DrFrederick Richards
Associate Professor in Earth Sciences
Department of Earth Science & Engineering - Faculty of Engineering
Orcid identifier0000-0002-6610-4289 (opens in a new tab)
- Associate Professor in Earth SciencesDepartment of Earth Science & Engineering - Faculty of Engineering
- 2.36B, Royal School of Mines, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
BIO
N.B. My personal website is freddrichards.github.io, please check there for the most up-to-date news and a complete research profile!
Research:
I am interested in understanding the surface expression of deep Earth dynamics and structure. My past research has focused on constraining and modelling the impacts of mantle convection on surface elevations and landscape evolution. This work has helped to reconcile numerical models and observations of this so-called ‘dynamic’ topography, while revealing that convectively driven vertical motions may occur at rates of up to 100 m per million years. These fast-evolving perturbations have significant implications across the Earth Sciences as they may destabilise polar ice sheets, alter ocean circulation via closure of ocean gateways, and control locations of resource-bearing sedimentary basins. My current work aims to integrate geological and geophysical observations with numerical models to better constrain dynamic topography and glacial isostatic adjustment in order to assess their impact on polar ice mass change and palaeo-sea level estimates. These outputs will serve as useful tie points to calibrate ice sheet models, reducing uncertainty in projections of future sea-level rise.
Topics of Interest:
Mantle dynamics, glacial isostatic adjustment, marine geophysics, geology, sea-level change, ice dynamics, palaeoclimate, mineral resources, inverse theory, igneous and metamorphic petrology, geomorphology, basin analysis, stratigraphy.
Academic Positions and Education:
2023 – Present: Lecturer, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London.
2019 – 2022: Imperial College Research Fellow, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London.
2018 – 2019: Schmidt Science Fellow, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.
2014 – 2018: PhD, Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences. University of Cambridge.
2010 – 2014: MEarthSci, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford.
Research:
I am interested in understanding the surface expression of deep Earth dynamics and structure. My past research has focused on constraining and modelling the impacts of mantle convection on surface elevations and landscape evolution. This work has helped to reconcile numerical models and observations of this so-called ‘dynamic’ topography, while revealing that convectively driven vertical motions may occur at rates of up to 100 m per million years. These fast-evolving perturbations have significant implications across the Earth Sciences as they may destabilise polar ice sheets, alter ocean circulation via closure of ocean gateways, and control locations of resource-bearing sedimentary basins. My current work aims to integrate geological and geophysical observations with numerical models to better constrain dynamic topography and glacial isostatic adjustment in order to assess their impact on polar ice mass change and palaeo-sea level estimates. These outputs will serve as useful tie points to calibrate ice sheet models, reducing uncertainty in projections of future sea-level rise.
Topics of Interest:
Mantle dynamics, glacial isostatic adjustment, marine geophysics, geology, sea-level change, ice dynamics, palaeoclimate, mineral resources, inverse theory, igneous and metamorphic petrology, geomorphology, basin analysis, stratigraphy.
Academic Positions and Education:
2023 – Present: Lecturer, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London.
2019 – 2022: Imperial College Research Fellow, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London.
2018 – 2019: Schmidt Science Fellow, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.
2014 – 2018: PhD, Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences. University of Cambridge.
2010 – 2014: MEarthSci, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford.
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- LecturerImperial College London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, London, United Kingdom7 Jan 2023 - present
- Imperial College Research FellowImperial College London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, London, United Kingdom7 Oct 2019 - 6 Jan 2023
- Schmidt Science FellowHarvard University, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, MA, United States24 Sep 2018 - 27 Sep 2019
DEGREES
- PhDUniversity of Cambridge, Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0EZ, United Kingdom3 Oct 2014 - 31 Aug 2018
- MEarthSciUniversity of Oxford, Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom4 Oct 2010 - 27 Jun 2014
LANGUAGES
- EnglishCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
- ItalianCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
- FrenchCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
FACULTY
- Faculty of Engineering
POSITION NAME
- Associate Professor in Earth Sciences