a copy of the leafl et, or know any organisations who might like multiples copies, then please contact Richard. Alternatively, a pdf of the leafl et can be downloaded from the group’s website.

WebsiteStaffordshire RIGS Group - http://www.esci.keele.ac.uk/srigs

Richard Waller & Ian Stimpson

Participants at the Hamps & Manifold Geotrail launch scrutinising an exposure of Ecton limestones.

Page 4 ES&G Newsletter

The Kashmir Earthquake

Earlier this year I was able to visit the site of one of the most catastrophic (although not one of the largest) earthquakes since instrumental records began. On the 8th of October 2005, at 8.50 in the morning while most children were in school, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, occurred at a depth of only 10 km, beneath the Balakot-Muzzarafabad region of Northern Pakistan and Azzad Kashmir with devastating effect. Even though this is a very sparsely populated region, the death toll in Pakistan was almost 75,000 with as many injured, and a total of some 3.5 million people were affected as far south as Islamabad almost a hundred kilometres away. In some regions, extended families lost on average 6 members. Nearly 2.5 million people lost their houses and many remain in temporary accommodation, often tents, in a region where winter temperatures fall to -10C on a regular basis and as many were subject to severe food shortages.

The earthquake was caused by the collision of the Indian plate with the Asian plate which has led to the formation of the highest mountain ranges in the world; the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs, the Karakoram and of course the Himalayas. The quake lies on the western margin of the Nanga Parbat massif and close to the valley of the Indus River. Nanga Parbat (Naked Mountain) is rising faster than anywhere else on he Earth’s surface and although only(!) 9th highest is considered to have the highest mountain face in the world, the Rupal Face, rising an incredible 4,600 m (15,000 feet) above its base. This is not the fi rst major earthquake in the region, a similar large

event occurred in 1155 and some scientists consider that the stress released in this quake is a small fraction, perhaps 10%, of the stress that has built up since the previous event due to the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates.

Many landslides on natural and cut slopes were triggered by this quake damming rivers and

causing extensive damage to bridges, roads and other engineering structures over an area of 30,000 sq. km.

Most tragically a total of about 10,000 schools were devastated by this single event with 8,000 schools collapsing in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), and 2,000 in Pakistan’s less-populous Kashmir region. All the schools in Muzaffarabad itself collapsed leading to a great loss of life amongst children. The young Pakistani geologists who were our guides were on the spot assessing the situation and helping with the rescue the day after the quake and were

deeply affected by the experience, as was I, even more than a year after it happened.

Much of the damage observed in the quake affected areas (Islamabad, Abottabad, Balakot, Muzaffarabad) was due not to earthquake shaking as often mistakenly thought (and a myth perpetuated by many fi lms) , but is mainly due to the use of poor building materials, inadequate

construction practice particularly of concrete structures, lack of any building codes and little knowledge of the engineering properties of the ground on which the villages are built which is often river gravels or even landslide material from previous historic earthquakes.

On my recent visit to Balakot it was clear that rebuilding has already begun using construction techniques which have plainly proved inadequate in the past with poorly tied reinforced concrete pillars and solid concrete roofs. Of course, shortage of timber and an abundance of aggregate transported directly from the Karakoram make this inevitable, if undesirable.

At Keele University, we are developing a project in conjunction with the National Centre for Excellence in Geology in Peshawar to bring a Pakistani geoscientist (probably a current member of staff at a local University) here to work with us for a PhD on seismic monitoring techniques which can not only map the location and movement on faults but more importantly, use an analysis of the properties of seismic background noise to determine the engineering properties of the ground and help to identify particularly damage-prone areas.

It very sobering to realise that the risk of death in an earthquake is directly proportional to the state of economic deprivation of the area which suffers it. Both Japan and the US have suffered comparable earthquakes in magnitude to this with much less human impact mainly due to the existence of well-developed building codes and adherence to strictly controlled construction practice. Hopefully, this work can help bring some of the benefi ts of this knowledge to the people of Pakistan and the other countries bordering the Himalayas and help make the events which will occur inevitably somewhere along this tectonic boundary much less devastating.Peter Styles

ES&G Newsletter Page 5

New Staff

Lisa LauLisa is a Lecturer in Cultural and Social Geography. Her research areas include South Asia, postcolonialism, gender studies, cross-cultural studies, power, narrative, identity construction, and interdisciplinary studies; positioning itself at a crossroads of literary, cultural and geographical studies.

A signifi cant proportion of her current research focuses on the representation, positioning, and social and spatial entrapment of women.

Her results, derived from detailed textual anal-ysis, interviews and discussions with authors, publishers and readers, cyberspace fi eldwork, and increasingly, electronic ethnography, have identifi ed many signifi cant ongoing changes in the creation of South Asian women’s im-ages and identities (in a South Asia undergoing rapid economic and social changes), as well as cultural changes within diasporic South Asian communities.

Katie Szkornik

Katie Szkornik joined the School in January having recently completed her PhD at the School of Geography, University of Plymouth. Katie’s research interests include coastal environments, Holocene sea-level change, diatoms and diatom palaeoecology. Katie’s work currently focuses on the use of multivariate statistical techniques for reconstructing past sea-level changes from salt-marsh diatoms.

Katie teaches on Global Warming or a New Ice Age, Geographical Skills I and II, Fundamentals of Physical Geography, The Practice of Physical Geography, Advanced Systematic Geography, Practical Physical Geography, Geographical Research Training, Global Environmental Change and the new third year course Coastal Environments.

New Postgraduates

Tim Millington

Tim studied Computer Science and Mathematics here at Keele for his fi rst degree and has extensive industrial-based computational and IT systems experience. His PhD will involve the development of new GPR-based numerical modelling and inversion schemes as part of Nigel Cassidy’s EPSRC funded “IMAGINE” grant (Inversion, Modelling and Analysis of GPR in Near-Surface Environments) and will soon be joined by Dr Luigina Nuzzo, postdoctoral researcher on the grant.

John Jervis

John started an EPSRC CASE funded PhD studentship in December 2006 entitled: Forensic geophysics at simulated clandestine grave sites. With a background in physics and geophysics (M.Res from Southampton University 2006), John will be working in close

collaboration with Keele and Staffordshire Universities’ Burials Research Group and his industrial sponsor (STATS Ltd.) as well as with local and national police services to use geophysics to detect clandestine burials.

Shahid Ghazi

Shahid Ghazi commenced his PhD research

into the “Sedimentology and stratigraphic

evolution of the Early Permian Warchha

Sandstone, Salt Range, Pakistan” in February

2007, having been funded to come to Keele

by a scholarship from the University of

Punjab. Shahid has B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees

in Geology from the University of Punjab, has

previously worked as a geological consultant

for Geoservices Eastern Inc. and from 2003-

2006 held the post of Assistant Professor in the

Institute of Geology at Punjab University.

Shahid has already established himself as a

geological researcher of some merit prior to

commencing his Ph.D. studies at Keele. He

already has 19 publications in a variety of Asian

journals including “Mountain News”, “Journal

of the Nepal Geological Society” and “The

Geological Bulletin of Punjab University”. In

addition to written publications, Shahid has

also recently had abstracts accepted for oral

and poster presentations at major international

conferences including the “International

Geological Congress”, the “International

Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology”, the

“International Association of Sedimentologists

Annual Conference”, and the “European

Geosciences Union Conference”.

His arrival is a welcome addition to Earth

Sciences.

Page 6 ES&G Newsletter

New Chair for ECORD

Peter Styles to chair nuclear waste disposal committee

Professor Peter Styles, Professor of Applied and Environmental Geophysics and Director of iEPSAM, has been appointed to Chair the Review Panel for the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD ) of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).

The review which is being carried out by a panel of seven scientists from Europe and the US will evaluate the effectiveness of ECORD within the IODP programme and make recommendation for future strategy, development and funding. The Panel met for the fi rst time last week at UNESCO in Paris and will report by the end of November.

The IODP, formed in 2003, consists of three principal agencies, the US, Japan and a consortium of seventeen European Partners called ECORD. ECORD contributes about $US 14 Million per annum to the programme, targeted to grow to more than $US 20 Million in 2008.

ECORD has primary responsibility for providing bespoke drilling capability for scientifi c work in shallow water and environmentally sensitive areas where the giant drilling vessels operated by the US (Joides Resolution) and the new Japanese Vessel (Chikyu) cannot go.

Professor Peter Styles, Director of EPSAM, has been invited by Sir Howard Dalton, the Chief Scientifi c Advisor to DEFRA to chair a committee to identify screening criteria for sub-surface disposal of radioactive waste as part of the Government’s “Managing Radioactive Waste Safely” Programme.

David Milliband, formerly Secretary of State for the Environment in the Blair government, was advised by CoRWM (Committee on Radioactive Waste Management) who recommended to Government in July 2006 that subsurface geological disposal at a site agreed with a volunteer community was the preferred method for safely disposing of Radioactive Waste.

In order to be able to assess the suitability of volunteer sites it is necessary to have geological criteria which allow geologically unsuitable sites to be ruled out at an early stage to avoid costly site investigation which might take many years and cost millions of pounds.

The Geological Criteria Panel chaired by Professor Styles have been tasked with developing decision tools which will allow unsuitable candidate sites to be ruled out on the basis of robust geological criteria

ES&G student wins Business award

Adrian Lim, who is a 3rd year student studying Applied Environmental Science & Geology won second place and received a cheque for £500, at the BIZCOM awards ceremony and lunch, which took place at Keele Hall on Tuesday, 1 May, 2007.

BIZCOM is a regional competition, which is run within the West Midlands and is led by Warwick & Wolverhampton Universities. The winners from Warwick, Wolverhampton, Keele, Worcester & Coventry Universities then go through to a regional fi nal, which this year is being held at the Wolverhampton Science Park on Thursday 10th May.

For the Keele competition, the panel of judges, which included Mike Cole (Michelin Tyre plc), Sheila Henshall (WIRE & ex HSBC) and Tony Altham, a local entrepreneur, together with staff from Keele, assessed the entries, judging them on the innovativeness of the idea, the viability & sustainability, as well as the level of commitment and passion demonstrated.

Writing an introductory text, designed to attract a wider public to geology has always been a challenge. It is a continuing paradox that, in Britain, as a small country with such a well-presented range of geological features, and which has historically played a leading role in unravelling the mysteries of earth development, there should be so little appreciation of geology among the wider population. The challenge in bringing geology to public attention has been taken up successfully by Graham Park, a distinguished Professor emeritus at Keele University, who now lives in the north of Scotland.

He has produced a short, copiously illustrated review of modern earth science, expressed in simple language to make it accessible to non-geologists. The book carefully and systematically explains geological terms throughout and contains a comprehensive glossary, so that non-geologists can retain their interest as they read. If it introduces more people to geology and stimulates their interest it will have done a service to the subject. At the same time the book covers the subject in suffi cient depth to provide an insight into recent developments of geological thought.

This book is original in the order in which it introduces the reader to different geological topics, but the sequence does present some of the more eye-catching aspects of the subject early. These should encourage the reader to read on. An initial chapter introducing geology through a look at crystals and gemstones, is followed immediately by an account of volcanic eruptions and magmas. The sections on surface processes and sedimentary rocks are so clearly described that any observer should be able to identify common sedimentary rocks using the criteria given. The sections on Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes and structural geology are closest to the author’s own fi eld of expertise, yet he has skilfully avoided the temptation to provide excessive detail for the layman. They are all

clearly explained and lucid. Time and the great age of the earth, fossil evidence for the evolution of life, and the industrial exploitation of natural resources are all covered in outline, leading into the fi nal section where the development and evolution of the earth into the planet we know today is explained.

It is inevitable that there will be some minor omissions in a brief summary of such a broad subject. All reviewers have their preferred topics: this book would have been improved by an explanation of the difference between geological and geographical defi nitions of continents, by reference to ocean fl oor black smokers and their links with major volcanogenic massive sulphide orebodies, and by a reference to Snowball Earth during the Cryogenian period of the Neoproterozoic in the fi nal section. The latter topic could have been linked to a longer fi nal commentary on present climate change, as a topical subject, and how it fi ts into global climatic variations throughout geological time. It is also a pity that use is made of a relatively dated timescale: for example calculations for the age of the base of the Cambrian have for some years now been 542 Ma, rather than 570 Ma, as shown on the international stratigraphic chart based on Gradstein et al. (2004).

Finally, while the glossary is comprehensive and helpful, an index and a list of suggested further reading (rather than a formal reference list) would have been improvements, though their omission does not greatly detract from the quality of the contents. This is a good introductory book.

John Winchester

Introducing Geology - A Review

ES&G Newsletter Page 7

Conferences/Workshops

The importance of the spatial dimension of thestructure, organization and experience of socialrelations is fundamental for sociological analysis and understanding. Space and Social Theory is an essential primer on the theories of space and inherent spatiality, guiding readers through the contributions of key and infl uential theorists: Marx, Simmel, Lefebvre, Harvey and Foucault. Giving an essential and accessible overview of social theories of space, this book shows why it matters to understand these theorists spatially. It will be crucial reading for students in sociology, urban studies, human geography, politics, andanthropology.

Dr Peter Knight, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Course Director for the Physical Geography programmes, has won one of Keele’s prestigious “Individual Awards for Excellence in Learning and Teaching”. This individual award builds on the success of the Physical Geography teaching team in winning a Team Award for Excellence in 2006, and demonstrates the success of the innovations in teaching that have characterised Physical Geography at Keele in recent years. On the basis of this award the University will also be putting Peter Knight forward as a nominee for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme.

Dr Knight’s award is made in his 20th year of lecturing and is based not on a specific project or activity but on a career-long process of development and dissemination of innovation and good practice. Peter’s chief goal in teaching has always been to influence learners, colleagues and the wider community in a positive way on the basis of a reflective and imaginative approach to teaching, and the award recognises the effectiveness of his particular philosophy of teaching: to inspire, to innovate and to disseminate.

According to Peter, teaching Geography is about exploring the world together with the students, learning together about our ever-changing environment, and expanding each other’s outlooks. “My goal is to inspire, motivate, and enthuse; to help students to recognise, aspire to and achieve their fullest potential; to help students to see the world differently, and to allow them to help me to see it differently too. My approach has developed and evolved throughout 20 years of professional teaching during which I have sought continuous innovation in pursuit of new ways of helping new cohorts of students from different backgrounds with ever-changing needs.

I am especially enthusiastic about using novel approaches in order to engage new audiences, and to help people to look at the world in new ways. My philosophy is summed up in the words of one of my students: “you helped me to appreciate the world in a different light”. For me, that is what education is about.”

The individual award for excellence is based on 4 criteria:

1. An ability to influence learners positively, to inspire them and to enable them to achieve their goals or intended learning outcomes

2. An ability to influence and inspire colleagues in their teaching, learning and assessment practice, by example and/or through the dissemination of good practice.

3. A track record of positively influencing my community of practice, in and beyond my own institution or subject area, in relation to teaching, learning and assessment practice

4. An ability to demonstrate a reflective approach to teaching / support of learning.

Peter’s contributions to the discipline at Keele and in the wider community have included a diverse range of activities. Peter serves as a teaching quality auditor at Keele and has advised in teaching reviews and audits at other institutions. He publishes in the literature of teaching and learning in Geography, and has given invited lectures on teaching at professional conferences. He has appeared on BBC TV, Radio and online in educational documentaries, and has contributed learning materials to UK and US Museums and US public service TV. Undergraduate textbooks that Peter has written have been adopted internationally: one international journal reviewing Peter’s book “Glaciers” wrote: “… for students interested in learning more about glaciers this book cannot be surpassed.”. Peter also maintains an active programme of scientific research and publishing that underpins his teaching.

The integration of teaching and research is one of the hallmarks of Physical Geography at Keele, and the 2006 Team Award and the 2007 Individual Award to Peter Knight illustrate its effectiveness.

Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

John Winchester was an invited keynote speaker at the 60th Geological Congress of Turkey, held in Ankara in April 2007. Following the meeting he remained in Turkey for a few days in order to write collaborative papers with colleagues at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara and to sample rocks from a late Precambrian meta-ophiolite in the Bolu Massif for isotopic dating at the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratories at Keyworth.

Linda Austin attended a research training fi eld course to Milos in Greece in April 2007. This course was organised for PhD students who are funded by the British Geological Survey (BGS). She was also awarded a place on the BGS School of Field Geology course entitled ‘an introduction to sequence stratigraphy in the fi eld: Utah, USA’, which took place in June 2007.

Stuart Egan attended a meeting of the South Caspian Working Group, which is part of the Middle East Basins Evolution (MEBE) Programme that is funded by a consortium of oil companies and research organisations. The meeting took place in November 2006 at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. He also was an invited speaker at the MEBE MILANO Meeting held at the University of Milan in December 2006.

Page 8 ES&G Newsletter

Conference Abstracts and Papers given

Grants

Brunt, R.L., Pringle, J.K., Hodgson, D.M., Haigh, C.J., Flint S.S. 2007. Modelling a Mid-Slope Channel Complex from Outcrop Data: Example from Skeiding, the Laingsburg Karoo, South Africa. AAPG Annual Convention & Exhibition April 1– 4, 2007 Long Beach, California, USA.

Cain, S.A and Mountney, N.P., 2006. A multi-scale approach to the analysis and interpretation of a terminal fl uvial system: the Permian Organ Rock Formation, SE Utah. British Sedimentological Research Group - 45, University of Aberdeen.

Cain, S.A and Mountney, N.P., 2006. The sedimentology and architectural analysis of a terminal fl uvial system: the Permian Organ Rock Formation, SE Utah. British Sedimentological Research Group - 45, University of Aberdeen.

Cassidy, N.J. & Pringle, J.K. 2007. Environmental geophysics for site investigation: what can you trust? Invited abstract for the Environmental Forensics: A new frontier conference, to be held at Bournemouth University, UK, 16-18 April.

Charbonnier, S. & Gertisser, R. (2007). The 2006 block-and-ash fl ow deposits of Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia: comparison of fi eld observations and TITAN2D fl ow simulations. IUGG General Assembly, Perugia, Italy, July 2007.

Charbonnier, S. & Gertisser, R. (2007). The June 2006 block-and-ash fl ow deposits of Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia. Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group Annual Meeting, Oxford, UK, Jan. 2007.

Charbonnier, S., Gertisser, R. & Keller, J. (2006): Small-volume pyroclastic fl ows at Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia: Types and hazard implications. 3rd International Merapi Workshop, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 2006.

Di Celma, C., Hodgson, D., Brunt, R.L., Kavanagh, J.P., Haigh, C.J., Pringle, J.K., & Flint S.S. 2007. Architectural Hierarchy of Two Juxtaposed Slope Channel Complex Sets in the Laingsburg Depocenter, Karoo Basin, South Africa. AAPG Annual Convention & Exhibition April 1– 4, 2007 Long Beach, California, USA.

Duller, R.A., Mountney, N.P., Russell, A.J., 2006. Sedimentary structures and textures associated with volcaniclastic jökulhlaup deposits: an example from southern, Iceland. British Sedimentological Research Group - 45, University of Aberdeen.

Egan, S.S., Mosar, J., Brunet, M-F., Bochud, M., Kangarli, T. and Mountney, N.P. 2006. Subsidence mechanisms within the South

Nigel Cassidy was awarded an EPSRC grant of £218,000 for “Inversion, Modelling and Analysis of GPR in Near-surface Environments.

Katie Szkornik received £600 from the Quaternary Research Association (QRA) towards attendance at the INQUA XVII Congress, Cairns, Australia. July 2007.Ralf Gertisser was awarded a NERC New

Investigator Grant of £ 69,694 towards his project - New insights into the deposit architecture and emplacement mechanisms of block-and-ash fl ows using ground penetrating radar.

He also received £300 from the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland Senior Travel Bursary towards Understanding the eruptive behaviour of Merapi Volcano, Indonesia:A case study of the 2006 eruption and £ 1360 from Nuffi eld Science Bursaries – Undergraduate Research for Oliver Jones’s project: Reducing volcanic risk: Numerical modelling of deadly pyroclastic fl ows of Merapi Volcano, Indonesia, using the Titan2D program

Sylvain Charbonnier received the following grants:

£1,200 from the Daniel Pidgeon Fund from the Geological Society of London for his fi eldwork project “Generation and emplacement mechanisms of the June 2006 block-and-ash fl ows at Merapi Volcano, Java, Indonesia”. It will partially cover the cost (travel) of the forthcoming fi eld season in Indonesia from July 17th to September 14th.

€1000 from the IAS (International Association of Sedimentologists) Grant in the fi rst round of the Grant Scheme 2007 for the forthcoming fi eld season in Indonesia. It will help to cover the rest of the cost (accommodation + incidentals) of the fi eldwork.

€250 from the IUGG conference fund to attend the IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) General Assembly in Perugia, Italy, from 9 to 13 July 2007. It offers exemption from registration fees.

€300 Travel Grant to attend the COV 5 (Cities on Volcanoes) conference at Shimabara, Japan, from 19 to 23 November 2007.

Nigel Mountney received £3231 from Talisman Ltd and Ichron Ltd. Aeolian sedimentology and stratigraphy of the gas-bearing Permian Rotliegend interval of the Auk Field, Central North Sea.

Oliver Wakefi eld, received £400 from the British Sedimentological Research Group. Sedimentary expression of repeated episodes of marine transgression and regression across low-relief arid shoreline successions.

Steven Cain received £700 towards Sedimentology and stratigraphic architecture of a terminal fl uvial fan system: The Permian Organ Rock Formation, SE Utah. Aeolian sedimentology and stratigraphy of the gas-bearing Permian Rotliegend interval of the Auk Field, Central North Sea.

Having been out of print for over a decade, a new and largely re-written edition of the classic sedimentology textbook “Sedimentary Structures” was published in November 2006. For this new edition, Keele sedimentologist Nigel Mountney joined the original team of John Collinson and David Thompson (both of whom had previously held academic positions at Keele).

This third edition of the book has been completely overhauled to refl ect recent developments in the fi eld of sedimentology, with large parts of the text being completely re-written and many new fi gures having been devised to illustrate the broad range of sedimentary structures discussed.

The book has been designed primarily for an undergraduate readership and is now the recommended core text for both year 1 and year 2 sedimentology classes at Keele. Indeed, the new book has largely been designed around the needs of Geology, Earth System Science and Environmental Science students at Keele reading sedimentology.

In addition, the book will also be of interest to non-specialists who are keen to gain a basic understanding of how structures within modern sediments and sedimentary rocks can be used to infer processes of deposition and palaeoenvironmental setting.

Nigel Mountney

ES&G Newsletter Page 9

Caspian Basin: Insights from the Onshore and offshore Azerbaijan region. Middle East Basin Evolution Programme MILANO Meeting, University of Milan, Italy, December 4-5, 2006.

Gardner, M.F., Troll V.R., Hart, G., Gamble, J.A., Ellam, R.M., Wolff, J.A. & Gertisser, R. (2007). Shallow-level processes at Krakatau volcano: crystallisation and late stage crustal contamination. European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, Apr. 2007.

Gardner, M.F., Troll, V.R., Hart, G., Gertisser, R., Wolff, J.A. & Gamble, J.A. (2006): Shallow-level processes at Anak Krakatau: crystallisation and late-stage crustal contamination. 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Melbourne, Australia, Aug.-Sept. 2006.

Gertisser, R. & Charbonnier, S. (2007). Volatile content, ascent and degassing of andesitic magma at Merapi volcano, Java. Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group Annual Meeting, Oxford, UK, Jan. 2007.

Gertisser, R., Chadwick, J.P., Condomines, M., Handley, H.K., Keller, J. & Troll, V.R. Eruptive history and geochemical evolution of Merapi volcano, Java, Indonesia: A summary and review. 3rd International Merapi Workshop, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 2006.

Gertisser, R., Self, S., Thomas, L.E. & Handley, H.K. (2007). U-series and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic constraints on the petrogenesis of the 1815 Tambora magma. European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, Apr. 2007.

Kelling, G. 2007. Turbidites and related deposits: a brief review of their genesis and geological signifi cances. 60th Geological Congress of Turkey, Abstract Volume, 21 (invited keynote talk)

Handley, H.K., Macpherson, C.G. J.P. Davidson, J.P. & Gertisser, R. (2006): Along-arc heterogeneity in crustal architecture and subduction input at the Sunda arc in Java, Indonesia. 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Melbourne, Australia, Aug.-Sept. 2006.

Mountney, N.P. and Russell, A.J., 2006. Dune development in a water table-controlled wet aeolian system: Skeiðarársandur, southern Iceland. British Sedimentological Research Group - 45, University of Aberdeen.

Mountney, N.P. and Russell, A.J., 2006. Sedimentology of a cold-climate aeolian sandsheet and response to late Holocene climate change: Askja, northeast Iceland. British Sedimentological Research Group - 45, University of Aberdeen.

Murphy, P., Pringle, J.K., Bottomley, M., Parr, A., Strange, K., Hunter, G., Halliwell,

R.A., Helm, J., Tatum, D.I., Haas, G. & Westerman, A.R. 2007. Contextual synthesis of multi-dsciplinary data from Gaping Gill, North Yorkshire, UK. Abstract for a presentation at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 15-20th April.

Parkes, A.A. Reconstructing the British Ice Sheet within the Cheshire Plain and southern Pennine Margins presented at Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion meeting at the University of St. Andrews between the 4-5th January 2007

Pimentel, A., Gertisser, R., Self, S. & Pacheco, J.M. (2007). The infl uence of topography on the deposition of the Lajes-Angra Ignimbrite (~20 ka BP) on Terceira Island, Azores. International IAVCEI-CEV Workshop “Density Currents and Topography”, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, March 2007.

Pringle, J.K., Jervis, J., Cassella, J.P., Middleton, H., Rogers, D., Summers, R. & Cassidy, N.J. 2007. Time-lapse geophysics, composite probability maps & taught site material on a simulated urban clandestine grave site. Invited abstract for the Environmental Forensics: A new frontier conference, to be held at Bournemouth University, UK, 16-18 April.

Pringle, J.K., Haigh, C.J., Brunt, R.L., Hodgson, D.M., & Flint, S.S. 2006. Comparison of 3D data outcrop capture techniques and resulting models at Skeiding, Laingsburg Karoo, South Africa. Invited abstract for the Geological Society Petroleum Group: From Outcrop to Asset: Recent Advance in Digital Outcrop Data Collection and Modelling Techniques, 10-11th January 2007.

Pringle, J.K., Cassella, J.P., Middleton, H., Rogers, D, Summers, R. & Cassidy, N.J. 2006. Multi-disciplinary studies and taught site material on a simulated clandestine grave site. Geological Society Forensic Geology Meeting, London, 19th December.

Szkornik, K., Gehrels, W.R. and Charman, D., 2006. The use of diatoms as sea-level indicators in Ho Bugt, western Denmark. British Diatomists’ Meeting 2006, Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre, North Yorkshire, UK. October 2006.

Szkornik, K., Gehrels, W.R. and Charman, D. 2007. Comparing quantitative and qualitative reconstructions of relative sea level. An evaluation of relative sea-level data from Ho Bugt, western Denmark. UK working group of IGCP Project 495 and the INQUA Commission on Coastal and Marine Processes joint meeting. St Andrews, Scotland. July 2007.

Szkornik, K., Gehrels, W.R. and Charman, D. 2007. The use of diatoms as sea-level indicators in Ho Bugt, western Denmark. UK working group of IGCP Project 495 and the INQUA Commission on Coastal

and Marine Processes joint meeting. St Andrews, Scotland. July 2007.

Szkornik, K., Gehrels, W.R., Bradley, S.L. and Milne, G.A. 2007. The glacio-eustatic contribution to sea-level rise in the middle to late Holocene constrained by relative sea-level data from western Denmark. INQUA XVII Congress, Cairns, Australia. July 2007.

Waller, R.I., Knight, P.G., Stimpson, I.G., Mason, K.T. & Parkes, A.A. Re-mapping the “Stoke Series” of meltwater channels in North Staffordshire presented at Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion meeting at the University of St. Andrews between the 4-5th January 2007

Thomas, L.E., Gertisser, R., Self, S. & Handley, H.K. (2006): Magma generation processes and timescales leading to the great 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano, Sumbawa, Indonesia. 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Melbourne, Australia, Aug.-Sept. 2006.

Troll, V.R., Chadwick, J.P., Schwarzkopf, L.M., Zimmer, M., Gertisser, R. & Sulistiyo, Y. (2006): Magma-crust interaction at Merapi volcano, Indonesia: geochemical insights into volcano behaviour. 3rd International Merapi Workshop, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 2006.

Troll, V.R., Chadwick, J.P., Schwarzkopf, L.M., Zimmer, M., Gertisser, R. & Sulistiyo, Y. (2006): Magma-crust interaction at Merapi volcano, Indonesia: geochemical insights into volcano behaviour. 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Melbourne, Australia, Aug.-Sept. 2006. (Invited keynote talk).

Winchester, J.A., Bozkurt, E. & Yiğitbas, E. 2007. The Nature and Terrane affi nities of the oldest Proterozoic basement to the Istanbul Block. 60th Geological Congress of Turkey, Abstract Volume, 7-8. (Invited keynote talk)

Publications

Banks, C.J., Smith, M., Winchester, J.A., Noble, S.D., Horstwood, M.S.A. & Ottley, C.J. 2007. Provenance of intra-Rodinian basin fi lls: the lower Dalradian Supergroup, Scotland. Precambrian Research, 153, 46-64.

Boulton, G, Ash, (Sir) E, Bath A., Carter M., Chapman N, Curtis C, Salje E, Graham-Smith (Sir) F, Styles P, Wilkinson W. (2006). The Long-Term Management of Radioactive Waste: The work of the Committee on Radioactive Waste (CORWM). The Royal Society , Policy Document 01/06. ISBN 085403624

Page 10 ES&G Newsletter

Published by

Earth Sciences & Geography

Keele University

Keele

Staffordshire ST5 5BG

UK

Tel : +44 (0)1782 583615

Fax : +44 (0)1782 715261

Email : geo@esci.keele.ac.uk

http://www.esci.keele.ac.uk

Past newsletters on web:

www.esci.keele.ac.uk/newsletters/

Contributions for

future editions of the

ES&G newsletter

should be sent to:

Dave Emley

Editor

d.w.emley@esci.keele.ac.uk

July 2007

Congratulations

GoodbyeIsobel Tomlinson, who as a teaching fellow, taught courses in Human Geography, left in June. We wish her well in her future career.

Congratulations are due to Nigel Cassidy and Nigel Mountney, who obtained well-deserved promotions to Senior Lecturer in March.

Bozkurt, E., Winchester, J.A., Mittwede, S. & Ottley, C.J. 2006. Geochemistry and tectonic implications of leucogranites and tourmalines of the southern Menderes Massif, southwest Turkey. Geodinamica Acta, 19, 363-390.

Branston M. and Styles P. (2006). Site characterisation and assessment using the microgravity technique: a case example. Near Surface Geophysics. pp 355-366.

Carrivick, J.L. Pringle, J.K., Russell, A.J. & Cassidy, N.J. 2007. GPR-derived sedimentary architecture and stratigraphy of outburst fl ood sedimentation within a bedrock valley system, Hraundalur, Iceland. Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics, 12(1), 127-143.

Collinson, J.D., Mountney, N.P. and Thompson, D.B., 2006. Sedimentary Structures. Terra Publishing, Harpenden, third edition, 292 pages.

Egan, S.S. and Meredith, D.J. 2007. A kinematic modelling approach to lithosphere deformation and basin formation: application to the Black Sea. In: Karner, G.D., Manatschal, G. and Pinheiro, L.M. (eds). Imaging, Mapping and Modelling Continental Lithosphere Extension and Breakup. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 282, pp.173-198.

Gehrels, W.R., Szkornik, K., Bartholdy, J., Kirby, J.R., Bradley, S.L., Heinemeier, J., Pedersen, J.B.T. and Marshall, W.A., 2006. Late Holocene sea-level changes and isostasy in western Denmark. Quaternary Research, 66 (2): 288-302.

Gertisser, R. (2006): Explosive subaqueous volcanism; edited by J.D.L White, J.L. Smellie & D.A. Clague [Book Review]. Geological Magazine, 143 (6): 937-938

Ghazi, S, Butt, A.A. and Ashraf, M., 2006. Microfacies analysis and diagenesis of the Lower Eocene Sakesar Limestone, Nilawahan Gorge, central Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 33, 23-32.

Knight, P.G. (2007) “Physical Geography: learning and teaching in a discipline so dynamic that textbooks can’t keep up” Geography Vol.92 p.57-61.

Mountney, N.P., 2006. Eolian Facies Models. In: Posamentier, H. and Walker, R.G. (eds), Facies Models Revisited. SEPM Memoir, 85, 19-83.

Park, R.G. 2006. Introducing Geology. Dunedin Academic Press pp 134.

Pharaoh, T.C., Winchester, J.A., Verniers, J., Lassen, A. & Seghedi, A. 2006. The western accretionary margin of the East European Craton: an overview. In: Gee, D. & Stephenson, R. (eds.). European Lithosphere

Dynamics. Geological Society of London, Memoir 32, 291-312.

Stuart G , Murray T, Brisbourne A , Styles P, Toon S. (2006). Seismic emissions from a surging glacier: Bakaninbreen, Svalbard. Annals of Glaciology pp151-157.

Styles, P., Bjorlykke, De Leeuw, Ligi, Monatgner and Shannon. (2007). A review of the science, management, and value for money of the European Consortium for Research Drilling. ECORD Mid Term Review. pp1-40.

Styles, P , Toon S., Thomas E. and Skittrall M. (2006). Microgravity as a tool for the detection, characterization and prediction of geohazard posed by abandoned mining cavities. First Break. pp 51-60.

Styles, P. and Wheater et al (2007). Sub-Surface Exclusion Criteria For Geological Disposal. Joint Report Of The Criteria Proposals Group (CPG) And Criteria Review Panel (CRP). pp1-31.

Szkornik, K., Gehrels, W.R. and Kirby, J., 2006. Salt-marsh diatom distributions in Ho Bugt (western Denmark) and the development of a transfer function for reconstructing Holocene sea-level changes. Marine Geology, 235 (1-4): 137-150.

Wakefi eld, O.J. and Mountney, N.P., 2006. Preserved sedimentary expression of an incised valley-fi ll succession within a transgressive shoreline system: Cutler Group, Paradox Basin, Southeast Utah, USA. British Sedimentological Research Group - 45, University of Aberdeen.

Winchester, J.A., Pharaoh, T.C., Verniers, J., Ioane, D. & Seghedi, A. 2006. Palaeozoic Accretion of Gondwana-derived terranes to the East European Craton: recognition of detached terrane fragments dispersed after collision with promontories. In: Gee, D. & Stephenson, R. (eds.). European Lithosphere Dynamics. Geological Society of London, Memoir 32, 323-332.

Zieleniec, A. 2007. Space and Social Theory. Sage.