The Global Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Sarah's work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
About Sarah
Background
I am an international expert in geohazards and tectonic geomorphology, interested in landslides, tsunamis and earthquakes and how these processes shape the landscape over short and long timescales. My PhD research, undertaken at Edinburgh University, focused on unravelling the tectono-stratigraphic development of the Hatay Graben in southern Turkey, an actively deforming plate boundary zone between the Arabian, African and Anatolian Plates, working in collaboration with Turkish colleagues and my PhD supervisor Prof Alastair Robertson. This multi-disciplinary approach lead to significant contributions including the first models for the tectono-sedimentary evolution of a Neogene Graben in southern Turkey (Boulton et al., 2006; 2007; Boulton & Robertson, 2008) with implications for present day regional plate tectonic configurations as well as the closure of the Neotethys during the Oligocene (Boulton & Robertson, 2007; Boulton, 2009) and paved the way for my current work, which uses a range of geological and geomorphological techniques to constrain rates and patterns of landscape change including remote sensing, GIS, geospatial analysis and increasingly landscape evolution modelling. I joined the team at the University of Plymouth in January 2006, an Associate Professor in 2018 and subsequently Professor of Geohazards in 2024.
In addition, I am a passionate advocate for increasing diversity within STEM subjects and co-founded the successful and award winning (Geological Society RH Worth Award) Girls into Geoscience programme. An annual 2-day workshop for female A-level students which aims to increase participation from this underrepresented group in Earth Sciences.
Research Interests
Understanding these Earth processes is fundamental to addressing the goals of the Sendai Framework and reducing the loss from extreme events. I am currently working on the following projects:
- Earthquake-induced landslides: I have recently been awarded a NERC Pushing the Frontiers Grant (PI) to develop a novel computer modelling approach to understand how landslide rates vary through time and space as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking and modulated by the landscape properties. This project will be the first to couple a landscape evolution model to an earthquake rupture model and will generate fundamental new understanding of earthquake-induced landslide hazard. This work developed from the NERC EnvEAST-funded PhD studentship of Joshua Jones. Related to this theme is ongoing work on the rockfalls and landslides associated with the High Atlas (Morocco) earthquake in September 2023.
- Earthquake hazard: On the 6th February 2023, two large earthquakes impacted southern Turkey including the geographic region of my PhD research. As a regional expert on the geology of the area I was selected to be part of the EEFIT (Earthquake Engineering Field Investigative Team) to work remotely on the event, mapping and categorising the geological effects of these earthquakes. As part of an international team this work is ongoing and has led to the development of an ARIES DTP research project taken up by Matthew Cleave to investigate the geodynamic implications of this event.
- Tectonic-forcing of landscapes: Another significant research strand of ongoing research is the use of the Gediz Graben (Western Turkey) as a natural laboratory for understanding the influence on normal faulting and earthquakes on landscape evolution. This research has been funded through a NERC Facilities grant, charitable funding and PhD studentships (i.e., Kent et al., 2017; 2018; 2021; Boulton et al., 2024; Dierks et al., 2024).
- Developing research areas: Other ongoing research includes the research of PhD students, Storm Roberts (DoS Coastal Boulder deposits as markers of extreme waves from storms and tsunamis); Rima Gusriana Harahap (2nd Supervisor – Coastal Hazards in Indonesia) and Dylan Seaton (2nd Supervisor – Quaternary climate and landscape change in the Sahara). These projects cover a wide range of geohazards and form proof of concept studies and capacity development in emerging research areas.
Career History
- 01/08/2024 to present: Professor of Geohazards, University of Plymouth
- 01/08/2019 to 31/07/2025: Associate Head of School (Student Recruitment and Marketing), Deputy Head of School since 2020.
- 01/08/2018 to present: Associate Professor of Active and Neotectonics, University of Plymouth
- 01/01/2006 to 31/07/2018: Lecturer in Neotectonics, University of Plymouth.
Supervised Research Degrees
Mr Matthew Cleave (DoS): Exploring the 6th February 2023 Turkish earthquakes: significance for complex seismic events and regional geodynamics (current student).
Mr Dylan Seaton (3rd Supervisor): African Humid Period floods on the Sahara Desert margins (current student)
Ms Rima Gusriana Harahap (2nd Supervisor): A coastal risk analysis for the outermost small islands of Indonesia: a multiple natural hazards approach (current student).
Mr Storm Roberts (DoS): Assessing past storm and tsunami events with coastal boulder deposits: implications for offshore and coastal renewable energy infrastructure (current student).
Dr Manuel Diercks: Fault interaction and seismic hazard in Western Turkey, completed June 2024.
Mr Cagatay Cal: Tectonic geomorphology and transient landscape response of the Sparta Fault (Greece). ResM; completed January 2023.
Dr Joshua Jones: Earthquake preconditioning in the Nepal Himalayas, implications for landslide susceptibility modelling. Completed February 2022.
Dr Jesse Zondervan: Tectonic and climatic controls on Quaternary fluvial landscape development in NW Africa. Completed March 2021.
Ms Natalia Perez Del Postigo Prieto: Tsunami generation by combined fault rupture and landsliding. Awarded MPhil September 2020.
Dr Emiko Kent: The relationship between active faulting and fluvial geomorphology: A case study in the Gediz Graben, Turkey. Completed November 2015.
Dr Emhemed Alfandi: Early Mesozoic stratigraphy, sedimentology and structure of the Gharian area, north-western Libya. Completed February 2012.
Dr Sara Hayes: Volcanic Risk Assessments: Integrating Hazard and Social Vulnerability Analysis. Completed September 2011.
Teaching
I am the module leader for:
GEES1201 - Sustainable Geoscience
In addition I teach on GEES2201- The Earth Surface and Critical Zone.
These modules build the confidence and skills of the students in geological mapping and spatial analyses, and in the use of advanced software such as ESRIs ArcGIS Pro.
In addition to these modules, I am involved in fieldwork, which would normally consist of:
GEES1203 Climate, Tectonics and Hazards (Italy field trip) and mulitple day trips.
