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Prof Gillian Foulger, B.A., M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Contact Prof Gillian Foulger (email at g.r.foulger@durham.ac.uk)
Media Contacts
Available for media contact about:
- Earth Sciences: Earthquakes, earthquake damage, building resilience
- Earth Sciences: Volcanoes, volcanic eruptions, ash plumes, impact on society
- Earth Sciences: Geothermal energy
- Earth Sciences: The controversy regarding the origin of "hot spots" such as Hawaii and Iceland
- Earth Sciences: Fracking, and industrially induced earthquakes
- Earth Sciences: Iceland
- Earth Sciences: Plate tectonics
Biography
1974 B.A. Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
1976 M.Sc. Geophysics (Durham)
1978 M.A. (Cambridge)
1985 Ph.D. Geophysics (Durham)
1977-1984 Research Scientist, Geophysics Division, University of Iceland.
1985 Post Doctoral RA, Dept. Geological Sciences, Univ. Durham.
1985-1997 Lecturer in Geophysics, University of Durham.
1992-1993 Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey.
1997-2004 Reader, University of Durham.
2004- Professor, University of Durham.
Please visit my home page at http://www.dur.ac.uk/g.r.foulger
Committee and Society Service
1) 2004-2009 Steering Committee for the Large Igneous Provinces Commission of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI).
2) 2005 Scientific committee member, SAL2005 Workshop on Ocean Island Volcanism, Cape Verde Republic, 1-9 April 2005.
3) Committee member, NERC Geophysical Equipment Pool
4) Member, NASA Earth Observation System (EOS) Evaluation Panel
5) Durham University representative, Universities Navstar Consortium (UNAVCO)
6) Durham University interview panels in Earth Science, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Archaeology
7) Member, St. Mary’s & St. Chad’s Colleges governing bodies
Conferences and workshops
2004 Convener and chair, special session “Plumes or not?”, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, December 2004.
Fellowships
1) 2005 Fellow, Icelandic National Academy of Sciences
2) 2001 Sir James Knott Research Fellow
3) 1993 Nuffield Foundation Fellow
Invited Keynotes
2007 - "Iceland: What we know and what we don't" at the Rift to Ridge IODP meeting in Southampton, 28-29 June 2007.
Membership of Organisations and Societies
Fellow, Icelandic National Academy of Sciences
Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society
American Geophysical Union
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
International Association of Geodesy
Prizes & Awards
2005 Price Medal, Royal Astronomical Society
University of Durham Sir James Knott Research Fellowship
Research Interests
- Crustal deformation using the Global Positioning System (GPS)
- Earthquake seismology
- Geothermal prospecting
- Iceland tectonics and structure
Selected Publications
- 1: Foulger, GR (2011). Plates vs Plumes: A Geological Controversy. Wiley-Blackwell.
- 2: Foulger, GR (2012). Are 'hot spots' hot spots?. Journal of Geodynamics 58: 1-28.
- 3: Julian, BR & Foulger, GR (2010). Time-dependent seismic tomography. Geophysical Journal International 182(3): 1327-1338.
- 4: Julian, BR, Foulger, GR, Monastero, FC & Bjornstad, S (2010). Imaging Hydraulic Fractures in a Geothermal Reservoir. Geophysical Research Letters 37: L07305.
- Du, Z, Vinnik, L.P & Foulger, G.R. (2006). Evidence from P-to-S mantle converted waves for a flat “660-km” discontinuity beneath Iceland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 241(1-2): 271-280.
- Foulger, G.R., Natland, J.H & Anderson, D.L (2005). A source for Icelandic magmas in remelted Iapetus crust. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 141(1-2): 23-44.
- Foulger, G.R, Julian, B.R, Hill, D.P, Pitt, A.M, Malin, P & Shalev, E (2004). Non-double-couple microearthquakes at Long Valley caldera, California, provide evidence for hydraulic fracturing. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 132(1): 45-71.
- Foulger, G.R, Du, Z.J & Julian, B.R (2003). Icelandic-type crust. Geophysical Journal International 155(2): 567-590.
- Foulger, G.R & Natland, J.H (2003). Is 'hotspot' volcanism a consequence of plate tectonics?. Science 300: 921.
- Foulger, G.R, Pritchard, M.J, Julian, B.R, Evans, J.E, Allen, R.M, Nolet, G, Morgan, W.J, Bergsson, B, Erlendsson, P, Jakobsdottir, S, Ragnarsson, S, Stefansson, R & Vogfjord, K (2001). Seismic tomography shows that upwelling beneath Iceland is confined to the upper mantle. Geophysical Journal International 146(2): 504-530.