Category: Research Projects

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Botanical investigations of the Pewsey Roman Vessel Hoard

This February, Wiltshire Museum are displaying, for the first time, the archaeobotanical remains associated with a hoard of 8 Roman bronze vessels. The hoard was carefully buried, either to keep the bronze bowls safe or perhaps as a votive offering. The archaeobotanical investigations, undertaken by staff from Historic England and the University of Southampton, have… Read More Botanical investigations of the Pewsey Roman Vessel Hoard

Michael Grant

New understanding of rip currents could help to save lives

This is a press-release for a new paper – Wave breaking patterns control rip current flow regimes and surf zone retention, published by members of the coastal group which can be accessed here. Research by the Universities of Southampton and Plymouth has found a new link between breaking waves and the hazard posed by rip currents. The… Read More New understanding of rip currents could help to save lives

Hachem Kassem

Faults control the flux of water into the Earth during continental breakup

Gaye Bayrakci, Tim Minshull, Jon Bull and Richard Davy from the G&G group, with colleagues from six other institutions, have published a paper in Nature Geoscience this week, entitled “Fault-controlled hydration of the upper mantle during continental rifting”. This paper is the first to document a direct link between the fault activity and the amount… Read More Faults control the flux of water into the Earth during continental breakup

Justin Dix

Undergraduate student Isabel Hodgson receives awards to present work at AGU

Congratulations to Southampton undergraduate Isabel Hodgson who has won two awards to present her research at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2015 in San Francisco. Isabel showed excellence in two highly competitive processes and was awarded both the AGU travel grant and a Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) grant. Isabel is a fourth year… Read More Undergraduate student Isabel Hodgson receives awards to present work at AGU

Finn Illsley-Kemp

Tomographic investigation of turbulence and sediment dynamics

Understanding sediment transport has come a long way since the pioneering works of Shields and Bagnold, nearly a century ago. Yet, the complex mechanisms that drive, at larger scales, the morphological evolution of coastal and estuarine environments remain poorly understood at the ‘noisy’ end of the spectrum. Fundamentally, this is a problem of fluid sediment interaction,… Read More Tomographic investigation of turbulence and sediment dynamics

Hachem Kassem

Expansion at COARS

We are delighted to announce that Dr Kieran Westley has joined Coastal and Offshore Archaeological Research Services (COARS). Kieran is a widely published specialist in maritime and coastal archaeology with over 10 years of experience as well as being an alumni of the University of Southampton. Kieran’s research experience is focused in two principal areas: The investigation… Read More Expansion at COARS

Michael Grant

North Devon and Cornwall Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (RCZAS)

COARS are delighted to announce that they have been selected by Historic England to undertake a Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (RCZAS) of the North Devon and Cornwall Coastline. This survey will focus on the north coastline of Devon and Cornwall, stretching from Combe Martin, Devon (the western boundary of the Exmoor National Park) to Land’s… Read More North Devon and Cornwall Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (RCZAS)

Michael Grant

Southampton Geologists/Geophysicists study Boset-Bericha Volcano Complex, East African Rift

The G&G research group was recently (March 2015) joined by new PhD student Melanie Siegburg who will study the Boset-Bericha volcano complex in Ethiopia. Together with PhD supervisors Jon Bull, Tom Gernon and Derek Keir, and fellow PhD student Finn Illsley-Kemp, Melanie completed reconnaissance fieldwork, including some field sampling, in April-May 2015. “Boset” is the… Read More Southampton Geologists/Geophysicists study Boset-Bericha Volcano Complex, East African Rift

Justin Dix

SurgeWatch: New database on coastal flooding in the UK

This article was published in The Conversation by Ivan Haigh (Physical Oceanography) and Shari Gallop (Geology and Geophysics) from Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton. Coastal floods are a major global hazard. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis generated a five-metre storm surge along the coast of southern Myanmar. This swept seawater 50km inland, killing a… Read More SurgeWatch: New database on coastal flooding in the UK

Shari Gallop