I study modern and ancient sedimentary environments in order to improve understanding of sedimentation and erosion. Quantifying rates of sedimentation and erosion are fundamental to understanding and predicting the short to medium term evolution of sedimentary systems, inform management of environments and habitats, and will also help in the interpretation of ancient sedimentary rocks. Combining geomorphological, sedimentological and shallow geophysical investigations e.g. GPR with geochronological methods such as OSL provides an essential framework to test the influence of forcing factors such as climate change and sea-level change in sedimentary sequences.

Current areas of research include: Geophysical and geochronological assessment of the structure and evolution of coastal and desert dunes. I have been a pioneer in using GPR to investigate shallow subsurface stratigraphy and sandbody geometry with the application of seismic interpretation methodology.

My research on desert dune stratigraphy around the world has been particularly productive and has been included in planning desert pipeline routes and infrastructure with BG and ARUP. I have conducted field work in deserts from Algeria to Antarctica and my expertise has been applied to interpreting landforms on Mars and Titan. My research on coastal dunes is being used to inform management of Newborough Warren NNR, SAC and Talacre Beach and dunes SSSI, SPA.

I am actively involved in a multidisciplinary study of the ‘dustiest place on Earth’ the Bodele depression in Chad which is the site of palaeolake MegaChad. I was a member of the BoDEx team in 2005 and led an expedition to date the shorelines of palaeolake Mega-Chad funded by RGS Gilchrist award in 2008, and Thesiger-Oman Fellowship in 2017. Research on palaeolake Mega-Chad and the Bodélé is ongoing and I have visited the Chad Basin three times since 2005 to maintain contact with researchers and officials in Chad, including presenting at the GEF in Cancun. I am also the Sahara correspondent for the INQUA dunes atlas.