- High Resolution geophysics - near surface multi-method geophysics, high-resolution marine geophysics for biological habitat appraisal, environmental geosciences and archaeological geosciences - Multi-component seismics - shear wave anisotropy, compressional wave AVA for fractured oil and gas reservoirs i in Rocky Mountain Basins, N. Africa and N. Sea

See Sedimentary Systems Research Unit for more information.

Current Research Projects

Predicting the impacts of adverse weather on power distribution networks

This is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between ourselves and Scottish and Southern Energy. It is a 3-year project finishing at the end of 2011. We are building predictive models that will identify the likely type and location of faults given weather forcast data. This provides the basis of a cost-benefit analysis for resource distribution e.g. the deployment of resource crews/materials and the probable extent of customer power interruptions. Several other research paths have already branched from this main thread.

Risk mitigation for low-frequency military sonar

There is concern about the potential impacts of new powerful low-frequency sonars (typically military) on the marine environment, marine mammals in particular. We have been collaborating with commercial partners in the production of software that quantifies potential impacts on marine mammals and advises on mitigation possibilities. This software is currently deployed in its first version and is the result of 2 years collaboration. Further extensions and variants are currently being developed. 

Smoothing over complex 2D surfaces

Ecology, physiology and life history of marine mammals.

Interactions between the foraging behaviour and diving physiology: Interactions between foraging ecology and reproductive success; parental investment; interactions between marine mammals and the exploitation of marine resources; use of telemetry and remote sensing to study marine mammals at sea.

Interactions between the foraging behaviour and diving physiology:Interactions between foraging ecology and reproductive success;parental investment; interactions between marine mammals and theexploitation of marine resources; use of telemetry and remotesensing to study marine mammals at sea.

Research group:

NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit

Research students:

Mr. David Thompson (with J. Parker, University of Liverpool)

Funded collaborations:

ELIFONTS (FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen; Department of MarineSciences and Coastal Management, University of Newcastle; Institutefor Terrestrial Ecology, Banchory; Danish Institute for FisheriesResearch, Copenhagen); IBN-DLO, Netherlands; Australian AntarcticDivision.

My research concerns specifically the foraging and diving behaviour of marine predators and more generally how this can inform conservation planning in the ocean.   

My interests lie primarily in the study of foraging behaviour and ecology of marine predators, and the application of this to conservation planning.

Current Projects

Marine predator foraging ecology

Work on predator foraging often relies on inference from dive profiles. Using a miniature video camera attached to the animal we can view the foraging space of a diving animal and test previously used proxies for foraging behaviour. The identification of foraging areas and assessment of the stability of these over time and space enable us to investigate variability in foraging success and the criteria driving this (whether anthropogenically or environmentally induced)

Diving physiology

The mechanisms allowing marine mammals to avoid problems associated with diving to depth are still only partially understood. Recent deaths of beaked whales associated with sonar exposure appear to be due to decompression sickness. I am interested in how problems such as shallow-water blackout and decompression sickness are avoided, and use modelling approaches to determine risk based on dive profiles.

Conservation planning and marine protected areas

An ecosystem-approach is widely advocated in conservation planning but ecosystem modelling approaches, despite their sophistication, often suffer from a lack of source data or inherent uncertainties. An alternative is to use spatially explicit management. I am interested in the application of such marine reserve areas to higher predators.

MPhil/PhD project opportunities:

• Potential students are welcome to contact me to discuss projects.

I am a Senior Research Fellow at the University of St. Andrews. I have worked in the NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) for over 25 years during which time I have published on the movement and behaviour of marine mammals – from the Antarctic to the Arctic. I co-manage the Instrumentation Group within the SMRU that has developed a novel set of telemetry systems to study the biology of marine mammals at sea. This group is internationally acknowledged as a world leader in the development of novel telemetry system for marine mammals and has an annual turnaround of c. £0.6M.

I have been the recipient of numerous awards from public agencies, the telecommunications industry and Research Councils.  My other academic interests include networks and the application of wireless sensor networks in ecology and population biology