Geography, Geology and the Environment

I completed my undergraduate MGeoscience degree at Keele University from 2007-2011 and achieved a first class honours in Geology with Human Geography.

My undergraduate Masters research was based in Moab, Utah and examined the complex architecture of large-scale alluvial fan deposits, and the correlation of these deposits to the sporadic outcrops of the Brockram Facies, UK. This research led to a compound interest in proximal depositional systems within arid continental basins, and how cyclic climatic alterations can affect the overall dynamics of proximal sedimentation.

I am currently studying for a PhD in ‘Climatic Cyclicity and Environmental Interactions in Proximal Continental Basins: Implication for Hydrocarbon Prospectivity.’

Academic Achievements / Prizes

2011: John Myers Medal: Excellence in Geology: (Awarded by the North Staffordshire Group of Geologists Association – NSGGA)

Affiliations

• Geological Society of London (GSL)
• American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
• British Sedimentological Research Group (BSRG)
• International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS)

Climatic cyclicity and environmental interactions in proximal continental basins: Implication for hydrocarbon prospectivity

Supervisors: Dr S.M. Clarke, Dr J.K. Pringle, Dr A.E. Milodowski, Dr P.C. Richards.

Funding: BGS: Permo-Triassic reservoirs and storage cross-cutting project, NDA & Keele University.

Alluvial fans are key environments in continental basins. Their facies and architecture are influenced by the interaction of variable fan environments, climatic cyclicity, changes in base level and the extent of sediment supply. The majority of these controls are cyclically variable, which leads to fans hosting both potential reservoirs and seals. In addition to this, fans are long lived throughout basin development and therefore interact with changing distal environments. An understanding of fan architecture in response to changing controls is crucial to interpreting both fan reservoir potential and fan influence on fluid migration within the basin as a whole.

By studying the well-exposed deposits of the Permian Cutler Group in Utah, U.S.A the complex styles of sedimentation and interaction can be determined, and the findings applied to lesser-exposed alluvial deposits in a bid to understand how the system may affect fluid flow through proximal continental basins.

• Gough, A., Clarke, S.M., Richards, P.C., & Milodowski, A.E. (2011) ‘3D Architecture and Internal Facies Variation of Large-Scale Alluvial Fan Deposits and their Correlation to the Interpretation of the Brockram Facies, UK.’ British Sedimentological Research Group, Imperial College London. BSRG 2011 Abstract, BSRG 2011 Poster .
• Gough, A., Clarke, S.M., Milodowski, A.E. (2012) ‘Controls upon Depositional Architecture and Cyclicity of Alluvial Fan Systems and Associated Environments: Implications for Hydrocarbon Potential’ American Association of Petroleum Geologists. AAPG 2012 Abstract, AAPG 2012 Extended Abstract, AAPG 2012 Poster 1 (to add), AAPG Poster 2 (to add), AAPG Poster 3 (to add).