Geography, Geology and the Environment

Family holidays spent in the Lake District inspired curiosity in a young mind. I was in awe of the natural landscape and fascinated by understanding how and why it had formed. I went on to study Geography at the University of Nottingham, where I developed an interest in reconstructing past environments, and glacial geomorphology and sedimentology.

After graduating with a first class degree from the University of Nottingham I went to Royal Holloway University of London to study an MSc in Quaternary Science. By April 2012 I completed a PhD in palaeolimnology at the University of Loughborough where I researched “the role of climate in determining the ontogeny trends of low Arctic lakes, south-western Greenland” where I was supervised by Professor John Anderson and Dr Suzanne McGowan (University of Nottingham). In September 2012 I started as a Teaching Fellow at Keele University.

My research is concerned with using lake sediment (palaeolimnology) records to understand how lakes develop biologically and chemically (ontogeny) over time and to reconstruct past environments. I am particularly interested in understanding how climate can modify lake ontogeny over the millennial time-scales in the low Arctic area of south-western Greenland and how climate interacts with lakes and their catchments to determine lake water chemistry and biological structure.  

I use a range of proxies to undertake this palaeolimnological research including diatoms, sedimentary pigments, and sediment analysis and geochemistry. I am also interested in how the hydrology of arctic lake catchments can be used to reconstruct periods of climate change in the past from lake sediment records.

• ANDERSON, N.J., LIVERSIDGE, A.C., MCGOWAN, S. and JONES, M.D., 2012. Lake and catchment response to neoglacial cooling in SW Greenland: spatial variability along a regional climate gradient Journal of Paleolimnology. 48, 209-222

Year One

• ECC-10038 The Practice of Physical Geography
• ESC-10039 Fundamentals of Physical Geography
• ESC-10041 People and the Environment

Year Two

• GEG-20018 Concepts and Debates in Geography (Module Leader)
• ESC-20029 Practical Physical Geography
• ESC-20049/50 dynamic Geographies-Representing the World

Year Three

• ESC-30017 Applied Environmental GIS
• ESC-30018 Global Environmental Change
• GEG-30006 Geography Double Dissertation
• GEG-30008 Geography Single Dissertation

• Poster presentation: The QRA Annual  Discussion Meeting (January 2013). Holocene climatic change and lake ontogeny in south-western Greenland.
• Oral presentation: The International Palaeolimnology Symposium (August 2012). Holocene climate change and lake ontogeny in south-western Greenland.
• Poster presentation: Leng, M., Anderson, N.J., Wagner, B., Bennike, O., D’Andrea, W.J., Liversidge, A.C., McGowan, S. (2011). Deglaciation, lake ontogeny and organic carbon cycling in SW Greenland lakes. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #B21E-0303
• Oral presentation: The QRA Postgraduate Symposium (2009). The role of climate in determining ontogeny trends of low Arctic lakes, south-western Greenland.
• Oral presentation: The British Diatomist Meeting (2009). The role of climate in determining ontogeny trends of low Arctic lakes, south-western Greenland.