Prof. Neil Davies

My work is focussed on the analysis of ancient sedimentary environments, with an emphasis on combining focussed fieldwork-based research with bigger picture analyses of secular changes to the geological record.  My primary interests involve improving our understanding of the interconnections and feedback loops between life and sedimentation as recorded in the sedimentary record.  In modern continental environments the vast majority of the land surface experiences geomorphological change which is in some way related to organisms and a growing wealth of biogeomorphological literature attests to the importance of biotic-abiotic interactions in constructing and refining landforms, sedimentation patterns and physical habitats in active sedimentary systems.  My research aims to assess how such interactions manifest themselves in the Precambrian and Phanerozoic rock record by means of combining analyses of sedimentary facies, stratigraphy, and ichnology. 

The co-evolution of non-marine life and landscapes

The Palaeozoic greening of the continents by land plants was one of the most significant events in the history of the Earth but although its biological and chemical effects are well-documented, the physical effects of introducing plants into alluvial systems (e.g., increasing bed roughness and bank stability, producing woody debris, etc.) have been less so.  Active research in this area involves quantifying the sedimentary character and signatures of non-marine life in Precambrian through to Triassic strata worldwide, and assessing the influence that life had on sedimentation patterns and the creation of new sedimentary environments (which in turn provided novel habitats for evolving organisms).

Non-uniformitarian sedimentary environments

Throughout Earth history there have been intervals where sedimentary environments have existed which cannot be fully understood with reference to modern analogues.  Detailed analysis of rocks from these intervals can help to isolate specific controls on sedimentation: ongoing work into Precambrian and early Palaeozoic river systems is aimed at recognising how such systems operated differently in unvegetated settings.

The difference between sediment, environment and sedimentary rock

All of these research strands are undertaken with the strict understanding that there is a fundamental difference between an observable sedimentary rock succession and the sediments and environments that formed them: a key understanding that is sometimes lost in sedimentological research.  Original observation and collection of field data permits the opportunity to ask questions about how indicative of ancient environments sedimentary rocks really are: the answer to which question varies on a case-by-case basis.  To the extent that sedimentary geology can sometimes be more counter-intuitive or intractable than is sometimes realised, I also have an interest in the application of sedimentary geological analyses within multidisciplinary projects, collaborating with a number of colleagues in the fields of palaeontology, geochronology, geomorphology, astrobiology and archaeology.

• Hamilton Allport (2023-present)
• James Craig (2022-present)
• Yorick Veenma (2021-present)
• Sean Herron (2019-present)
• Benjamin Tindal (2018-2022)
• Anthony Shillito (2015-2019)
• William McMahon (2014-2018)