Fiona Tweed
My main areas of teaching at Staffordshire University are in Physical Geography. I did a Joint Honours degree in Geography and English and a PhD in glacial geomorphology, both at Keele University. I love travelling, not only to observe the geomorphological environment, but also because it makes me appreciate the diversity of peoples and lifestyles in the world. I enjoy being outdoors and I have conducted fieldwork in the USA, the UK and Iceland, and taught for a brief period in Zimbabwe. My work and interest in different countries has also taken me to a variety of places - Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Greece, France and the Faroe Islands to name a few! I tend to be interested in what I call 'BIG' geomorphology - glaciers and ice sheets are where my research is focused. I am particularly interested in the causes and consequences of massive glacier floods, such as the outburst of water from Vatnajökull (a big ice cap) in Iceland back in 1996. These floods can cause considerable damage to roads, power lines and farmland, and sometimes loss of human life. They occur in many glaciated regions - the Himalayas, Greenland, South America, and the European Alps - and their triggers are still not fully understood. I am one of the leaders of an expedition to Iceland, sponsored by an organisation called "Earthwatch" (you can check out their web-site, along with others below). This expedition is investigating the impacts of the big 1996 glacier flood in Iceland, so that the damage from future events of this nature can be predicted. Research in glacial regions is very exciting, as the landscapes are often beautiful and dramatic and the environment evolves quite rapidly - meltwater streams change course almost daily, and different landforms appear over short spaces of time as glaciers erode and deposit material. Understanding what glaciers are doing now also helps us put together a picture of what environments might have been like in the past, when glaciers were more extensive. And, contrary to popular belief, it is not always freezing cold - I got sunburnt in Iceland last year! Another area of physical geography which interests me is natural hazards. The big flood in Iceland is obviously one such hazard, but I am also fascinated by volcanoes and earthquakes and society's attempts to adjust to them. It is sometimes difficult for us here in the UK to imagine what living under the constant threat of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions must be like. Prediction of the impacts of such events is important for human habitation and development - questions such as 'where will ashfall be concentrated?', 'what will an eruption do to our farmland?', 'what are the odds of the volcano emitting noxious gases?' and 'will there be other, bigger earth tremors?' need answers. Volcanoes and earthquakes also seem to fit into my theme of 'BIG' geomorphological events! Some of these web sites may be of interest: Earthwatch Homepage: http://www.earthwatch.org/ Icelandic Glaciers Project: http://www.earthwatch.org/cat99/xrussell.html Eye on the World Violent Planet Page: http://www.iwaynet.net/~kwroejr/violent.html Earthquakes & Volcanoes (University of Indiana): http://www.indiana.edu/~volcano/ Alaska Volcano Observatory: http://www.avo.alaska.edu 1996 Icelandic Eruption & Flooding: http://www.volcanoshow.is/glacial.shtml Dr. Fiona Tweed Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography Division of Geography Staffordshire University College Road Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire ST4 2DE UK Tel: +44 (0) 1782 294113
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