Applied geosciences

These pages hold legacy content of completed research. Our new online home with details of our most recent achievements is Applied Geosciences Research and Enterprise Group on the university research portal.

For a list of all university research groups and centres, visit the University of Brighton's page on organisational research units.

The Applied Geosciences research and enterprise group combines the research interests of researchers and PhD students working on fundamental geological and earth surface processes, and their application to environmental and resource management. Areas of expertise within the group include environmental nanotechnology, geochemistry, hydrology and hydrogeology, mineral deposits, sedimentology and geomorphology.

The group’s pure and applied research is aligned closely to industrial and business needs, with funding from a range of sources including research councils, the European Union, charities and industry. Members of the group are also active participants in the Centre for Aquatic Environments, and the Ecosystems, Remote Sensing and Environmental Management and Past Human and Environmental Dynamics research groups.

Research within the group falls under the following themes:

Past and present sediment dynamics
Applied geochemistry
Metcycle - Geosphere to Biosphere metal cycling

Professor Ashworth testing the drone

Using drone technology to survey river morphology

Past and present sediment dynamics

Research within this theme focuses upon understanding the dynamics of fluvial, estuarine and other coastal sediments, and applying this understanding to environmental and natural resource management. Our work has two main foci: understanding contemporary and past landscape processes, and the quantification and modelling of sediment morphodynamics.

Research by the members spans a range of scales, including work in some of the largest rivers and estuaries in the world. Current projects include analyses of river bedform structures and dynamics in unsteady flows, and modelling how sediment suspension controls the morphology of sand-bed rivers. Group members also employ techniques such as radiometric dating and geochemical analysis to unravel coastal and estuarine sediment records of storms, tsunamis, and coastal neo-tectonics.

The majority of our work has real-world application. Research by AGRG members is, for example, being used in the characterisation of hydrocarbon reservoirs, in estuarine management, for improving flood prediction, and in the engineering of managed retreat sites.

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Measuring turbulence and suspended sediment on the South Saskatchewan, Canada

Applied geochemistry

Research within this theme focuses on nanogeoscience, contaminated land remediation, carbonate mineralogy for CO₂ sequestration applications, the genesis of mineral resources, hydrogeology and igneous petrology. Our research addresses water flow and the geochemistry of contaminants in soil and groundwater, the genesis of geological resources, and the global scale implications of igneous processes.

Examples of current work include investigations into the formation of rare earth element (REE) mineral resources, the development of new technologies for the remediation of contaminated land, the spectroscopic investigation of minerals used in CO₂ sequestration, and the flow and transport properties of groundwater in chalk aquifers. Work in igneous petrology is focusing on the impact of large igneous provinces on the development of the global environment.

The work undertaken by the group is strongly applied in nature, ranging from ensuring the environmentally acceptable supply of REEs necessary for low carbon energy production, to the development of remediation measures for contaminated land.

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Examining a rare earth element-enriched laterite profile in Madagascar

MetCycle: Geosphere to Biosphere metal cycling

A range of metals that are vital to high technology and renewable energy generation have recently been classified as ‘critical’ for the UK and EU economies because of potential risks to their supply as raw materials, and the potential economic impact of supply failure. The MetCycle theme brings together staff with international expertise in mineral deposit genesis, environmental fate of metals and clean-up of metal-contaminated environments to address key research challenges in this internationally expanding area.

Understanding the behaviour of individual metallic elements in geological, environmental and biological systems is a basic underpinning of modern society and the way in which we deal with our environmental impact. Metals used to meet societal needs are derived from accumulations formed by geological processes, are dispersed to the environment via atmospheric, aquatic and biological processes, and require remediation from waste either to mitigate their environmental impact, or to enhance their recovery to contribute to sustainable development.

This theme combines researchers with interests in conventional mineral deposit formation, critical metal deposits, trace element behaviour in geological processes, sediment biogeochemistry, contaminated land and atmospheric particulates. It is directly supported by facilities for ICP-MS analyses (Agilent 7900) and sample preparation, and by School of Environment and Technology facilities for portable and laboratory X-ray Fluorescence, ICP-OES, X-ray diffraction, ion chromatography, and gamma spectrometry.

Research projects

Bedform

Generating a process-based understanding of bedform adjustment to unsteady river flows

Tidally influenced fluvial zones (TIFZ)

This project used integrated field and mathematical modelling techniques to achieve a step-change in our understanding of TIFZ

Parana

Dynamics and deposits of braid-bars in the world’s largest rivers

SoSRARE

Investigate new processes that will lower the environmental impact of Rare Earth Elements extraction and recovery

Metagenomics and Physicochemistry of Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MAPOMIC)

Modelling how sediment suspension controls the morphology and evolution of sand-bed rivers

Developing new models and understanding of the role of sediment suspension

Climawat

Adapting to the impacts of climate change on groundwater quantity and quality

Does a taxonomic identification bias affect diversity analyses on dinosaurs?

Research team

Professor Phil Ashworth

Dr Graeme Awcock

Professor Paul Bardos

Dr Heidi Burgess

Dr Chris Carey

Dr Jake Ciborowski

Dr Laurence Hopkinson

Dr Susannah Maidment

Sources/links

External bodies

American Geophysical Union

British Sedimentological Research Group

British Society for Geomorphology

Environment Agency

Geological Society

Mineralogical Society

NASA

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

United States Geological Survey

Collaborations

University of Birmingham

University of Durham

University of Exeter

University of Hull

University of Illinois

University of Lausanne

Funding

Modelling how sediment suspension controls the morphology and evolution of sand-bed rivers. NERC (£742,109, of which £271,510 to Brighton; 2015-18) (to Phil Ashworth, with Andrew Nicholas, University of Exeter, Greg Sambrook Smith, University of Birmingham, and Dan Parsons, University of Hull).

Sedimentology of tidally-influenced fluvial bars in high-energy river systems: the modern Columbia River. ExxonMobil (undisclosed amount; 2010-16) (to Phil Ashworth, with Jim Best, University of Illinois).

Quantification and modelling of bedform dynamics in unsteady flows. NERC (£512,000, of which £51,911 to Brighton; 2012-16) (with Dan Parsons and Richard Hardy, University of Hull).

Deep-coring and chronology of fluvial-tidal deposits in the Columbia. ExxonMobil (undisclosed amount) (to Phil Ashworth, with Jim Best, University of Illinois).

Wall, F., Goodenough, K., Smith, M.P., Finch, A., Yardley, B.W.D., Banks, D., Stackhouse, S., Jha, A., Banwart, S., Palumbo-Roe, B., Gregory, S., Romero-Gonzalez, M. (2015) SoS RARE: Multidisciplinary research towards a secure and environmentally sustainable supply of critical rare earth elements (Nd and HREE). NERC Security of Supply of Minerals grant. £2.7million.

Sedimentology of fluvial-tidal meander deposits. ExxonMobil (undisclosed amount; 2012-14) (to Phil Ashworth, with Jim Best, University of Illinois).

X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer Focussed beam and Monochromator (XPS-FOAM). NERC Strategic Equipment Capital Fund (£233,000; 2013-14) (to Martin smith, Andy Cundy and Ray Whitby).

Wall, F., Goodenough, K., Smith, M.P., Finch, A., Yardley, B.W.D., Banks, D., Stackhouse, S., Jha, A. (2013) GEO-CREE: Geology to metallurgy of critical rare earths. NERC Security of Supply of Minerals catalyst grant. £119,824.

Burgess, H., Smith, M.P., Caplin, J. (2013) MAPOMIC: Metagenomics and Physicochemistry of Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion. Steel Industry Funded £120,000.

Morphodynamics and sedimentology of the tidally-influenced fluvial zone (TIFZ). NERC (£606,904, of which £296,381 to Brighton; 2010-13) (to Phil Ashworth, with Greg Sambrook Smith, University of Birmingham, and Dan Parsons, University of Hull).

Cundy, A., Smith, M.P., Moles, N. (2011) Karst Associated bauxite deposits of Parnassos-Ghiona, Greece: Ore Genesis and structural Evolution. Elmin Ltd. £100, 000.

Smith, M.P.,., Baraka-Lokmane, S., Pope, D. (2010) CLIMAWAT: Adapting to climate change impacts on ground water quality and quantity. EU RDF-INTEREG III project with University of East Anglia, University of Brest Occidental, University of Rennes 1, CNRS ~ €3million.

Smith, M.P., Hawkins, T., Herrington, R. and Maslenikov, V. (2008) The Valerianovskoe magnetite deposits, Kazakhstan: Genesis and global implications for crustal iron and halogen budgets. NERC Facilities grant IP/1048/0508. £26,000.

Large rivers: Rio Paraná project. ExxonMobil (undisclosed amount; 2008-09) (to Phil Ashworth, with Jim Best, University of Illinois, Greg Sambrook Smith, University of Birmingham, and Dan Parsons, University of Hull).

Awards, recognition, impact

Professor Phil Ashworth was awarded Fellow of the British Society for Geomorphology (BSG) 2014 (reserved for 10% of the membership) News article