Almeria field trip

Department of Geography, Geology and Environment

About the department

With three key subject areas – Geography, Earth Science and Environmental Science – our Department bridges the gap between human society and the physical environment.

Our research seeks to develop solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing problems, such as the climate crisis, human health and wellbeing, food security, biodiversity loss, renewable energy and creating a more sustainable future. By working within and across disciplines, we help to tackle these global challenges and deliver societal and economic impact.

This world-leading activity supports our research-led teaching, the quality of which is nationally recognised. We offer the following degrees: BA Geography, BSc Geography and BSc Environmental Science, all of which have Foundation Year and Study Abroad options.

Head of department

Professor Graham Ferrier

Professor Graham Ferrier

Accreditations

Research in the Department of Geography, Geology and Environment

Our research is organised around three research themes: Dynamic Earth and Changing Environments; Sustainable Futures and Social Worlds; and Resilient Bodies, Populations and Places.

We collaborate across the University, particularly with the Department of Biological and Marine Sciences and the Energy and Environment Institute.

Strengths

Dynamic Earth and Changing Environments

Many projects are the result of collaboration between the Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, the Department of Geography, Geology and Environment and the Energy and Environment Institute.

Monitoring and Modelling Environmental Systems

Our research here focuses on environmental fluid dynamics, hydrology, flood science, geomorphology, and environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring.

Projects include:

  • physical models for climate change adaptation
  • drone-mounted spectral analysis engineering
  • susceptibility of catchments to intense rainfall and flooding
  • combination hazard of extreme rainfall, storm surge and high tide on estuarine infrastructure
  • eDNA-based methods for non-invasive monitoring of biodiversity

Crustal Geology

Our crustal geologists produce innovative insights into fractured basement hydrocarbon reserves, volcanic hazards and the tectonic history of Earth. We’ve invested in a bespoke, inductively coupled plasma geochemistry suite and associated rock preparation facilities.

Our staff members have been named in the 2018 NERC Research Impact Awards and presented at major science communication events such as the Cheltenham Science Festival. The team is also actively engaged in a variety of international research expeditions.

Management of Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

Our research uses scientific evidence to inform and shape sustainable water resource management practices and policies across the world.

Projects include:

  • the effect of oil and gas decommissioning on marine conservation and ecosystem services
  • water use of the Shatt al-Arab for food security
  • fish-friendly hydropower systems
  • inland waterways pollutant characterisation.

Changing Aquatic Environments

This research cluster examines the genetic pathways that are at risk from climate-induced stress, and the effect of changing aquatic environments on chemical communication.

Our cutting-edge research on aquatic microplastic contamination is pinpointing the fate and effects of microplastics in environments that were previously considered pristine such as the Antarctic. We’re also examining microplastic behaviour and impact in estuarine and maritime contexts – and within the human food chain.

We’re proud to expand public understanding of these issues by featuring our work at The Deep.

Co-evolution of Earth and Life

Our research contributes to the knowledge base and international debates on past climate and ecological and evolutionary change from the Precambrian period to the Holocene. We also examine threats to natural capital as we move into the Anthropocene.

This group has won international awards for impact and attracted significant investment from funding bodies such as the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and The Royal Society.

Our community

of slides

Lectures that take you places

From local day trips, to residential courses in Europe, Africa, and Asia, we offer a diverse and stimulating range of fieldwork.

What do our students do on their field trips? What do they love about working outside of the lecture theatre? How does their field work start to shape their plans for the future?

Discover our Field Trips

Find us on YouTube

Meet members of staff, hear from current and past students and watch our in-depth videos on our degrees and field trips.

Watch now

Field Trips: Barcelona

Watch: Follow our Geography students as they embark on their second-year field trip to Barcelona. Find out what they study while they are there, why field trips are so important (and fun) and why they chose to study Geography at Hull.

Play YouTube video in lightbox

Try for yourself

Watch: Join Dr Jonathan Dean and Environmental Science student James Cameron for a taster of Geography, Earth Science and Environmental Science at Hull.

Play YouTube video in lightbox

Student research recognised on Government website for World Environment Day

Research findings in Rosie Jaques dissertation project, which investigated bird populations on coal mine water treatment systems, were highlighted on the UK Government’s website for World Environment Day.

Find out more about Rosie's research

Our people

The department is a vibrant community of extremely talented staff and students, who collaborate to craft some incredibly creative work.

staff members in the Department of Geography, Geology and Environment, arranged alphabetically by last name

PhD students

PhD students in the Department of Geography, Geology and Environment
Staff placeholder

Muneera Alharbi

A study of the causes and spatial patterns of shoplifting crime in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Staff placeholder

Mavuto Banda

Unintended victims of humanitarian anti-slavery measures

Laura Bastianini

Laura Bastianini

Jana Busch

Jana Busch

Universities as laboratories for change: exploring pathways to a circular economy of plastics

Staff placeholder

Stormm Buxton-Hill

Marriage settlements À-la-mode: women, settlements and dynastic ambitions in the long eighteenth century

Staff placeholder

Roy Dunn

Deformation in the northern part of the Moine Thrust Zone

Staff placeholder

Lewis Evason

Staff placeholder

Michael Howcroft

Pride, shame and the Hull civic imaginary: UK City of Culture and Brexit

Staff placeholder

Matthew Johnson

Elena Jones

Elena Jones

Staff placeholder

Malgorzata Lekan

Staff placeholder

Helen Manning

Gender, place and memory 1400-1900

Staff placeholder

Charlotte Mummery

Stakeholder perspectives of the social licence to operate: exploring the governance of shale gas development in England

Staff placeholder

Aodhan Newsholme

Transitioning to a regional circular economy: exploring stakeholder perspectives

Staff placeholder

Karen Nicholson

Volcanic edifice evolution: Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau, north-west Pacific Ocean

Staff placeholder

Dean Page

Sustainable growth, management and economic productivity 1+3 / MSc Social Research (DTP)

Staff placeholder

Katie Parsons

Investigating the lived experiences of relationships with the outdoors before, during and after COVID-19: impacts on children's education, wellbeing and pro environmental behaviours spaces of outdoor education

Staff placeholder

Andrew Peck

Who is the hashtag for? An analysis of social media use during the Agung volcano crisis

Staff placeholder

Ruth Quinn

Nineteenth century historical geographies of landscape at Saltaire World Heritage Site

Staff placeholder

Heather Rogers

Employment in the circular economy

Staff placeholder

Charles Sewell

Local spaces on the world wide web: practice, power and Yorkshire folk culture in the digital realm

Staff placeholder

Greg Smith

Propagation of aerated pyroclastic density current analogues: flow behaviour and the formation of bedforms and deposits

Hang Vo

Hang Vo

Bridging the gap between policy formation and policy delivery

Staff placeholder

Stephen John Walsh

Pride, shame and the Hull civic imaginary: UK City of Culture and Brexit

Jun Xie

Jun Xie

Modelling the landslide impact on the long term landscape evolution

Staff placeholder

Qian Zuo

Spatial distribution and prediction of fluoride contamination in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China

Cohen Flume Tank Laboratory

Take a Virtual Tour

Take a 360-degree look at facilities such as our flume lab, where you'll gain skills to help you understand how geological systems work.

Top