David J.a. Evans

Biography

David J.A. Evans is Professor in the Department of Geography

Research Interest

My research on the landforms and sediments of modern and ancient glaciated basins has been the catalyst for the compilation of glacial landsystems models and the reconstruction of palaeo-glacier dynamics. I have undertaken this research in a range of glacierized and glaciated settings, including the Canadian high arctic, Iceland, Norway, the Canadian prairies, Ireland, Svalbard, the Himalaya and Britain. My high arctic work has addressed the impacts of sub-polar glaciers on fjord and plateau landscapes, highlighting glacitectonic processes and landforms, glacial apron entrainment and the interactions between glacier systems, the marine environment and periglacial slope processes. On the Canadian prairies I have focussed on the impacts of predominantly temperate ice sheet margins on continental interiors, including the products of glacitectonics, the inter-relationships between glacier thermal characteristics, till deposition and subglacial landform production and the role of glacial meltwater in landscape development. I have applied my work on contemporary glacial landsystems in Iceland to ancient glaciated landscapes, specifically identifying the geomorphic signatures of former surging and fast flowing ice streams/lobes in the SW Laurentide Ice Sheet. Ongoing Icelandic landsystems research is being conducted in collaboration with Dr Dave Twigg (Civil & Building Engineering, Loughborough University), allowing the compilation of the first comprehensive maps of the recently deglaciated proglacial areas of many glaciers and the temporal and spatial analysis of process-form relationships at temperate and surging glacier margins (see links). Collaborative work on subglacial processes has involved assessments of till genesis and their role in glacier bedform production and glacial erosion as a process and an agent of landscape change. Much of my glacial landform and sediment research has been applied to the palaeoglaciology of the last British Ice Sheet. One major product of our ongoing work on this theme is the Glacial Map of Britain (see links), compiled in collaboration with Dr Chris Clark (University of Sheffield). This is the culmination of a four year project, partly funded by the British Geological Survey, to compile all the previously published information on glacial landforms dating to the last glaciation in map format with a supporting GIS.