Professor Tony Parsons

Professor of Sediment Systems

	Room number:	E15
	Telephone (internal):	27952
	Telephone (UK):	0114 222 7952
	Telephone (International):	+44 114 222 7952
	Email:	A.J.Parsons@Sheffield.ac.uk

Tony Parsons obtained his BA in 1968 from the University of Sheffield, and followed this, in 1969, with an MSc in Applied Geomorphology from the University of Sheffield and, in 1973, with a PhD from the University of Reading. Subsequently he has worked at the University of Khartoum (1973-4), the University of New South Wales (1974-78), and Keele University (1979-95). He was appointed to a Chair in Physical Geography at the University of Leicester in 1995 and moved to the University of Sheffield to a Chair in Sediment Systems in 2006.

Research Interests

Hillslopes, dryland geomorphology, and soil erosion

Current Research

My current research focuses on four main projects:

The development of a new approach to modelling soil erosion. This project has been based around a set of field experiments conducted at Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in southern Arizona, which have been set up to examine scale dependency in runoff and erosion. The results of these field experiments are being used to develop a scale-based model for soil erosion that will be applicable from hillslopes to catchment scales.
Biogeochemical fluxes in semi-arid shrublands and grasslands. This research is being conducted within the framework of the Long Term Ecological Research site at the Jornada Experimental Range in Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico. The overall aim of this research is to understand both how vegetation change affects biogeochemical fluxes and how these fluxes can, in turn, affect vegetation change.
Land degradation in the Karoo, South Africa. In common with many of the world's drylands (including the Chihuahuan desert) the Karoo has experienced land degradadion over the past century. The aim of this project is similar to (2) above, namely to understand the causes and consequences of this land degradation.
The mechanics of rill initiation. Threshold conditions for the development of rills remain poorly understood. This project uses a combination of laboratory experiments and numerical modelling to elucidate these threshold conditions.

Teaching

My teaching focuses on my research interest in dryland geomorphology. At second-year level I convene and teach a large part of Dryland Geomorphology, and at third-year level I share in the teaching of the Drylands Fieldclass. The core of my teaching lies in trying to answer the question "Why does the landscape look as it does". Answering this question involves understanding the physical processes that shape landscape, but also thinking about appropriate ways to answer the question depending on the time and space scales within which the question is framed. I have a strong commitment to the derivation of the word education (the Latin educere meaning to lead out). Such commitment finds its best expression in fieldwork which I believe lies at the heart of geographical enquiry. In the Drylands fieldclass we take an approach to teaching that uses the framework of Inquiry-based learning in which students are led to develop their understanding of landscape based upon inquiry informed by their previously acquired knowledge.

Tony teaches on a range of undergraduate courses including:

GEO232 Dryland Geomorphology
GEO365 Drylands Environment Field Class

All staff also engage in personal supervision and tutoring of individual students at all three undergraduate levels in the following modules:
GEO163 (Information & Communication Skills for Geographers)
GEO263 or GEO264 (Research Design in Human or Physical Geography)
GEO356 (Geographical Research Project)

Other Information

Tony is currently Chair of the IGU Commission on Geomorphic Challenges for the 21st Century, and is a former Chair of the British Geomorphological Research Group (BGRG).