Summary
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.
Publications
Journals
Richards FD, Hoggard MJ, Ghelichkhan S, et al., 2023, Geodynamic, geodetic, and seismic constraints favour deflated and dense-cored LLVPs, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol:602, ISSN:0012-821X, Pages:117964-117964
Huston DL, Champion DC, Czarnota K, et al., 2022, Zinc on the edge—isotopic and geophysical evidence that cratonic edges control world-class shale-hosted zinc-lead deposits, Mineralium Deposita, ISSN:0026-4598
Bowman DM, Richards F, Maunder M, et al., 2022, Stay in love with your PhD, Astronomy and Geophysics, Vol:63, ISSN:0035-8738, Pages:32-35
Maunder M, O'Brien A, Reid J, et al., 2022, Generation Covid, Astronomy and Geophysics, Vol:63, ISSN:0035-8738, Pages:22-27
Austermann J, Hoggard MJ, Latychev K, et al., 2021, The effect of lateral variations in Earth structure on Last Interglacial sea level, Geophysical Journal International, Vol:227, ISSN:0956-540X, Pages:1938-1960