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Geography, Geology and the Environment

Research in Geography, Geology and the Environment

Research in GGE comes under the umbrella of the Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences & Applied Mathematics (EPSAM) and Research Institute for Social Sciences. 

In GGE we believe that 'Research informs Teaching' and active research is the essential underpinning of all activities.

There are several internationally respected research groups who occupy distinctive niches in the research spectrum, pursuing excellence over superficiality.

Our particular expertise in the applied geosciences is provided by the Applied and Environmental Geophysics Research Group who focus on the application of high-resolution geophysical techniques to engineering, environmental and archaeological problems and the Basin Dynamics Research Group who study the controls and fill of sedimentary basins and their subsequent deformation and inversion at lithospheric scale using numerical analysis, and at smaller scales using seismic reflection interpretation and structural geology. Both of these groups are supported by Research Council, European and Industrial sponsors and also provide technology transfer to local and regional SMEs and major industrial organizations. The computational needs of these groups are supported by the KHAOS cluster an HEFCE SRIF funded project.

An understanding of present and past surface environments is essential in the context of concerns about global climate change and amelioration of geohazards. The Subglacial and Ice Marginal Processes, Landforms and Environments (SIMPLE) research group combines fieldwork in glacial and ice-marginal environments with experimental and analytical research in a suite of laboratories that include low-temperature, sedimentological, flume and geochemical facilities. Our core expertise is in glaciology, geomorphology and hydrology, and our research encompasses modern glacial systems (especially in Greenland and Iceland) and ancient glacial landscapes such as those local to Keele

Research in Human Geography currently focuses on cultural, social, political and development/economic geography. Our research is clustered around four intersecting areas: family mobility, higher education and medical geography/social demography; international migration, development, sustainability and cultural economies; South Asian and cross-cultural world literature, postcolonial lifeworlds and literary representations of place and space; and cultures of mobilities and security, particularly through biopolitics, resilience and the empirical context of the aerial.

Other important areas of research are in spatial theory; health; GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and gender equality. Interdisciplinary research is strongly encouraged at Keele, and joint and linked research with colleagues in the Humanities and Social Sciences has long been undertaken by Human Geographers. Opportunities for such interdisciplinary research have been facilitated by the establishment of Research Institutes bringing together researchers in the University with related interests.