The first phase of this work was completed in the Disko Bugt area of West Greenland, where I led a NERC-funded research programme interested in developing the sea-level history (myself, Dr David Roberts (Durham University) and Dr Morten Rasch (Copenhagen University)), and linking this to the offshore seismic and sediment stratigraphy (Dr Jerry Lloyd and Laura Park (Durham University), Dr Justin Dix (Southampton Oceanography Centre) and Dr Anton Kjuipers (GEUS, Denmark).

This work has involved four field seasons of data collection, that resulted in the following achievements:

• A new chronology for ice sheet retreat since the last glacial maximum (Long et al., 1999, 2003).

• Redating of a major moraine in the area using relative sea-level data (Long and Roberts 2002).

• A new new model for the deglacial history of the Jakobshavns Isbrae ice stream (Long and Roberts 2003; Long et al., submitted).

• Definition of the regional glacio-isostatic field with a particular emphasis on the evidence for Neoglacial ice sheet regrowth (Long and Roberts submitted).

In 2004, I began a second phase of this work by opening up a new field area in the Tasiilaq area of East Greenland. Working in collaboration with Dr David Roberts, this work has mapped trim lines to determine last glacial maximum ice thicknesses, and collected some of the first sea-level data from the SE sector of the ice sheet.

Holocene coastal evolution

My doctoral research concerned Holocene sea-level changes in southern England, and this region has remained a focus for research ever since. Much of my effort has been spent trying to better understand the evolutionary history of sand and gravel barriers and their relationship to the finer-grained back-barrier sediments. This work has been focussed on the Dungeness Foreland and the associated Romney and Walland Marshes. The work continues to be completed with the collaboration of a wide group of academics under the umbrella organisation of the Romney Marsh Research Trust, in particular with Dr Andy Plater (Liverpool University) and Dr Martyn Waller (Kingston University). Two recently awarded grants from English Heritage under the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund are supporting a programme of deep drilling though the Dungeness gravels, as well as detailed sedimentological and biostratigraphical analyses of the associated back-barrier and within-barrier sediments.

Further details of the work on Dungeness and Rye can be accessed via the following link:

http://geography.dur.ac.uk/information/staff/personal/long/Dungeness.pdf (.pdf file)

I’ve also worked extensively in Hampshire and Dorset examining patterns of Holocene coastal evolution and sea-level change. Further afield, I’m interested in the stratigraphic architecture and Holocene evolution of our major estuaries, and have published research papers on the Thames, the Humber, the Mersey as well as the Severn estuaries.

Sea-level change and coastal archaeology

My third area of research lies at the interface between sea-level change and coastal archaeology. Initial interest in the area stemmed from a survey of England’s coastal archaeological resource, including identification of research priorities and strategies (Fulford, Champion and Long, 1997). Since then I have undertaken collaborative research with archaeologists on Romney Marsh, in the Solent, the Severn and the Thames Estuary. More recently, Professor Bob Allison (University of Durham), myself and Dr Jane Sidell (University College London) were awarded a NERC grant under the science-based archaeological element of the URGENT programme. This work is allowing us to develop quantitative models of how unconsolidated sediments (and associated artefacts) respond to imposed stresses. It will also lead to an improved quantitative understanding of the effects of compaction in Holocene coastal sediment sequences.

Sea-level changes and earthquakes

Since the mid 1990s, I’ve been working with Professor Ian Shennan and other colleagues at the University of Durham, to apply microfossil analytical techniques to the coastal sediments of the Pacific Northwest USA and, more recently, the saltmarshes of Alaska. The thrust of this work is to quantify the timing, magnitude and impact of repeated cycles of coseismic subsidence and interseismic strain accumulation associated with great plate boundary earthquakes, and to discriminate between changes in relative sea-level caused by seismic and non-seismic processes. This work is funded by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Programme, and is helping to reduce uncertainty regarding past and future earthquake hazard in these regions.

Quaternary fluvial records

Dr David Bridgland (Durham University) and I, in collaboration with the Swale-Ure Washlands Project and North Yorkshire County Council, have recently embarked on an English Heritage funded project to better understand the postglacial history of the Swale and the Ure washlands, two important river in North Yorkshire. This work seeks to reconstruct the landscape history of the region through mapping the fluvial sediments in the region and undertaking detailed palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at a series of sites.

Further information regarding this project can be accessed via the following link:

http://geography.dur.ac.uk/information/staff/personal/long/Washlands.pdf (.pdf file)

Applied research

I have undertaken applied research for a variety of organisations interested in sea-level change and coastal management issues. Recent and ongoing projects include the Holocene evolution of Southampton Water(Associated British Ports), the Holocene stability of Bridgwater Bay in the Seven Estuary (West Somerset District Council), as well as mining subsidence and cliff stability in North Yorkshire (Cleveland Potash Limited). Much of this work benefits from collaboration with other members of the Sea-level Research Unit at Durham, as well as colleagues in the Earth Surface Systems research group (notably Prof. Bob Allison and Dr David Petley).