Dr Richard I. Waller
- Title
- Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Geography Admissions Tutor
- Location
- William Smith Building : WS 1.31
- Role
- Course Director for Geography Dual and Single Honours
School International Champion - Contact me
- Easiest via email
- Phone
- (+44) 01782 7 33179
- r.i.waller@keele.ac.uk
Biography
My interest in Physical Geography was originally stimulated by childhood hill walks in the mountainous areas of the U.K. and an associated curiosity as to how these spectacular landscapes had been created. Whilst studying Geography at Oxford, I had the opportunity to spend two months in Alaska, which graphically illustrated the power of ice and established an interest in cold environments that I have retained ever since. This led initially to a Ph.D. at Southampton on debris-rich basal ice and then a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Glaciology at Greenwich, before taking up a lecturing post at Keele in 2001. My interest in the great outdoors extends beyond my academic interests and in my free time I enjoy walking, running, mountain biking and landscape photography.
Research and scholarship
My research interests encompass both modern and ancient glacial and periglacial environments. My doctoral research examined the influence of deformation on the formation and evolution of debris-rich basal ice, a sediment-laden layer of ice that commonly occurs at the base of glaciers and ice sheets. Collaborative work with Peter Knight has subsequently examined the geomorphological and sedimentological expression of basal ice sequences and considered the potential role played by glaciohydraulic supercooling, a newly advocated process of basal ice formation. My research interests have broadened to consider the influence of subglacial and ice-marginal processes on the behaviour and landscape impact of glaciers and ice sheets. A recently completed Ph.D. project that I supervised examined the origin and glacial significance of the Woore moraine, one of the largest glacial landforms in the U.K.
The primary focus of my current research involves an examination of the nature and glaciological influence of glacier-permafrost interactions. Whilst such cold-based glaciers resting on permafrost are typically regarded as slow moving and geomorphologically inactive, collaborative work in the western Canadian Arctic has demonstrated their ability to actively couple with and deform pre-existing permafrost over wide areas. Current work aims to identify diagnostic sedimentological evidence for glacier-permafrost interactions in areas such as the U.K. where the permafrost has subsequently thawed.
I am also actively involved in geoconservation activities as a member of the GeoConservation Staffordshire group. These seek to promote the conservation, management and educational use of the county's geodiversity and in previous years have resulted in the publication of a series of Geotrail leaflets. Current work is focusing on the development of a series of site management plans for key sites including Four Ashes, the Devensian type site .
I am also a firm believer in widening public participation in science and regularly deliver talks and workshops to schools and local community groups. I also organise events at the annual British Science Festival which is one of the largest science communication events in Europe.
Further information:
Teaching
Year 1
- ESC-10035 : Geographical Skills
- ESC-10038 : The Practice of Physical Geography
- ESC-10039 : Fundamentals of Physical Geography
- ESC-10041 : People and the Environment
- GEG-10011 : Geography and Geographers (Module Leader)
Year 2
- ESC-20004 : Advanced Systematic Geography (Module Leader)
- ESC-20029 : Practical Physical Geography (Module Leader)
- ESC-20030 : Regional Landsystems (Module Leader)
- GEG-20009 : Geographical Research Training
- GEG-20018: Concepts & Debates in Geography (Module Leader)
Year 3
- ESC-30009 : Natural Hazards (Module Leader)
- ESC-30018 : Global Environmental Change
Selected Publications
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2020. Controls on jökulhlaup-transported buried ice melt-out at Skeiðarársandur, Iceland: Implications for the evolution of ice-marginal environments. Geomorphology, vol. 360, 107164. doi> link> full text>
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2020. The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nature Communications. doi> link> full text>
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2019. Student Centred Design of a Learning Analytics System. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LEARNING ANALYTICS & KNOWLEDGE (LAK'19) (pp. 353-362). link> doi> full text>
Full Publications List show
Journal Articles
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2020. Controls on jökulhlaup-transported buried ice melt-out at Skeiðarársandur, Iceland: Implications for the evolution of ice-marginal environments. Geomorphology, vol. 360, 107164. doi> link> full text>
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2020. The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nature Communications. doi> link> full text>
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2017. Too much of a good thing? the role of detailed UAV imagery in characterizing large-scale badland drainage characteristics in South-Eastern Spain. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING, vol. 38(8-10), 2844-2860. link> doi> full text>
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2016. The Rise and Fall of a Collaboration: Reflections on the benefits, challenges and lessons learned from an joint England-China teaching initiative. The Journal of Academic Development and Education, 32-56. link>
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2015. Preparing international students for the diversity of assessment in UK High Education. PedRIO, vol. 7(Inclusive Assessment), 30-35. link>
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2015. Long-term variability of proglacial groundwater-fed hydrological systems in an area of glacier retreat, Skeioararsandur, Iceland. EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, vol. 40(7), 981-994. link> doi> full text>
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2014. A comparative case study of subglacial bedforms in northern Lithuania and south-eastern Iceland. BALTICA, vol. 27(2), 75-92. link> doi> full text>
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2015. Identifying spatial and temporal dynamics of proglacial groundwater-surface-water exchange using combined temperature-tracing methods. FRESHWATER SCIENCE, vol. 34(1), 99-110. link> doi> full text>
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2012. Laboratory observations of sediment entrainment by freezing supercooled water. Geografiska Annaler. Series A. Physical Geography. doi>
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2009. Geological evidence for subglacial deformation of Pleistocene permafrost. Proceedings of the Geologists' Society of London, vol. 120, 155-162. doi>
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2004. Sedimentary and tectonic architecture of a large push moraine: a case study from Hagafellsjökull-Eystri, Iceland. Sedimentary Geology, vol. 172(3-4), 269-292. doi>
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2004. Stratigraphy and glaciotectonic structures of a relict, sub-marginal deforming bed of permafrost, northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Canada. Journal of Glaciology, vol. 50(170), 1-15.
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2004. Styles of ice-marginal deformation at Hagafellsjokull - Eystri, Iceland during the 1998/99 winter-spring surge. Boreas. doi>
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2003. Subglacial deformation at sub-freezing temperatures? Evidence from Hagafellsjokull-Eystri, Iceland. Quaternary Science Reviews. doi>
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2002. Discharge of debris from ice at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. Journal of Glaciology., vol. 48(161), 192-198. doi>
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1999. Mechanisms and patterns of motion associated with the basal zone of an Arctic Glacier: Russell Glacier, Greenland. Glacial Geology and Geomorpology.
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FORTHCOMING: Diatom assemblages from kettle holes formed by the November 1996 jökulhlaup, Skeiđarársandur, south-east Iceland: A record of geomorphological, sedimentological and hydrological evolution. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.
Chapters
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2011. The climate of Staffordshire. In The Flora of Staffordshire. Hawksford JE and Hopkins IJ (Eds.). Stafford: Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.
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2009. 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>
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2006. The behaviour of glaciers on frozen beds: modern and Pleistocene examples. In Glacier Science and Environmental Change. Knight PG (Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
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2005. Glacier-permafrost interactions and Glaciotectonic Landform generation at the margin of the Leverett Glacier, West Greenland. In Cryospheric Systems: Glaciers and Permafrost. Harris C and Murton JB (Eds.). London: Geological Society.
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2005. The interaction of a surging glacier with a seasonally frozen foreland: Hagafellsjökull-Eystri, Iceland. In Cryospheric Systems: Glaciers and Permafrost. Harris C and Murton JB (Eds.). London: Geological Society.
Other
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2019. Student Centred Design of a Learning Analytics System. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LEARNING ANALYTICS & KNOWLEDGE (LAK'19) (pp. 353-362). link> doi> full text>
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2016. Glacier-Permafrost interactions, debris transfer mechanisms and the development of distinctive sediment-landform associations in a High Arctic glacial environment: the case of Fountain Glacier, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. XI. International Conference On Permafrost – Book of Abstracts, 20 – 24 June 2016, Potsdam, Germany. Bibliothek Wissenschaftspark. doi>
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2016. Glacier-Permafrost interactions, debris transfer mechanisms and the development of distinctive sediment-landform associations in a High Arctic glacial environment: the case of Fountain Glacier, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. XI. International Conference On Permafrost – Book of Abstracts, 20 – 24 June 2016, Potsdam, Germany. Bibliothek Wissenschaftspark. doi>
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2008. Submarginal glaciotectonic deformation of Pleistocene permafrost. In . Kane, . DL & KM. Hinkel (Eds.).
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2001. Changes in sediment routing as a consequence of ice-sheet advance, Russell Glacier, Greenland. EOS (Transactions of the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting)..
PGT/PGR students
PGR Students
Current students
- Ben Davenward. PhD Thesis title: Determining the extent and land systems context of buried ice within glacial environments.
- Alice Witherick: PhD Thesis title: The influence of basal thermal regime on the characteristics of subglacial debris
Past students
- Aidan Parkes: 2010. A multi-disciplinary study of the origin and glaciological significance of the Woore Moraine, Shropshire. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Keele University.
- Simon Cook: 2006. The role of glaciohydraulic supercooling in the formation of stratified facies basal ice. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Keele University.Resulting papers: PIPG ; QSR ; Boreas ; Geog. Ann
PGT students
- Michael Bullock. 2017. The origin and palaeoglaciological significant of the Thorncliffe meltwater channel. Unpublished MSc Thesis, Keele University.
- Emma Stockton, 2017. Influence of temperatures, grain size and salinity on the unfrozen water content of frozen soils. Unpublished MSc Thesis, Keele University.
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*Accreditation is dependent on the degree route and modules taken