Biography
I studied Geography at the Universities of Oxford (BA Hons, 1980-1983) and Aberdeen (PhD, 1984-1987) before coming to Keele as a lecturer in 1987. I have won Keele’s Individual and Team Awards for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and have been made a National Teaching Fellow by the Higher Education Academy.
Research and scholarship
I am a Geographer with a particular interest in Glaciology and Geomorphology, and since 1984 I have combined field research in areas such as Greenland and Iceland with experimental work in the low-temperature laboratory. My work focuses on how glaciers entrain debris into their basal layers and how that “basal ice” affects glacier behaviour and glacial landforms. The work has received funding from The Royal Society, The Leverhulme Trust and the Natural Environment Research Council, and has been published in major international journals including Nature, Quaternary Science Reviews, The Journal of Glaciology and Geology.
I have written textbooks for both undergraduate and A-level students, contributed chapters to several Earth Science encyclopaedias, and edited a major research volume called “Glacier Science and Environmental Change”. As a Geographer I am particularly interested in evidence that can be drawn from the spatial distributions of phenomena to help us understand the world around us, and in the complex links that bind together different aspects of our physical environment.
I am also interested in relationships between the physical environment and cultural media such as film, music and literature, and in exploring the boundaries between art and science in Geography.
Teaching
LEVEL 4
- ESC-10068 Academic, Professional and Fieldwork skills
- ESC-10039 Fundamentals of Physical Geography (Module Leader)
- ESC-10041 People and the Environment (Module Leader)
Level 5
- ESC-20049/50 Dynamic Geographies - Representing the World
- ESC-20049/50 Dynamic Geographies - Case-study Essay (unit leader)
- ESC-20029 Practical Physical Geography
- ESC-20030 Regional Landsystems
- GEG-20009 Geographical Research Training
- GEG-20018 Geographical Concepts and Debates
Level 6
- ESC-30006/40017 Glaciers and Glacial Geomorphology (Module Leader)
- GEG-30006 Geography Double Dissertation
- GEG-30008 Geography Single Dissertation
- GEG-30014/40003 Inspirational Landscapes (Module Leader)
Key publications:
- Cook S, Swift D, Kirkbride M, Knight PG, Waller R. 2020. The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nature Communications.
- Knight PG. 2019. Glacier Nature and Culture. Reaktion Books.
- Parsons T and Knight PG. 2015. How to do your dissertation in Geography and related disciplines (3rd ed). Routledge.
- Knight PG. 2011. Glaciology. Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Singh P and Haritashya UK (Eds.). Springer Verlag.
- Knight PG. 2009. Glacier Science and Environmental Change. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Knight PG. 1999. Glaciers. Routledge.
Selected Publications
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The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nat Commun, 759, vol. 11(1). link> doi> full text>2020.
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Glacier Nature and Culture. Reaktion Books.2019.
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Discharge of debris from ice at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. Journal of Glaciology., 192-198, vol. 48(161). doi>2002.
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How to do your dissertation in Geography and related disciplines (3rd ed). (12 vols.). Routledge.2015.
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Glaciers: art and history, science and uncertainty. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews., 385-393, vol. 29(4). doi>2004.
Full Publications Listshow
Books
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Glacier Nature and Culture. Reaktion Books.2019.
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How to do your dissertation in Geography and related disciplines (3rd ed). (12 vols.). Routledge.2015.
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Glacier Science and Environmental Change. Wiley-Blackwell.2009.
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Glacier science and environmental change. Wiley-Blackwell.2006.
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Glaciers and glacial landscapes.2006.
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How to do your dissertation in geography and related disciplines.2005.
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How to do Your Essays, Exams and Coursework in Geography and Related Disciplines. Routledge, London.2003.
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Glaciers. Routledge.1999.
Journal Articles
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Micro-Scale isotopic analysis of ice facies frozen from supercooled water. GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A-PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, 104-117, vol. 102(2). link> doi> full text>2020.
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The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nat Commun, 759, vol. 11(1). link> doi> full text>2020.
-
Discharge of debris from ice at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. Journal of Glaciology., 192-198, vol. 48(161). doi>2002.
- 2000.
- 2005.
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A Jökulhlaup Near Søndre Strømfjord, West GreenLand, and Some Effects on the Ice-Sheet Margin. Journal of Glaciology, 366-368, vol. 31(109). doi>1985.
- 1994.
- 1992.
- 1994.
- 1987.
- 1989.
- 2007.
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Laboratory observations of sediment entrainment by freezing supercooled water. Geografiska Annaler. Series A. Physical Geography. doi>2012.
- 1993.
- 1997.
- 1996.
- 2003.
- 1992.
- 1995.
- 2006.
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The concept of transport capacity in geomorphology. REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS, 1155-1202, vol. 53(4). link> doi> full text>2015.
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Glaciers: art and history, science and uncertainty. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews., 385-393, vol. 29(4). doi>2004.
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Overcoming the barriers to the use of journal articles within the geosciences. Planet, 27-32, vol. 25.2011.
- 2010.
- 2009.
- 2009.
- 1993.
- 2008.
- 1995.
- 2007.
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Physical geography: Learning and teaching in a discipline so dynamic that textbooks can't keep up!. GEOGRAPHY, 57-61, vol. 92. link>2007.
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Identification of basal ice layer debris in ice-marginal moraines, Russell Glacier, West Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews.. doi>2003.
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Book review: Nakawo M and others (Eds.), Debris covered glaciers. Progress in Physical Geography., 147-148, vol. 27(1).2003.
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Classics in physical geography revisited - Kamb, B. and La Chapelle, E. 1964: Direct observation of the mechanism of glacier sliding over bedrock. Progress in Physical Geography., 107-111, vol. 27(1).2003.
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Glacier surging as a control on the development of proglacial, fluvial landforms and deposits, Skeidararsandur, Iceland. Global and Planetary Change. doi>2001.
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Book review: Deformation of glacial materials. Journal of Glaciology., 163-164, vol. 47(156).2001.
- 2000.
- 2000.
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Glaciers. PROGRESS IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, 407-411, vol. 22(3). link>1998.
- 1997.
- 1994.
- 1993.
- 1993.
- 1991.
- 1990.
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH - REPLY. AREA, 283-284, vol. 20(3). link>1988.
- 1988.
Chapters
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Glaciology. In Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Singh P and Haritashya UK (Eds.). Springer Verlag.2011.
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Basal glacier ice and massive ground ice: different scientists, same science?. In Periglacial and paraglacial processes and environments. Knight J and Harrison S (Eds.). (vol. 320). Geological Society Pub House. doi>2009.
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Multiple Entries including "Basal Ice", "Eskers" and Kames". In Encyclopedia of paleoclimatology and ancient environments. Gornitz V (Ed.). Springer Verlag.2009.
Other
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Changes in sediment routing as a consequence of ice-sheet advance, Russell Glacier, Greenland. EOS (Transactions of the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting)..2001.
School of Geography, Geology and the Environment
William Smith Building
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 733615
School email: gge@keele.ac.uk