KA profile 2

Dr Kathryn Adamson

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

My profile

Fieldwork

Interests and expertise

Quaternary Science

My research examines the impacts of climate change on glacier and river behaviour, and long-term landscape change.

I am especially interested in the ways that glacial and fluvial sedimentary records can be used to identify past environmental change and landscape evolution. My field sites include the Arctic, North America, the Mediterranean, and Egypt. 

Investigating the nature and timing of landscape response to Quaternary environmental change allows us to draw comparisons between past and present environments and better understand future landscape change. This is especially important given the on-going climate crisis, and its impacts on the natural environment worldwide.

I use a combination of field and laboratory techniques including:

  • Geomorphological mapping
  • Sedimentology
  • Proglacial lake sediment analysis
  • Geophysics (Ground Penetrating Radar)
  • Thin section micromorphology
  • Stable isotope (carbon and oxygen) analysis
  • Sediment and mineral analysis (such as XRF and XRD)
  • Geochronological methods (including uranium-series, terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide, and radiocarbon dating)

Science communication

In addition to my Quaternary research, I am committed to science communication across a range of audiences and mediums, including:

  • Working alongside international science organisations (e.g. AGU, EGU, World Bank, Royal Meteorological Society).
  • National and international news outlets (e.g. BBC, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle).
  • Advising national curriculum panels (e.g. OCR).
  • Interdisciplinary collaborations including artists and film producers nationally and internationally. 
  • Designing science communication training courses for geoscientists worldwide. 

Get in touch

0161 247 6251
408 John Dalton Building

Projects

My work in the Mediterranean focuses on river system response to Pleistocene climate change and glacial activity. This is developed in collaboration with researchers at the University of Manchester, Royal Holloway, University of London, Liverpool John Moores University, and the Open University.

In Greenland and Iceland, my research explores the impacts of Holocene and present-day climate change on ice cap dynamics, permafrost characteristics and meltwater systems. Some of these projects are funded by the EU-INTERACT Arctic research programme, and are being completed in collaboration with colleagues at Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, and CNRS Paris.

Teaching

Why study Geography

Geography occupies a pivotal position at the interface between social and physical sciences. In a constantly changing world, especially in the face of the current climate crisis, we need to fully understand how people and environments interact so that we can build resilience for the future. With their unrivalled combination of analytical skills, Geography graduates are especially well-equipped to tackle global challenges.

I teach across a number of Geography and Physical Geography undergraduate units including:

First year:

  • Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
  • Researching Geography

Second year:

  • Reconstructing Quaternary Environments
  • Arctic and Alpine Environments
  • Research Design
  • Fieldwork and Data Analysis

Third year:

  • Glacial Systems
  • Dissertation

Supervision

Matthew Carney (in progress)

With co-supervisors Dr Cathy Delaney (MMU) and Dr Phil Hughes (University of Manchester)

Reconstructing past glacial systems using proglacial lake sediments

April Howden (in progress)

With co-supervisors Dr Tim Lane (LJMU) and Dr Matthew Finkenbinder (Wilkes-Barre University)

Reconstructing retreat of the southern margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

Konstantin Nebel (in progress)

With co-supervisors Dr Tim Lane (LJMU), Dr Iestyn Barr (MMU), Dr Willem van der Bilt (Bergen), and Dr Jason Kirby (LJMU)

Reconstructing Holocene climate and glacier change, North Iceland

Research outputs

  • Books (authored/edited/special issues)

    Filho, W.L., Adamson, K., Dunk, R.M., Azeiteiro, U.M., Illingworth, S., Alves, F. (2016) Implementing Climate Change Adaptation in Cities and Communities Integrating Strategies and Educational Approaches. Springer.

    Filho, W.L., Adamson, K., Dunk, R.M., Azeiteiro, U.M., Illingworth, S., Alves, M.D.F.P. (2016) Preface.

  • Chapters in books

    Barr, I.D., Adamson, K., Lane, T., Nebel, K., van der Bilt, W.G.M. (2024) 'Using drones to map and visualise glacial landscapes.' In Meneely, J. (ed.) 3D Imaging of the Environment: mapping and monitoring. Boca Raton: CRC Press, pp. 45-55.

    Arevalo, J.C., Adamson, K., Fantini, E., Verbrugge, L., Postma, R. (2023) 'Storytelling.' Handbook Transdisciplinary Learning. pp. 359-369.

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J.C., Hughes, P.D., Giglio, F., Del Bianco, F. (2016) 'Middle Pleistocene glaciation, alluvial fan development and sea-level changes in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro.' In woodward, J., Hughes, P. (ed.) Quaternary Glaciation in the Mediterranean Mountains. Geological Society of London,

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J., Hughes, P. (2016) 'Middle Pleistocene glacial outwash in poljes of the Dinaric karst.' Caves and Karst Across Time. Geological Society of America,

  • Journal articles

    Delaney, C.A., Adamson, K., Linch, L.D., Davis, S., McCarron, S. (2023) 'Reconstructing terrestrial ice sheet retreat dynamics from hummocky topography using multiscale evidence: An example from central Ireland.' Quaternary Science Reviews, 308pp. 108041-108041.

    Barr, I.D., Spagnolo, M., Rea, B.R., Bingham, R.G., Oien, R.P., Adamson, K., Ely, J.C., Mullan, D.J., Pellitero, R., Tomkins, M.D. (2022) '60 million years of glaciation in the Transantarctic Mountains.' Nature Communications, 13(1) pp. 5526-5526.

    Adamson, K., Lane, T., Carney, M., Bishop, T., Delaney, C. (2022) 'High-resolution proglacial lake records of pre-Little Ice Age glacier advance, northeast Greenland.' Boreas, 48(3) pp. 535-550.

    Adamson, K., Lane, T., Carney, M., Delaney, C., Howden, A. (2022) 'The imprint of catchment processes on Greenlandic ice cap proglacial lake records: analytical approaches and palaeoenvironmental significance.' Journal of Quaternary Science, 37(8) pp. 1388-1406.

    Garcia-Oteyza, J., Oliva, M., Palacios, D., Fernández-Fernández, J.M., Schimmelpfennig, I., Andrés, N., Antoniades, D., Christiansen, H.H., Humlum, O., Léanni, L., Jomelli, V., Ruiz-Fernández, J., Rinterknecht, V., Lane, T.P., Adamson, K., Aumaître, G., Bourlès, D., Keddadouche, K. (2022) 'Late Glacial deglaciation of the Zackenberg area, NE Greenland.' Geomorphology, 401pp. 108125-108125.

    Adamson, K., Lane, T., De Meyer, K., Carney, M., Oppenheim, L., Panitz, S., Price, H., Smith, E., Watson, G. (2021) 'Enhancing physical geography schools outreach: insights from co-production and storytelling narratives.' Progress in Physical Geography, 45(6) pp. 907-930.

    van der Bilt, W., Barr, I., Berben, S., Hennekam, R., Lane, T., Adamson, K., Bakke, J. (2021) 'Late Holocene canyon-carving floods in northern Iceland were smaller than previously reported.' Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1) pp. 86-86.

    Lane, T.P., Paasche, Ø., Kvisvik, B., Adamson, K.R., Rodés, Á., Patton, H., Gomez, N., Gheorghiu, D., Bakke, J., Hubbard, A. (2020) 'Elevation Changes of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet Interior During the Last Deglaciation.' Geophysical Research Letters, 47(14)

    Harmand, D., Adamson, K., Rixhon, G., Jaillet, S., Losson, B., Devos, A., Hez, G., Calvet, M., Audra, P. (2017) 'Relationships between fluvial evolution and karstification related to climatic, tectonic and eustatic forcing in temperate regions.' Quaternary Science Reviews, 166pp. 38-56.

    Cordier, S., Adamson, K., Delmas, M., Calvet, M., Harmand, D. (2017) 'Of ice and water: Quaternary fluvial response to glacial forcing.' Quaternary Science Reviews, 166pp. 57-73.

    Jomelli, V., Lane, T., Favier, V., Masson-Delmotte, V., Swingedouw, D., Rinterknecht, V., Schimmelpfennig, I., Brunstein, D., Verfaillie, D., Adamson, K., Leanni, L., Mokadem, F., Aumaître, G., Bourlès, D.L., Keddadouche, K. (2016) 'Paradoxical cold conditions during the medieval climate anomaly in the Western Arctic.' Scientific Reports, 6

    Adamson, K., Candy, I., Whitfield, L. (2015) 'Coupled micromorphological and stable isotope analysis of Quaternary calcrete development.' Quaternary Research (United States),

    Adamson, K.R., Woodward, J.C., Hughes, P.D. (2014) 'Glaciers and rivers: Pleistocene uncoupling in a Mediterranean mountain karst.' Quaternary Science Reviews, 94pp. 28-43.

    Adamson, K.R., Woodward, J.C., Hughes, P.D. (2014) 'Glacial crushing of limestone and the production of carbonate-rich silts in a pleistocene glaciofluvial system: A potential source of loess in southern europe.' Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography, 96(3) pp. 339-356.

    Adamson, K.R., Woodward, J.C., Hughes, P.D. (2014) 'Glacial crushing of limestone and the production of carbonate-rich silts in a Pleistocene glaciofluvial system: A potential source of loess in Southern Europe.' Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography,

    Candy, I., Adamson, K., Gallant, C.E., Whitfield, E., Pope, R. (2012) 'Oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of Quaternary meteoric carbonates from western and southern Europe: Their role in palaoenvironmental reconstruction.' Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 326-328pp. 1-11.

    Hughes, P.D., Woodward, J.C., van Calsteren, P.C., Thomas, L.E., Adamson, K.R. (2010) 'Pleistocene ice caps on the coastal mountains of the Adriatic Sea.' Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(27-28) pp. 3690-3708.

  • Conference papers

    Adamson, K., Lane, T. (2015) 'The impact of local topography on glacial geomorphological records in West Greenland.'

    Adamson, K., Candy, I., Whitfield, L. (2015) 'High-resolution analysis of Quaternary calcretes: a coupled stable isotope and micromorphological approach.'

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J., Hughes, P., Giglio, F., Del Bianco, F. (2014) 'A Pleistocene coastal alluvial fan complex produced by Middle Pleistocene glacio-fluvial processes.'

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J., Hughes, P. (2013) 'Meltwater pathways and grain size transformation in a Pleistocene Mediterranean glacial-fluvial system.'

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J., Hughes, P. (2013) 'The Pleistocene sedimentary record of karst poljes in the Balkans.'

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J., Hughes, P. (2013) 'River system response to Pleistocene glaciation within a Mediterranean landsystem.'

    Adamson, K., Woodward, J., Hughes, P. (2012) 'Fluvial System Response to Pleistocene Glaciation in a Mediterranean Mountain Karst.'

  • Posters

    Delaney, C.A., McCarron, S., Adamson, K., Davis, S. (2017) 'A Three-Dimensional Approach to Investigating Hummocky Terrain using Airborne Lidar and Ground-Penetrating Radar.' [Poster] In European Geosciences Union. Date viewed 28/4/2017.

Career history

2005-2008

BSc in Geography (First class)

The University of Manchester

2008-2009

MSc in Quaternary Science (Distinction)

Royal Holloway, University of London and UCL

2009-2012

PhD in Physical Geography and Quaternary Science

‘The response of Mediterranean river systems to Pleistocene glaciation’

The University of Manchester

2012-2014

Lecturer in Physical Geography

Queen Mary University of London

2014-2017

Lecturer in Physical Geography

Manchester Metropolitan University

2017-Present

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

Manchester Metropolitan University

Press and media

INTERACT Blog

An insight into research activities during field seasons at Arctic Station, West Greenland and Zackenberg, East Greenland, as part of the INTERACT public outreach scheme.

Climate Explorers

Multimedia resources for primary school children to learn about climate change issues.