Professor Chris D Clark
Professor of Palaeoglaciology
 |
Room number: |
E6 |
| Telephone (internal): |
27941 |
| Telephone (UK): |
0114 222 7941 |
| Telephone (International): |
+44 114 222 7941 |
| Email: |
C.Clark@Sheffield.ac.uk
|
Chris Clark obtained his BSc in physical geography from University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1985. After this he worked as a milkman in order to earn money for a climbing expedition to the Himalayas. He returned to academia at Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh to work on a PhD on "Reconstruction of the behaviour of the Laurentide Ice Sheet using satellite imagery", which was completed in 1990, and the results published in Nature. He became a lecturer at Sheffield in 1990 and was awarded a personal chair in 2004.
Research interestsPalaeoglaciology (the extent and dynamics of former ice sheets) and palaeo-ice stream signatures and ice-stream operation. Remote sensing, digital elevation models (DEMs), glacial geomorphology.
Current researchThe common theme is the use of Earth Observation (EO, ie satellite imagery) to gain a larger scale perspective than is permitted by field observations alone. For some cases, straightforward use of imagery is sufficient and in others methodological advances have been required. My emphasis has not been on 'how can such data be used' but rather on 'making advances in knowledge' from it. I have published on a wide range of Earth Observation methods and applications, including palaeo-glaciology, snowcover mapping, archaeology, coral reef, seagrass and mangrove assessment.My primary research interest is in glacial geomorphology, in particular the understanding of processes that lead to the formation of subglacial bedforms (drumlins, flutes etc), and the inverse solution that uses the pattern and distribution of such landforms to reconstruct the behaviour of former ice sheets that existed during the last glaciation. I choose to use satellite imagery for these purposes because they frequently permit new evidence to be detected and because they allow mapping at a scale compatible with the former ice sheet. The ultimate aim of this work is to build up a detailed picture of the evolution of former ice sheets through the last glacial cycle and to use this information to improve both ice sheet and climate models. Part of this research effort has necessarily involved EO and GIS methodology development. Highlights of my research are:
Key publications - Evans, D.J.A., Clark, C.D. and Mitchell, W.A. (2005). The last British Ice Sheet: A review of the evidence utilised in the compilation of the Glacial Map of Britain. Earth Science Reviews, 70, 253-312.
 SHERPA Archive version (open access)
doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.01.001 - Clark, C.D., Evans, D.J.A., Khatwa, A., Bradwell, T., Jordan, C.J., Marsh, S.H., Mitchell, W.A. and Bateman, M.D. (2004). Map and GIS database of landforms and features related to the last British Ice Sheet. Boreas, 33, 4, 359-375.
SHERPA Archive version (open access)
doi:10.1080/03009480410001983 - Clark, C.D., Tulaczyk, S.M., Stokes, C.R., and Canals, M. (2003). A groove-ploughing theory for the production of mega scale glacial lineations, and implications for ice stream mechanics. Journal of Glaciology, 49, 240-256.
Online abstract - Stokes, C.R. and Clark, C.D. (2001). Palaeo-ice streams. Quaternary Science Reviews, 20, 1437-1457.
doi:10.1016/S0277-3791(01)00003-8 - Mumby, P.J., Chrisholm, J.R.M., Clark, C.D., Hedley, J.D. and Jaubert, J. (2001). Spectrographic imaging: a bird´s-eye view of the health of coral reefs. Nature, 413, 36 (6 September 2001).
doi:10.1038/35092617
Other informationChris is a member of the Sheffield Centre for Earth Observation Science (SCEOS), which is involved in understanding and exploiting remotely sensed data, and is vice-president of the INQUA Commission on Glaciation. He has acted as external examiner on PhDs in Britain, Sweden and France, as an associate editor for the Annals of Glaciology, and guest editor for Boreas.
|
|
