Geography and Environment

Smart Sustainable Futures

Focuses on the challenges of local and global transitions to low-carbon and sustainable societies. We focus on 5 sectoral interests: sustainable food production, tourism, energy, nature-based solutions, and the "blue" economy.

Our research explores the spatial and temporal variation in these transitions and the role of governance, place, and people, and considers questions of environmental and social justice. This theme encompasses research on rural and community sustainability including demographic change, rural resilience, agricultural policy, environmental management, housing, and urban sustainability.

Our vision is to build successful collaborations that generate theoretical insights and practical pathways to enhancing environmental, social, and economic wellbeing through high-quality, impactful research.

Potential supervisors: Dr Paula Duffy, Dr Piotr Niewiadomski, Dr Joseph Pierce, Professor Lorna Philip, Dr Katrin Prager, Professor Tavis Potts and Dr Flurina Wartmann

Earth Surface Processes

Cryosphere and Climate Change research spans a range of spatial and temporal scales focusing on past, present and future ice-climate interactions; ice sheet dynamics; glacial landform genesis; palaeoglaciology; and glacigenic reservoirs.

Research applications of GIS, remote sensing, digital image processing and UAV data capture are applied to the coastal zone, viticulture, landscape and biodiversity.

Hydrological research (organised through the Northern Rivers Institute) focuses on the application of tracing and tracer-aided modelling in the characterisation of hydrological systems; the ecohydrology of headwater catchments; hydrogeology and hydrogeophysics; water risk analysis; and sustainable water resource management.

Potential Supervisors: Dr Anshuman Bhardwaj, Dr Jean-Christophe Comte, Dr Josie Geris, Dr David Green, Dr William Harcourt, Dr David Haro Monteagudo, Dr Bartosz Kurjanski, Prof Brice Rea, Dr Lydia Sam, Dr Shaktiman Singh, Prof Matteo Spagnolo, Prof Chris Soulsby

Palaeoecology

Focuses on the reconstruction of long-term changes to the environment, landscape, vegetation and climate, with links to human activity during prehistory and early history. This is achieved through the application of multiple techniques using dedicated labs, and typically includes the analysis of pollen, plant macrofossils, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal, peat geochemistry and stable isotopes.

The research is interdisciplinary and often involves collaboration with archaeologists, biologists, chemists, historians, and climate modellers.

Potential Supervisors: Dr Dmitri Mauquoy, Professor Tim Mighall, Dr Ed Schofield

Geography and Environment research centres

Geography and Environment research is also embedded within research centres of excellence including:

• Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management (AICSM)
• UAV/UAS Centre for Environmental Monitoring and Mapping (UCEMM)
• Northern Rivers Institute
• Medical and Health GIS
• GIS & History