Geography, Geology and the Environment

I arrived at Keele in 2005 enrolled for the single honours Earth System Science degree, within two years I transferred to the undergraduate Master course; MGeoscience. I graduated in 2009 and briefly worked as an Irrigation and Water Engineer before returning to Keele appointed as a Teaching Fellow in Geology and Part Time PhD student. My teaching mainly involves structural geology and basin dynamics. My research interests currently revolve around carbonate mounds, their palaeoecology, sedimentation, geochemistry and formation. I also love anything 422.9 – 418.7 Ma.

I am a member of the Basin Dynamics Research Group (BDRG) here at Keele and I am affiliated to: The Geological Society of London (Fellow); The Linnean Society of London (Fellow); The Palaeontological Association; The Geological Society of America; The American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Shropshire Geological Society.

A palaeoecological, microfacies and carbon-isotopic analysis of the Late Carboniferous Mud-Mounds of the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain) and a comparison with their Devonian and Carboniferous counterparts of Morocco, Algeria, Begium and Ireland

Supervisors : Dr Michael Montenari, Professor Graham Williams

Conspicuous mounds of limestone lacking in primary framework features are found distributed throughout the Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) age strata of the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain). This project aims to identify the internal make-up of these mounds as well as develop a model for the nucleation and growth of the structures and to compare them with other, similar structures from differing ages and from across the World

Using a multi-disciplinary approach (i.e. structural, sedimentological, palaeontological, geochemical and geophysical) the ultimate aims of this project are:

• To create a detailed model of mound nucleation, growth, constitution and abundance for the San Emiliano Formation.
• To compare and contrast the San Emiliano mounds to others found globally

To reach the above aims the following objectives need to be met:

• To characterise the sedimentary nature of the San Emiliano Formation
• Construct a palaeoecological model – especially for carbonate lithologies present
• Identify external and internal controls on sedimentary deposition
• Identify processes (biological and/or chemical) responsible for mound nucleation and growth
• Investigate potential of hydrocarbon/mineralogical importance of mounds

• Doherty, H., Ferriday, T., Kelly, M., Montenari, M., Rogers, S. L., Williams, G. D. (2010). The Cantabrian Thrust Belt: basin history of the North Gondwana passive margin – rifting, glaciations? More rifting and collision. Tectonic Studies Group Annual Meeting , Birmingham University 2010
• Rogers, S. L. 2009. Palaeoecological and spatial facies analysis of the ‘event horizons’ at the Whitcliffe GSSP, Ludlow, Shropshire, UK. Unpubl. MSc-Thesis, Keele University
• Rogers, S. L. 2010. Mud-mounds: What, Where, Why and When. Keele Research Symposium, Keele University 2010
• Rogers, S. L. and Montenari, M. 2012. Tuberitinidae Miklukho-Maclay, 1958: life cycle, ecology, diagenesis. Geophysical Research Abstracts. Vol. 14, EGU2012-331. See EGU 2012 Abstract and EGU 2012 poster