Richard Waller

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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

Law AC, Robinson Z, Szkornik K, Waller RI. 2020. Diatom assemblages from short-lived jokulhlaup-formed kettle lakes in a proglacial outwash plain, south-east Iceland. GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A-PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, 162-181, vol. 102(2). link> doi>
Blauvelt DJ, Russell AJ, Large ARG, Tweed FS, Hiemstra JF, Kulessa B, Evans DJA, Waller RI. 2020. Controls on jökulhlaup-transported buried ice melt-out at Skeiðarársandur, Iceland: Implications for the evolution of ice-marginal environments. Geomorphology, 107164, vol. 360. doi> link> full text>
Cook S, Swift D, Kirkbride M, Knight P, Waller R. 2020. The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nature Communications. doi> link> full text>
de Quincey E, Briggs C, Kyriacou T, Waller R. 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>
Murton JB, Bateman MD, Telka AM, Waller R, Whiteman C, Kuzmina S. 2017. Early to mid Wisconsin Fluvial Deposits and Palaeoenvironment of the Kidluit Formation, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Western Arctic Canada. PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, 523-533, vol. 28(3). link> doi>

Full Publications Listshow

Journal Articles

Law AC, Robinson Z, Szkornik K, Waller RI. 2020. Diatom assemblages from short-lived jokulhlaup-formed kettle lakes in a proglacial outwash plain, south-east Iceland. GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A-PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, 162-181, vol. 102(2). link> doi>
Blauvelt DJ, Russell AJ, Large ARG, Tweed FS, Hiemstra JF, Kulessa B, Evans DJA, Waller RI. 2020. Controls on jökulhlaup-transported buried ice melt-out at Skeiðarársandur, Iceland: Implications for the evolution of ice-marginal environments. Geomorphology, 107164, vol. 360. doi> link> full text>
Cook S, Swift D, Kirkbride M, Knight P, Waller R. 2020. The empirical basis for modelling glacial erosion rates. Nature Communications. doi> link> full text>
Murton JB, Bateman MD, Telka AM, Waller R, Whiteman C, Kuzmina S. 2017. Early to mid Wisconsin Fluvial Deposits and Palaeoenvironment of the Kidluit Formation, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Western Arctic Canada. PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, 523-533, vol. 28(3). link> doi>
Nobajas A, Waller RI, Robinson ZP, Sangonzalo R. 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, 2844-2860, vol. 38(8-10). link> doi> full text>
Robinson ZP, Cage AG, Szkornik K, Haffenden A, Oliver I, Stimpson I, Stott K, Ullah S, Waller RI. 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>
Szkornik K, Cage AG, Oliver I, Robinson ZP, Stimpson I, Stott KJ, Ullah S, Waller RI. 2015. Preparing international students for the diversity of assessment in UK High Education. PedRIO, 30-35, vol. 7(Inclusive Assessment). link>
Levy A, Robinson Z, Krause S, Waller R, Weatherill J. 2015. Long-term variability of proglacial groundwater-fed hydrological systems in an area of glacier retreat, Skeioararsandur, Iceland. EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, 981-994, vol. 40(7). link> doi> full text>
Baltrunas V, Waller RI, Kazakauskas V, Paskauskas S, Katinas V. 2014. A comparative case study of subglacial bedforms in northern Lithuania and south-eastern Iceland. BALTICA, 75-92, vol. 27(2). link> doi> full text>
Tristram DA, Krause S, Levy A, Robinson ZP, Waller RI, Weatherill JJ. 2015. Identifying spatial and temporal dynamics of proglacial groundwater-surface-water exchange using combined temperature-tracing methods. FRESHWATER SCIENCE, 99-110, vol. 34(1). link> doi> full text>
Parkes AA, Stimpson IG, Waller RI. 2013. Geophysical surveying to determine the structure and origin of the Woore Moraine, Shropshire, UK. ANNALS OF GLACIOLOGY, 97-104, vol. 54(64). link> doi>
Waller RI, Murton JB, Kristensen L. 2012. Glacier-permafrost interactions: Processes, products and glaciological implications. SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY, 1-28, vol. 255. link> doi>
Cook SJ, Knight PG, Knight DA, Waller RI. 2012. Laboratory observations of sediment entrainment by freezing supercooled water. Geografiska Annaler. Series A. Physical Geography. doi>
Waller R, Phillips E, Murton J, Lee J, Whiteman C. 2011. Sand intraclasts as evidence of subglacial deformation of Middle Pleistocene permafrost, North Norfolk, UK. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 3481-3500, vol. 30(23-24). link> doi>
Hart JK, Rose KC, Waller RI, Vaughan-Hirsch D, Martinez K. 2011. Assessing the catastrophic break-up of Briksdalsbreen, Norway, associated with rapid climate change. JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 673-688, vol. 168(3). link> doi>
Cook SJ, Robinson ZP, Fairchild IJ, Knight PG, Waller RI, Boomer I. 2010. Role of glaciohydraulic supercooling in the formation of stratified facies basal ice: Svinafellsjokull and Skaftafellsjokull, southeast Iceland. BOREAS, 24-38, vol. 39(1). link> doi>
Parkes AA, Waller RI, Knight PG, Stimpson IG, Schofield DI, Mason KT. 2009. A morphological, sedimentological and geophysical investigation of the Woore Moraine, Shropshire, England. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION, 233-244, vol. 120. link> doi>
Waller RI, Murton JB, Whiteman C. 2009. Geological evidence for subglacial deformation of Pleistocene permafrost. Proceedings of the Geologists' Society of London, 155-162, vol. 120. doi>
Waller RI, Van Dijk TAGP, Knudsen O. 2008. Subglacial bedforms and conditions associated with the 1991 surge of Skeioararjokull, Iceland. BOREAS, 179-194, vol. 37(2). link> doi>
Cook SJ, Knight PG, Waller RI, Robinson ZP, Adam WG. 2007. The geography of basal ice and its relationship to glaciohydraulic supercooling: Svinafellsjokull, southeast Iceland. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2309-2315, vol. 26(19-21). link> doi>
Knight PG, Jennings CE, Waller RI, Robinson ZP. 2007. Changes in ice-margin processes and sediment routing during ice-sheet advance across a marginal moraine. GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A-PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, 203-215, vol. 89A(3). link> doi>
Bennett MR, Huddart D, Waller RI. 2006. Diamict fans in subglacial water-filled cavities - a new glacial environment. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 3050-3069, vol. 25(21-22). link> doi>
Cook SJ, Waller RI, Knight PG. 2006. Glaciohydraulic supercooling: the process and its significance. PROGRESS IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY-EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT, 577-588, vol. 30(5). link> doi>
Murton JB, Whiteman CA, Waller RI, Pollard WH, Clark ID, Dallimore SR. 2005. Basal ice facies and supraglacial melt-out till of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, western Arctic Canada. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 681-708, vol. 24(5-6). link> doi>
CASSIDY NJ, Bennett MR, Huddart D, Waller R. 2004. Sedimentary and tectonic architecture of a large push moraine: a case study from Hagafellsjökull-Eystri, Iceland. Sedimentary Geology, 269-292, vol. 172(3-4). doi>
Murton JB, Waller RI, Hart JK, Whiteman CA, Pollard W & Clark I. 2004. Stratigraphy and glaciotectonic structures of a relict, sub-marginal deforming bed of permafrost, northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Canada. Journal of Glaciology, 1-15, vol. 50(170).
Murton JB, Waller RI, Hart JK, Whiteman CA, Pollard WH, Clark ID. 2004. Stratigraphy and glaciotectonic structures of permafrost deformed beneath the northwest margin of the Laurentide ice sheet, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Canada. JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY, 399-412, vol. 50(170). link> doi>
Bennett MR, Huddart D, Waller RI, Midgley NG, Gonzalez S & Tomio A. 2004. Styles of ice-marginal deformation at Hagafellsjokull - Eystri, Iceland during the 1998/99 winter-spring surge. Boreas. doi>
Bennett MR, Waller RI, Midgeley NG, Huddart D, Gonzalez S, Cook SJ & Tomio A. 2003. Subglacial deformation at sub-freezing temperatures? Evidence from Hagafellsjokull-Eystri, Iceland. Quaternary Science Reviews. doi>
Knight PG, Waller RI, Patterson CJ, Jones AP & Robinson ZP. 2002. Discharge of debris from ice at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. Journal of Glaciology., 192-198, vol. 48(161). doi>
Waller RI, Russell WJ, van Dijk TAGP, Knudsen O. 2001. Jokulhlaup-related ice fracture and supraglacial water release during the November 1996 Jokulhlaup, Skeidararjokull, Iceland. GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A-PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, 29-38, vol. 83A(1-2). link> doi>
Knight PG, Patterson CJ, Waller RI, Jones AP, Robinson ZP. 2000. Preservation of basal-ice sediment texture in ice-sheet moraines. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1255-1258, vol. 19(13). link> doi>
Waller RI, Hart JK, Knight PG. 2000. The influence of tectonic deformation on facies variability in stratified debris-rich basal ice. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 775-786, vol. 19(8). link> doi>
Knight PG, Waller RI, Patterson CJ, Jones AP, Robinson ZP. 2000. Glacier advance, ice-marginal lakes and routing of meltwater and sediment: Russell Glacier, Greenland. JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY, 423-426, vol. 46(154). link> doi>
Bennett MR, Huddart D, Waller RI. 2000. Glaciofluvial crevasse and conduit fills as indicators of supraglacial dewatering during a surge, Skeidararjokull, Iceland. JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY, 25-34, vol. 46(152). link> doi>
Bennett MR, Waller RI, Glasser NF, Hambrey MJ, Huddart D. 1999. Glacigenic clast fabrics: genetic fingerprint or wishful thinking?. JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, 125-135, vol. 14(2). link> doi>
Hart JK and Waller RI. 1999. An investigation of the debris-rich basal ice from Worthington Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A. JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY, 54-62, vol. 45(149). link> doi>
Waller RI and Hart JK. 1999. Mechanisms and patterns of motion associated with the basal zone of an Arctic Glacier: Russell Glacier, Greenland. Glacial Geology and Geomorpology.
Robinson ZP, Law AC, Szkornik K, Waller RI. 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

Waller RI. 2011. The climate of Staffordshire. In The Flora of Staffordshire. Hawksford JE and Hopkins IJ (Eds.). Stafford: Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.
Waller RI, Murton JB, Knight PG. 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>
Waller RI. 2006. The behaviour of glaciers on frozen beds: modern and Pleistocene examples. In Glacier Science and Environmental Change. Knight PG (Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Waller RI and Tuckwell GW. 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.
Bennett MR, Huddart D, Waller RI. 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

de Quincey E, Briggs C, Kyriacou T, Waller R. 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>
Waller R, Hambrey M, Moorman B. 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>
Waller R, Hambrey M, Moorman B. 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>
Waller RI, Murton JB, Whiteman C. 2008. Submarginal glaciotectonic deformation of Pleistocene permafrost. In . Kane, . DL & KM. Hinkel (Eds.).
Chandler DM, Waller RI, Adam WG. 2005. Basal ice motion and deformation at the ice-sheet margin, West Greenland. ANNALS OF GLACIOLOGY, VOL 42, 2005 (pp. 67-70, vol. 42). link> doi>
Knight PG and Patterson CJ & Waller RI. 2001. Changes in sediment routing as a consequence of ice-sheet advance, Russell Glacier, Greenland. EOS (Transactions of the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting)..
Waller RI. 2001. The influence of basal processes on the dynamic behaviour of cold-based glaciers. QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL (pp. 117-128, vol. 86). link> doi>

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.