Thoughts of a Semi-Retired Physical and Quantitative Geographer

Brief Biography

After reading Geography at Cambridge 1961–64 I completed an MS in Geology at Yale, and a Cambridge PhD (1974) on “The geomorphometry and asymmetry of glaciated mountains,” supervised by R. J. Chorley. From 1968 to 1970 I worked on the automation of cartography, at the NERC/RCA Experimental Cartography Unit, and from 1970 to 2008 I lectured in Geography at Durham University, retiring as Emeritus Reader.

One line of research provided a unified and simplified approach to the analysis of the land surface, based on surface derivatives and statistical moment measures using local quadratics; my distinction between specific and general geomorphometry was widely accepted. I demonstrated the scale-specificity of many landforms, the complexity of the land surface, and the allometric development of glacial cirques. My techniques for the definition and measurement of glacial cirques have been widely adopted. Analysis of the World Glacier Inventory led to a model for world variations in the degree of local glacier asymmetry. The favoured aspects (azimuths) of glaciers and of cirques were related to climatic and topographic factors. Publications have dealt with Britain, British Columbia, the Alps, the Arctic, Romania, and the world as a whole. I also published on cartography, census data analysis and mapping, and data analysis in Geography.

My teaching covered a wide range of geomorphology, data analysis and even regional geography and included numerous field courses. I published 130 scientific papers and chapters, reviewed for over 50 journals, and supervised 12 Durham PhD theses.

On retirement, I was made an Honorary Member of the Quaternary Research Association and the Japanese Geomorphological Union. In 2012 I was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Suceava, Romania, where I am an Associated Professor. I served as Chairman of the British Geomorphological Research Group 1996–97 and of the International Society for Geomorphometry 2009–11. In 2013 I received a Silver Medal from the University of Isfahan and a Life Achievement Award from the International Society for Geomorphometry.