Profiles
Dr Jenny Gales
Lecturer in Hydrography & Ocean Exploration
School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
- Lecturer in Hydrography and Ocean Exploration
- Research interests:
- Submarine geomorphology
- Process sedimentology and process geomorphology
- Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
- High-latitude continental margins, submarine canyons, landslides, gullies, channels, fjords, deltas
- Marine robotics
I am a lecturer in Hydrography and Ocean Exploration and am actively involved in internationally recognised research surrounding continental slope processes and seafloor geomorphology. I have been involved in 11 international research expeditions including an Arctic and three Antarctic expeditions. The most recent expedition was in January 2018 to the Ross Sea, Antarctica with the International Ocean Discovery Program (https://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/expeditions/ross_sea_ice_sheet_history.html). I am involved in research surrounding Polar continental margins, including leading an EUROFLEETS-funded research expedition to the Ross Sea, Antarctica in January 2017 with colleagues at OGS, Italy.
Before joining the University of Plymouth I worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the National Oceanography Centre on the NERC-funded 'Coordinated Canyon Experiment' in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the United States Geological Survey, University of Hull and the Ocean University of China. The project aims at understanding what triggers underwater sediment flows, how fast they move, how far they travel and what influence they have on seafloor morphology. The project involves the use of marine robotics, including Remotely Operated Vehicles, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Surface Autonomous Vehicles to map the seafloor and to provide communication. The 18-month experiment also involved an array of moorings down the axis of the canyon housing a wide range of instruments, and a variety of novel 'smart sensors' to collect seafloor data. During the project I spent 3 months at MBARI on research cruises and working with engineers and scientists there.
Between 2013-2015 I worked as a Marine Geoscientist at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh. I worked on commercial and research driven projects, including reconstructing the offshore glacial history of NW Scotland from seismic data. I did my PhD at the British Antarctic Survey working on understanding the geomorphology of Antarctic continental slopes and spent a semester at the Arctic University of Norway (University of Tromso) working with experts on Arctic continental slope morphology.
Qualifications
2017 - Lecturer in Hydrography and Ocean Exploration
2015 - 2017 Post Doctoral Research, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
2013 - 2015 Marine Geoscientist, British Geological Survey, Edinburgh
2009 - 2013 PhD, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
2008 - 2009 MRes Marine Geology & Geophysics, University of Southampton
2005 - 2008 BSc Oceanography with Physical Geography, University of Southampton
Teaching interests
Currently teaches:
- OS105 Mapping the Marine Environment
- OS305 Coastal Survey
- OS316 Exploration for Energy and Minerals (Module Leader)
- MAR521 Acoustic and Oceanographic Survey
Research interests
- Submarine geomorphology
- Process sedimentology and process geomorphology
- Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
- High-latitude continental margins, submarine canyons, landslides, gullies, channels, fjords, deltas
- Marine robotics
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
2020 'Role of dense shelf water in the development of Antarctic submarine canyon morphology' Geomorphology 107453-107453 , DOI Open access
2020 'Bidirectional bedform fields at the head of a submarine canyon (NE Atlantic)' Earth and Planetary Science Letters 542, 116321-116321 , DOI Open access
2019 'What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents' Earth and Planetary Science Letters , DOI Open access
2019 'Direct monitoring reveals initiation of turbidity currents from extremely dilute river plumes' Geophysical Research Letters , DOI Open access
2019 'Sediment and organic carbon transport and deposition driven by internal tides along Monterey Canyon, offshore California' Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 103108-103108 , DOI Open access
2019 'Linking direct measurements of turbidity currents to submarine canyon-floor deposits' Frontiers in Earth Science , DOI Open access
2018 'Extent and retreat history of the Barra Fan Ice Stream offshore western Scotland and northern Ireland during the last glaciation' Quaternary Science Reviews 201, 280-302 , DOI Open access
2018 'Powerful turbidity currents driven by dense basal layers' Nature Communications 9, , DOI Open access
2018 'What controls submarine channel development and the morphology of deltas entering deep-water fjords?' Earth Surface Processes and Landforms , DOI Open access
2018 'International ocean discovery program expedition 374 preliminary report: Ross sea west antarctic ice sheet history ocean-ice sheet interactions and west antarctic ice sheet vulnerability: Clues from the neogene and quaternary record of the outer ross sea continental margin' Expedition 374 Preliminary Report: Ross Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet History , DOI
2018 'Ongoing evolution of submarine canyon rockwalls; examples from the Whittard Canyon, Celtic Margin (NE Atlantic)' Progress in Oceanography , DOI Open access
2016 'Components of an Antarctic trough-mouth fan: examples from the Crary Fan, Weddell Sea' Geological Society, London, Memoirs 46, (1) 377-378 , DOI
2016 'Iceberg ploughmarks and associated sediment ridges on the southern Weddell Sea margin' Geological Society, London, Memoirs 46, (1) 289-290 , DOI
2016 'Submarine gullies on the southern Weddell Sea slope, Antarctica' Geological Society, London, Memoirs 46, (1) 383-384 , DOI
2014 'Large-scale submarine landslides, channel and gully systems on the southern Weddell Sea margin, Antarctica' Marine Geology 348, 73-87 , DOI
2013 'Arctic and Antarctic submarine gullies—A comparison of high latitude continental margins' Geomorphology 201, 449-461 , DOI
2013 'Geomorphic signature of Antarctic submarine gullies: Implications for continental slope processes' Marine Geology 337, 112-124 , DOI
2012 'Southern Weddell Sea shelf edge geomorphology: Implications for gully formation by the overflow of high-salinity water' Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 117, (F4) n/a-n/a , DOI
2012 'Late Quaternary grounded ice extent in the Filchner Trough, Weddell Sea, Antarctica: new marine geophysical evidence' Quaternary Science Reviews 53, 111-122 , DOI
Chapters
2018 'Processes influencing differences in Arctic and Antarctic Trough Mouth Fan sedimentology' in Hogan K Glaciated Margins: The Sedimentary and Geophysical Archive Geological Society Special Publication Publisher Site Open access
2016 'Submarine Mass Wasting on Hovgaard Ridge, Fram Strait, European Arctic' Submarine Mass Movements and their Consequences Springer International Publishing 253-263 , DOI
Conference Papers