About

My research addresses where and how the Earth’s crust accommodates and releases tectonic stress. I achieve this through measuring the deformation of the crust using satellite geodesy, and integrating these measurements with seismology, remote sensing and field studies of active faulting.

I want to understand the relationship between earthquakes, crustal deformation and landscape evolution. In particular, I am interested in addressing the problems of faults and earthquakes a) as a natural hazard and b) as a key mechanism for the growth of mountains and the role they play in shaping the deformation of the continents over geological time.img_0148

I am a Royal Society University Research Fellow (URF) and a Senior Academic Fellow in the School of Earth & Environment at the University of Leeds. For further details please view my latest CV (download the pdf version).

Research Group

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Postdoctoral Staff

  • Dr Scott Watson (2019-present) – Research Fellow in Earth Observation for Tomorrow Cities (co-advised).
  • Dr Ruth Amey (2018-present) – Research Fellow in Active Tectonics of the Tien Shan – Royal Society funded GCRF Challenge grant & NERC Innovation International Grant.
  • Dr Ekbal Hussain (2017-2018) – Research Fellow for Seismic Cities.
    Now a Remote Sensing Geoscientist at the BGS.

Research Students Supervised

PhD Lead supervisor

  • Victoria Purcell (2020–present) – Fault Geomorphology & Seismic Hazard of Major Fault Zones.
  • Fei Liu (2019–present) – Measuring earthquakes across the global continents from space & seismology.
  • Jack McGrath (2018–present) – Relationship between short-term tectonics & mountains.
  • Andrew Watson (2018–present) – Co-evolution of Mountain Building & Seismic Hazard.

PhD Co-supervisor

  • Pedro Espin (2020–present) – Earthquake and Volcanic Hazard in Quito & Ecuador.
  • Jin Fang (2020–present) – Continental deformation measured with InSAR.
  • Pawan Piromthong (2016–present) – Faulting in South-East Asia and InSAR analysis.
  • Lin Shen (2016–2021) – Altyn Tagh Interseismic Deformation.
  • Eleanor Ainscoe (2014–2018, Oxford) – Active Tectonics in Regions of Shortening.

Undergraduate Research Project Supervisor

  • Victoria  Purcell (2019/20) – Lava Field Subsidence Three Hundred Years On, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
  • Matthew Day (2018/19) – Detecting small shallow continental earthquakes with InSAR
  • Daniel Roberts (2018/19) – Digital Elevation Models of Lava Flows and Volcanic Craters in Lanzarote
  • Katherine Woods (2017/18) – How small can we go? Improving limits to detecting continental earthquakes.
  • Nadia Duarte da Silva Tavares (2017/18) – Remote Offset Measurements of the Kaikoura Earthquake, NZ.
  • Scott Smith (2016/17) – Using InSAR & Body Wave Seismology of the 2016 Mw 5.9 Menyuan Earthquake.