Information About Research

Earth surface dynamics and biogeochemistry

(Allison, Ascough, W. Austin, H. Austin, Ballantyne, Benn, Bird, Finch, Robinson, Saiz, Singer, Teh, Warren)

To its established expertise in glaciology, landscape evolution and geomorphological processes, ERCG has extended its research portfolio to geochemical cycling on a range of timescales. Coupling of field-based research and numerical modelling with our strong equipment base (FEEA) has greatly increased the scope of our research in these areas. Funded programmes within this theme involve collaboration with researchers in over 30 organizations in 12 countries.

Our research in glaciology and landscape response has resulted in the development of new models of:

• Calving glacier dynamics, with the capacity to predict the response of the Greenland Ice Sheet and calving glaciers in Svalbard and to climate change;
• The ablation behaviour of debris-covered glaciers, tested against data from the Alps, Himalaya and Svalbard;
• Englacial drainage development, validated using 3D maps of englacial drainage systems in Himalayan and Svalbard glaciers;
• Paraglacial landscape response, sediment flux and sediment storage, validated using 10Be exposure dating of postglacial rockslides.

Surface process and biogeochemical research in this census period has led to:

• Establishment of the first monitoring program on the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers (Myanmar), incorporating water, dissolved, sediment and carbon fluxes; these analyses indicate that sediment discharge has been greatly underestimated.
• Leadership of an ambitious NERC-funded project to develop Europe's first physiochemically-stable recirculating seawater culture facility, to allow study of growth history of benthic foraminifera, and geochemical signal incorporation into biogenic calcites.
• Demonstration of the reliability of trace elements and stable isotopes in coral aragonite at high resolution against instrumental climatic data; this research has also involved pioneering use of x-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine the structural state of trace elements used for reconstruction in proxy materials. These techniques have been used to target pristine areas of partially-altered corals, to produce reliable estimates of SST in the Pacific from 1.5 Ma to 13.5 ka.
• Development and application of techniques for determining inventories of soil carbon and carbon isotopes at the continental scale, leading to additional NERC funding to investigate (a) the natural degradation of charcoal carbon, (b) the dynamics of tropical forest – savanna transitions and (c) ecosystem carbon dynamics along an altitude transect in Peru.
  
  

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Earth History and Structure

(Alsop, Batchelor, Bates, Donaldson, Finch, Oliver, Prave, Stephens)

The former Geosciences Research Group (in RAE2001) has been integrated within ECRG to allow us to capitalize on the complementary research expertise of geographers and geologists. The resulting synergy is reflected in, for example, the role that geophysics plays in support of environmental and geoarchaeological research within the School, and the role that trace element geochemistry plays in tackling environment and human health issues.

In additional to contributing geological, geochronological, geochemical, geophysical and remote sensing expertise to the ECRG’s broader research agenda, geoscientists in the School have strong international collaboration, and this extends to funded collaborations with over 20 Institutions in 12 countries, focussing on documenting and understanding hallmark periods in Earth history and geodynamics. Links also extend to applied research supported by the mining industry, including research into the genesis of Tantalum ore deposits in Greenland and collaborations with the oil industry through provision of reservoir analogues and depositional models to aid exploration strategies.

Recent projects have included:

• Conducted fundamental research on the rheological characterisation of shear zones in areas across Europe as well as investigating the processes leading to orogenic-scale sheath folding in Oman, establishing distinct and predictable relationships between folding and deformation/flow patterns. Previously unrecognised correlations between fold geometry and bulk strain carry direct consequences for deformation across a range of scales, strain rates and materials.
• ICDP consortium participation to core Palaeoproterozoic successions of the Fennoscandian Shield, to improve understanding of the carbon cycle in deep time, development of Earth’s oxygenic atmosphere and evolution of early life.
• Testing and refining models of Earth system change and biospheric evolution during Neoproterozoic 'Snowball Earths' using field data from Namibia, Death Valley, and northern Europe along with isotope analyses for B, Ca, O and C demonstrating the primacy of stable isotopic trends and their utility as palaeoenvironmental proxies in ancient (pre-Phanerozoic) rocks.
• Completed extensive U-Pb geochronological research to determine rates and chronology of metamorphism, uplift and denudation in various areas including the Himalayas, the Proterozoic Zambezia Belt, the Pan-African Damara Belt and the Caledonides of the British Isles.
• Contributed to fundamental understanding of magma chamber processes, magma transport, and eruptive behaviour through investigation of the magmatic characteristics of the Isle of Rhum volcano.
  

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Environmental management and sustainability

(Ballantyne, Bates, Bird, Robinson, Singer, Stephens, Teh, Warren)

This is the most recent addition to ECRG’s research portfolio and we are strengthening this theme through new appointments, linking to the universities strategy to promote research into environmental sustainability. Our research capacity in this area benefits from the broad range of expertise within the ECRG and PHWRG, and the broad analytical capability of FEEA. The policy relevance of research in this theme has been demonstrated through funding by SNH, English Heritage, and other bodies. Recent projects in this area have:

• Developed new quantitative methods for assessing the erodibility of fragile vegetation-regolith associations, and applied novel OSL dating techniques to demonstrate widespread stripping of plateau vegetation cover and soils during periods of exceptional storminess during the last 300 years.
• Assessed the impacts of land use practices on water quality in the inter-tidal zone as part of two major EU Framework 5 projects (TIDE and HIMOM), using nutrient budgeting to quantify diffuse pollution by agricultural nitrates and demonstrating the ineffectiveness of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone legislation.
• Assessed the socio-environmental impacts of wind farm development, revealing an 'inverse-NIMBY syndrome' amongst those living near established wind farms, and evaluated the preference for native over alien species in conservation policy, demonstrating that the twin concepts of 'native' and 'alien' provide incoherent foundations for prescriptive policies.
• Established new methods for high-resolution geophysical mapping of nearshore zones (a) for habitat monitoring and coastal zone management and (b) for maritime archaeological site investigation, tested in wreck surveys off the UK, France and Mediterranean coasts.
• Developed novel non-invasive methods for monitoring dietary shifts and pollutant levels in seabird populations using the stable-isotope composition and trace element geochemistry of guano.
• Pioneered the use of geochemical analytical tools to determine the health impacts of fine mineral particulates and trace elements in cigarette tobacco
• Mapped and assessed the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami along the Malay-Thai peninsula as part of a multi-national interdisciplinary NSF rapid response project.
  

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The Facility for Earth and Environmental Analysis

Please visit the Facility for Earth and Environmental Analysis (FEEA) website for further information.

The Facility for Earth and Environmental Analysis (FEEA) was established in 2004 to maximize the analytical capability of our equipment infrastructure. SRIF2 and SRIF3 funding (~£1 million) has been invested to upgrade and extend our analytical facilities. FEEA technical support includes three full-time technicians with expertise in electron microscopy, x-ray instrumentation and sample preparation / instrument manufacture.

In addition to the application of established analytical protocols, we are increasingly involved in research on material properties and development of new analytical methods. Examples include research aimed at establishing the fundamental physico-chemical controls on the luminescence signal in minerals, the mechanisms of natural charcoal degradation and of trace element uptake in carbonates (speleothems, corals and foraminifera). This fundamental process/methological research is vital for improving luminescence and radiocarbon dating protocols, and development and interpretation of new environmental proxy records.

Our equipment base is grouped into eight clusters:

(i) Inorganic geochemistry: comprehensive capacity for major to trace element analysis of environmental materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD).

(ii) Stable-isotope geochemistry: a stable isotope laboratory, centred on a Finnegan Delta Plus XL mass spectrometer. The three peripherals attached to this instrument (EA, TC/EA and gasbench) enable analysis of C, H, N, O and S isotope composition.

(iii) Geochronology: two Risø DA-15 automated readers for OSL/TL dating; an upgraded experimental photoluminescence system with pulsed LED sources and TCPC photon counting cards to provide time-resolved luminescence responses from µs to s lifetimes; and a Nd-YAG pulsed laser to analyse responses with lifetimes in the ns to µs range. In 2007 we will acquire a high-sensitivity radio-/cathodo-/thermo-luminescence system for TL measurements. Research into the development of new protocols for radiocarbon dating is supported by a positive pressure clean preparation lab and AMS-14C target preparation line.

(iv) Electron microscopy: our electron microprobe micro-analytical capability was upgraded in 2005. This capability has been augmented by the installation of a scanning electron microscope, supported by preparative equipment for freeze-drying, critical point drying, gold coating and polished section preparation.

(v) Mineral magnetics: the school has a well-equipped laboratory for mineral magnetic analysis, recently re-located into a new purpose-built laboratory constructed of non-magnetic materials

(vi) Sedimentology and micropalaeontology: comprehensive support for the storage, preparation and characterization of a range of environmental materials, including laboratories for microscopic investigation of microfossils and pollen.

(vii) Geophysics: a broad equipment base for surface and nearsurface terrestrial and marine geophysics in support of geomorphological, marine habitat mapping, geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental projects

(viii) Field support: a broad equipment base for surveying (including GPS and DGPS), monitoring and sampling of both terrestrial and marine environments in support of research activities across the school, including our research vessel the R.V. ‘Envoy’

Through the St Andrews Centre for Advanced Materials we have access to analytical methods not widely available to geographers and geoscientists. These include facilities for fs-ns lifetime luminescence studies, TEM (corals and organic C), and ESR, XP and NMR spectroscopy. We make extensive use of national facilities such as the NERC 14C, cosmogenic isotope, isotope geochemistry and ion microprobe facilities, the isotope facilities at SUERC, geochronology at the NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory, The synchrotrons at Daresbury (UK) and the Advanced Photon Source (Chicago), and AMS facilities at Lawrence Livermore (California), ANU (Canberra) and ETH (Zurich).

Find out more information about Geoscience Research Unit research topics.

Further Information

• Research Degrees
• Research Centres and Facilities

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