Geophysics

My first foray into the field of Geophysics came as an Undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge. I read Natural Sciences and my other options included Computer Science and Maths in my first year and Mineralogy in my second and final years. The Cambridge degree gave me a firm footing in the field and some experience of data processing and interpretation, but no real experience of data acquisition.

After graduating from Cambridge, I studied the Masters of Science in Geophysics at Durham University, which gave me the data acquisition experience with seismics, gravity, magnetic and electrical methods.
Drawing the short straw during for my project, I spent the summer researching the earthquake activity associated with Kilauea volcano on Hawai'i with the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California.

Returning from California, I began my Doctoral research at the University of Southampton. This work involved

• Processing and interpreting reflection and refraction seismic data from West Iberia.
• Interpreting gravity and magnetics from the same region and incorporating the results
• Software development to assist in the interpretation of the data
• Proposing new and exciting hypotheses to explain the development of the West Iberia margin

I also experienced teaching to Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students:

• Field geology for non-geologists - a field course on the Isle of Wight for students on non-geological courses.
• First year rocks and minerals - introduction to examining specimins in hand specimin and thin section.
• Second year rocks and minerals - a more in-depth examination of specimins in hand specimin and thin section.
• Third year advanced mapping techniques - a week long field course on Anglesey, on which I played a lead role for 2 years.
• Post-graduate web page publishing
• Post-graduate Fortran-90 programming

I attended courses on the following

• Report writing and how to get your work published
• Ergonomics, primarily of computer workstations
• Effective demonstration to student classes
• Communicating Science to the Public

After completing my PhD in early 2004, I spent eighteen months as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, undertaking research on high-resolution near surface sediment properties in the Solent Region of Southern England.

My duties included:

• Data acquisition, processing and interpretation of a unique high-resolution dataset
• Assisting with acquisition and processing of truely 3D chirp datasets
• Supervising and assisting Undergraduate and Postgraduate students with geophysical research projects
• Providing support to staff and students in the Geophysics group with seismic and computing issues

My work has been published as follows:

• Presentation European Geophysical Society, General Assembly 2001
• Paper Geophysical Journal International, 2001
• Poster European Geophysical Society, General Assembly 2002
• Paper in preparation for GJI, 2004