Dr Alex Taylor
Profiles

Dr Alex Taylor

Research Fellow (ELMS-Exchange)

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Biography

Biography

I am a postdoctoral research fellow and river catchments consultant specialising in assessment of catchment land management and downstream water quality. I am currently involved in interdisciplinary research as part of the Jali Ardhi (Care for the Land) and ELMS Exchange projects. I am also a member of the Catchment & River Applied Research (CaRAR) team, providing environmental diagnostics services for a range of stakeholders across the UK.

 


Qualifications

PhD-Fallout Radionuclide Tracing Techniques

BSc Environmental Science

Research

Research

Research interests

River catchment applied research projects:

  • Provision of advice to the MHWESG on contaminants in Milford Haven Waterway, Pembrokeshire. 
  • Identifying fine sediment inputs to key freshwater pearl mussel sites-Scotland. APEM Ltd
  • SSSI rCSMG water quality investigations. Rivers Test, Itchen & Lymington. With Stantec for Southern Water 
  • Be-7 as soil tracer for assessing erosion and sedimentation rates. UN FAO/IAEA
  • Assessing the suitability of potential freshwater pearl mussel translocation sites in the River Clun. Natural England
  • Temporal and spatial patterns of phosphorus concentration across the ditch system of West Sedgemoor SSSI. Natural England
  • Assessing the input of road-derived contaminants to the River Teign. Natural England
  • Fine sediment and phosphorus contamination in southwest rivers (Taw and Teign). Westcountry Rivers Trust
  • The use of in situ fluorimetry to determine the source of organic inputs to the River Camel, Cornwall. Natural England
  • Water Quality (mainly organic pollution, phosphate and suspended solids) monitoring on the River Camel Valley and Tributaries SSSI. Natural England
  • Sources and quality of fine sediment in degraded freshwater pearl mussel habitats (Clun & Mease). Natural England
  • Assessing nutrient enrichment in Local Nature Reserves, South Devon. UoP
  • Evaluating sediment accretion rates on restored saltmarshes using fallout Be-7. UoP Marine Institute


Publications

Publications

Journals

Taylor, A., Kalnins, A., Koot, M., Jackson, R., Toloza, A., Said Ahmed, H., Goddard, R., Blake, W.H. 2023. “Portable gamma spectrometry for rapid assessment of soil texture, organic carbon and total nitrogen in agricultural soils.” Journal of Soils Sediments. DOI

Clason, C. C.; Blake, W. H.; Selmes, N.; Taylor, A.; Boeckx, P.; Kitch, J.; Mills, S. C.; Baccolo, G.; Millward, G. E. 2021. “Accumulation of Legacy Fallout Radionuclides in Cryoconite on Isfallsglaciären (Arctic Sweden) and Their Downstream Spatial Distribution.” Cryosphere, 15 (11), 5151–5168. DOI

Taylor, A.; Wynants, M.; Munishi, L.; Kelly, C.; Mtei, K.; Mkilema, F.; Ndakidemi, P.; Nasseri, M.; Kalnins, A.; Patrick, A.; Gilvear, D.; Blake, W. 2021. “Building Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience through Soil Organic Carbon Restoration in Sub-Saharan Rural Communities: Challenges and Opportunities.” Sustainability, 13, 10966. DOI

Muñoz-Arcos, E., Castillo, A., Cuevas-Aedo, A., Ovando-Fuentealba, L., Taylor, A., Bustamante-Ortega, R., Blake, W. H., & Bravo-Linares, C. 2021. “Sediment source apportionment following wildfire in an upland commercial forest catchment.” Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21(6), 2432–2449. DOI

Wynants, M.; Patrick, A.; Munishi, L.; Mtei, K.; Bodé, S.; Taylor, A.; Millward, G.; Roberts, N.; Gilvear, D.; Ndakidemi, P.; Boeckx, P.; Blake, W. 2021. “Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport in Tanzania: Part I - Sediment Source Tracing in Three Neighbouring River Catchments.” Earth Surf. Process. Landforms. DOI

Wynants, M.; Patrick, A.; Munishi, L.; Mtei, K.; Bodé, S.; Taylor, A.; Millward, G.; Roberts, N.; Gilvear, D.; Ndakidemi, P.; Boeckx, P.; Blake, W. 2021. “Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport in Tanzania: Part II -, Sedimentological Evidence of Phased Land Degradation.” Earth Surf. Process. Landforms. DOI

Wang, X., Blake, W. H., Taylor, A., Kitch, J., & Millward, G. 2021. “Evaluating the effectiveness of soil conservation at the basin scale using floodplain sedimentary archives.” Science of The Total Environment, 792, 148414. DOI

Glegg, G. A., Barratt, C., Taylor, A., Gulson, E., & Millward, G. E. 2020. “Potential hazards of metal-contaminated soils in an estuarine impoundment”. Journal of Soils and Sediments. DOI

Wynants, M., G. Millward, A. Patrick, A. Taylor, L. Munishi, K. Mtei, L. Brendonck, et al. 2020. “Determining Tributary Sources of Increased Sedimentation in East-African Rift Lakes.” Science of the Total Environment 717. DOI

Blake, W.H., A. Taylor, A.R. Iurian, G.E. Millward, and L. Mabit. 2019. Conversion of Be-7 Activity Concentrations into Soil and Sediment Redistribution Amounts. Assessing Recent Soil Erosion Rates through the Use of Beryllium-7 (Be-7). DOI

Blake, W.H., A. Taylor, A. Toloza, and L. Mabit. 2019. How to Design a Be-7 Based Soil Distribution Study at the Field Scale: A Step-by-Step Approach. Assessing Recent Soil Erosion Rates through the Use of Beryllium-7 (Be-7). DOI

Kitch, J.L., J. Phillips, S. Peukert, A. Taylor, and W.H. Blake. 2019. “Understanding the Geomorphic Consequences of Enhanced Overland Flow in Mixed Agricultural Systems: Sediment Fingerprinting Demonstrates the Need for Integrated Upstream and Downstream Thinking.” Journal of Soils and Sediments 19 (9). DOI

Millward, G.E., and A. Taylor. 2019. Geochemistry | Sediment Analysis. Encyclopedia of Analytical Science. DOI

Taylor, A., W.H. Blake, A.R. Iurian, G.E. Millward, and L. Mabit. 2019. The Use of Be-7 as a Soil and Sediment Tracer. Assessing Recent Soil Erosion Rates through the Use of Beryllium-7 (Be-7). DOI

Worku, M., H.R. Upadhayay, K. Latruwe, A. Taylor, W. Blake, F. Vanhaecke, L. Duchateau, and P. Boeckx. 2019. “Differentiating the Geographical Origin of Ethiopian Coffee Using XRF- and ICP-Based Multi-Element and Stable Isotope Profiling.” Food Chemistry 290. DOI

Iurian, A.R., G.E. Millward, O. Sima, A. Taylor, and W. Blake. 2018. “Self-Attenuation Corrections for Pb-210 in Gamma-Ray Spectrometry Using Well and Coaxial HPGe Detectors.” Applied Radiation and Isotopes 134. DOI

Ryken, N., B. Al-Barri, W. Blake, A. Taylor, F. Tack, S. Bodé, P. Boeckx, and A. Verdoodt. 2018. “Impact of Soil Hydrological Properties on the 7Be Depth Distribution and the Spatial Variation of 7Be Inventories across a Small Catchment.” Geoderma 318. DOI

Ryken, N., B. Al-Barri, W. Blake, A. Taylor, F.M.G. Tack, E. Van Ranst, S. Bodé, P. Boeckx, and A. Verdoodt. 2018. “Rapid and Irreversible Sorption Behavior of 7Be Assessed to Evaluate Its Use as a Catchment Sediment Tracer.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 182. DOI

Ryken, N., T. Vanden Nest, B. Al-Barri, W. Blake, A. Taylor, S. Bodé, G. Ruysschaert, P. Boeckx, and A. Verdoodt. 2018. “Soil Erosion Rates under Different Tillage Practices in Central Belgium: New Perspectives from a Combined Approach of Rainfall Simulations and 7Be Measurements.” Soil and Tillage Research 179. DOI

Turner, A., and A. Taylor. 2018. “On Site Determination of Trace Metals in Estuarine Sediments by Field-Portable-XRF.” Talanta 190. DOI

Turner, A., H. Poon, A. Taylor, and M.T. Brown. 2017. “In Situ Determination of Trace Elements in Fucus Spp. by Field-Portable-XRF.” Science of the Total Environment 593–594. DOI

Downs, P.W., P.J. Soar, and A. Taylor. 2016. “The Anatomy of Effective Discharge: The Dynamics of Coarse Sediment Transport Revealed Using Continuous Bedload Monitoring in a Gravel-Bed River during a Very Wet Year.” Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 41 (2). DOI

Ryken, N., B. Al-Barri, A. Taylor, W. Blake, P. Maenhout, S. Sleutel, F.M.G. Tack, et al. 2016. “Quantifying the Spatial Variation of 7Be Depth Distributions towards Improved Erosion Rate Estimations.” Geoderma 269. DOI

Taylor, A., M.J. Keith-Roach, A.R. Iurian, L. Mabit, and W.H. Blake. 2016. “Temporal Variability of Beryllium-7 Fallout in Southwest UK.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 160. DOI

Smith, H.G., W.H. Blake, and A. Taylor. 2014. “Modelling Particle Residence Times in Agricultural River Basins Using a Sediment Budget Model and Fallout Radionuclide Tracers.” Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 39 (14). DOI

Taylor, A., Blake, W. H. & Keith-Roach, M. J. 2014. “Estimating Be-7 Association with Soil Particle Size Fractions for Erosion and Deposition Modelling.” Journal of Soils and Sediments 14 (11). DOI

Taylor, A., W.H. Blake, H.G. Smith, L. Mabit, and M.J. Keith-Roach. 2013. “Assumptions and Challenges in the Use of Fallout Beryllium-7 as a Soil and Sediment Tracer in River Basins.” Earth-Science Reviews 126. DOI

Taylor, A., W.H. Blake, L. Couldrick, and M.J. Keith-Roach. 2012. “Sorption Behaviour of Beryllium-7 and Implications for Its Use as a Sediment Tracer.” Geoderma 187–188. DOI

Taylor, A., W.H. Blake, and M.J. Keith-Roach. 2012. “Optimisation of Beryllium-7 Gamma Analysis Following BCR Sequential Extraction.” Analytica Chimica Acta 720. DOI