Dr Glenn Guneyli-Havelock

Contact

Glenn Guneyli-Havelock
About
Teaching and learning
Research

About

I am an earth scientist and enthusiastic educator with research interests in palaeoclimate reconstruction and coastal-estuarine geomorphology.

I have a BSc in Geology (University of Derby), an MSc in Environmental Sedimentology and Geomorphology (University of Reading) and a PhD in Quaternary Environmental Change (University of Exeter, 2009). My PhD thesis was concerned with sea level and climate change during the mid-late Holocene.

I joined Kingston University in 2021 as temporary Course Leader in BSc Environmental Science and Lecturer in Earth Science. I then gained a permanent position in 2022 as a Lecturer in Climate Change, with module leadership on "Rivers Oceans and Atmosphere" and "The Challenge of Climate Change" (on BSc and MSc programmes).

Prior to Kingston University, I was a Lecturer in Physical Geography and a Research Associate in Salt-marsh Carbon Studies  (https://www.c-side.org/) at the University of York, teaching a range of physical geography and environmental science modules. 

Between 2009 and 2016, I was based in the USA, initially as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Maryland (2009-2012), followed by teaching positions at several institutions on the east-coast. I was a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at The George Washington University (Geological Sciences) and Temple University (Dept of Earth & Environmental Sciences) from 2012 to 2016, teaching a range of earth science modules, with additional part-time teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Geology at the University of Baltimore and the University of Delaware. I maintain a connection with Temple University by teaching occasional online modules in Geology as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor).

I have also held positions as a Geotechnical Engineer, Research Associate in Geoarchaeology (University of Newcastle), and Scientific Officer (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology).

Academic responsibilities

Lecturer in Climate Change

Qualifications

  • 2003-2009 PhD Physical Geography (Quaternary climate change and coastal/fluvial geomorphology), University of Exeter
  • 2000-2001 MSc (with Distinction) Environmental Sedimentology and Geomorphology Research, University of Reading
  • 1996-1999 BSc Geology, University of Derby

Teaching and learning

I currently teach the following modules at Kingston University:

  • Rivers, Oceans and the Atmosphere (Module Leader)
  • The Challenge of Climate Change (Module Leader)
  • The Challenge of Climate Change – MSc (Module Leader)
  • Introduction to Physical Geography and Environmental Hazards (former Module Leader)
  • Geomorphology and Geophysical Hazards (former Module Leader)
  • Disasters, Society and Culture
  • Understanding the Environment
  • Research and Fieldwork Methods
  • Research Project (Dissertation)

I have a comprehensive background in teaching earth and environmental science. Prior to Kingston University, I was a Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of York, teaching on the the following modules:

  • Dynamic Earth (Module Leader)
  • Coastal Environments (Module Leader)
  • Earth Processes and Landforms
  • Environmental Geography Research
  • Current Research in Environmental Geography (MSc)

I was a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at The George Washington University (Geological Sciences) and Temple University (Dept of Earth & Environmental Sciences) in the USA from 2012 to 2016, with additional part-time teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Geology at the University of Baltimore and the University of Delaware. I maintain a connection with Temple University by teaching occasional online modules in Geology as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor). Classes taught in the USA included:

  • Historical Geology* (GWU)
  • Environmental Geology* (GWU)
  • Quaternary Environmental Change* (GWU)
  • Earth in Focus* (UB)
  • Disasters: Geology vs Hollywood* (Geologic Hazards) (TU)
  • Evolution and Extinctions* (Historical Geology) (TU)
  • General Geology (Physical Geology) (UD)
  • Geology of the National Parks (TU)

(* = module leader)

Undergraduate courses taught

Postgraduate courses taught

Research

I am an earth scientist with research interests in palaeoclimate reconstruction and coastal-estuarine geomorphology.

My research focuses on:

  • The reconstruction of climate and environmental change during the Holocene (last 10,000 years).
  • Coastal-estuarine geomorphology.
  • The carbon cycle and the controls on organic carbon accumulation in coastal wetlands.
  • Coastal vulnerability and resilience. The risks and hazards associated with current and future climate change, and on proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies.

To achieve my research aims I use various sedimentary, palaeoecological, and biogeochemical proxy records of environmental change, supplemented by investigations of the geomorphological record. To explore changes in Holocene palaeoecology (habitat, water chemistry, and vegetation change) I use microfossils, especially diatoms, but also foraminifera, ostracoda and pollen. The study of the contemporary environment plays an important part of this research, acting as a modern analogue for the analysis of the Holocene record. The geochemistry of Holocene deposits plays an important part of my research, and I have used elemental, mineralogical, stable isotope (e.g. δ13C) and geomagnetic evidence to investigate environmental change.

To access the Holocene record, I make extensive use of sediment cores. In the estuarine/coastal zone, these may be taken from coastal wetlands. In the fluvial zone, the coring of floodplain palaeochannel deposits in the lower-middle reaches of rivers has proven particularly useful, in addition to the geomorphological record (e.g. river terraces). To provide a geochronological framework, I have used radiocarbon, 210Pb and OSL dating methods.

Current research activities include:

  • Carbon storage in intertidal environments (C-SIDE) (with University of York, University of St Andrews, University of Leeds, Bangor University, Center for Ecology and Hydrology)
  • SedaDNA, diatoms and palaeoclimate reconstruction in arctic Norway (with Tromsø University)

Research projects starting 2023:

  • Holocene climate change reconstructions in Chesapeake Bay, USA (with James Madison University and Tromsø University)