Staff profile

2007 - 2010: BSc (Hons) Geography, Durham University.

2010 - 2011: MSc (Res) Geography, Durham University.

2011 - 2015: PhD Geography, Durham University

Previous Research

Late Holocene palaeoseismology and plate segmentation of the Alaska 1964 rupture zone

This project investigates the Late Holocene palaeoseismology and plate segmentation of the Alaska 1964 rupture zone. The research explores the evidence for relative sea-level changes and past earthquakes from tidal marshes on Shuyak Island, Alaska. The project employs a range of techniques including microfossil analyses, tephrochronology and sediment geochemistry.

Postglacial relative sea-level changes and the deglaciation of northwest Iceland

In comparison to Fennoscandia and Arctic Canada, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) extent of the Icelandic Ice Sheet (IIS) is still relatively poorly constrained. An accurate understanding of LGM IIS configuration is important, as the potential volume of meltwater would also vary between ice loading scenarios, leading to very different implications for global thermohaline circulation.

As a result, this research investigated the postglacial RSL changes of northwest (NW) Iceland with the principal aim of resolving the current debates surrounding the ice loading history of the region. This was achieved through a combination of accurate, high density RSL data and glacio-isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling.

Lateglacial to Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Stykkishólmur area, northern Snæfellsnes, Iceland

This research provides an accurate reconstruction of the Lateglacial and Holocene RSL changes for northern Snæfellsnes. A series of six isolation basin and one raised marsh sites were investigated, alongside the mapping of the local marine limit, to produce a new RSL curve for the region.

Publications

Garrett, E.; Brader, M. D.; Melnick, D.; Bedford, J. and Aedo, D. (2018) First field evidence of coseismic land-level change associated with the 25 December 2016 Mw 7.6 Chiloé, Chile, earthquake Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Vol. 109 (1) Pg 87-98

Shennan, I.; Brader, M. D.; Barlow, N. L. M.; Davies, F. P.; Longley, C. and Tunstall, N. (2018) Late Holocene paleoseismology of Shuyak Island, Alaska Quaternary Science Reviews Vol. 210 Pg. 380-395

Brader, M. D.; Lloyd, J. M.; Barlow, N. L. M.; Norðdahl, H.; Bentley, M. J. and Newton, A. J. (2017) Postglacial relative sea-level changes in northwest Iceland: evidence from isolation basins, coastal lowlands and raised shorelines Quaternary Science Reviews Vol. 196 Pg. 114-130

Barlow, N. L. M.; Bentley, M. J.; Spada, G.; Evans, D. J. A.; Hansom, J.; Brader, M. D.; White, D. A.; Zander, A. and Berg, S. (2016) Testing models of ice cap extent, South Georgia, sub-Antarctic Quaternary Science Reviews Vol. 154 Pg. 157-168

Brader, M. D.; Lloyd, J. M.; Bentley, M. J. and Newton, A. J. (2015) Lateglacial to Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Stykkishólmur area, northern Snæfellsnes, Iceland Journal of Quaternary Science Vol. 30 No. 5 Pg. 497-507

Journal Article

• Best, L., Simms, A., Brader, M., Lloyd, J., Sefton, J., & Shennan, I. (2022). Local and Regional Constraints on Relative Sea-Level Changes in Southern Isle of Skye, Scotland, since the Last Glacial Maximum. Journal of Quaternary Science, 37(1), 59-70. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3376
• Brader, M., Garrett, E., Melnick, D., & Shennan, I. (2021). Sensitivity of tidal marshes as recorders of major megathrust earthquakes: constraints from the 25 December 2016 Mw 7.6 Chiloé earthquake, Chile. Journal of Quaternary Science, 36(6), 991-1002. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3323
• Shennan, I., Brader, M. D., Barlow, N. L., Davies, F. P., Longley, C., & Tunstall, N. (2018). Late Holocene paleoseismology of Shuyak Island, Alaska. Quaternary Science Reviews, 201, 380-395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.028