Fluvial Research On Geomorphology & Sedimentology

Group members

• Professor Adrian Hartley
• Professor David Macdonald
• Professor Brian Williams
• Dr Stuart Archer
• Dr. Stephanie Davidson
• Dr. Laura Evenstar
• Dr. Sophie Leleu
• External Collaborative Researcher: Dr. Alex Fordham (Chevron)

FROGS Aims

The fluvial research on geomorphology and sedimentology group is a collaboration between a number of sedimentologists and geomorphologists who are interested in taking a geomorphological approach to understanding and interpreting the sedimentary rock record. Many aspects of geomorphology are particularly relevant to the study of sedimentary rocks (e.g. basin analysis, reconstructing palaeoclimate records, determining erosion rates, drainage basin reconstruction etc.), yet are rarely utilised by the geologist. The aim of this research is to use geomorphology to significantly improve our understanding of the sedimentary rock record in a number of areas specifically:

• guiding and improving sedimentological interpretation
• studying present day basins from different tectonic settings to constrain the architecture of ancient basin-fill successions
• reconstructing drainage basin characteristics
• constraining climate change
• developing predicitive models for reservoir architecture in alluvial successions

Current Projects

Current projects include:

1. Combining geomorphological mapping, sedimentology and cosmogenic radionuclide exposure dating to determine the climatic development of western South America throughout the Cenozoic, sponsored by NERC.
2. Detailed geomorphological mapping, remote sensing and sedimentological analysis of modern and Late Cenozoic deposits from the Basin & Range Province to develop predictive facies models for basin fill successions in dryland climatic settings.
3. Controls on the Late Cenozoic and Quaternary drainage development of Scotland, sponsored by the University of Aberdeen.
4. Detailed analysis including remote sensing and fieldwork of distributary fluvial systems which represent the principal components of any ancient aggradational basin-fill succession.
5. Identification of the controls on climate controls on different depositional systems – it is well established in the geomorphological literature that alluvial systems developed in different climatic regimes have different depositional characteristics. This knowledge has not been widely applied to interpret the rock record.

Industrially Funded Projects

Projects which further the aims of FROGS but which are funded separately include:

1. Combining geomorphological studies of modern salt diapir provinces and sedimentological studies of ancient examples to develop a predictive model for sandstone distribution in the subsurface, sponsored by ConocoPhillips.
2. Using a detailed comparative sedimentological study of the Triassic of the Northwest Atlantic and modern day examples to develop a predictive model for Triassic sandstone distribution throughout the north Atlantic, sponsored by Shell.

Further Information

For more information, contact