Prof Peter Clift

Past climate change, interactions of the solid Earth, surface processes, and climatic evolution in Cenozoic Asia.

Royal Society Wolfson Fellow

 

 

Appointment:	Room:
Fellow	Kathleen Lonsdale,
Courses Taught:
GEOL0015 Maps, Images and Structures
Research Group(s):
The London Geochemistry and Isotope Centre
Palaeoenvironments
Past climate change
Email Address:	Telephone Number:
peter.clift@ucl.ac.uk

Research Summary

My research interests focus on the interactions of the solid Earth, surface processes, and climatic evolution in Cenozoic Asia. In particular, I am interested in the interactions between the uplift of high topography, following the collision of India with Eurasia, and the intensification of the Asian monsoon system. I am especially interested in looking at this through the interpretation of sedimentary records, much of them offshore in the deep water submarine fans of the Indian Ocean.

I also have a long term focus in the geology of the South China Sea and its surrounding continental shelves, and associated drainage systems. I am interested in how the South China Sea basin first formed, the nature of the strain accommodation, as well as interpreting the sedimentary field to understand the environmental evolution of Southeast Asia. Most recently I have developed an interest in the impact of chemical weathering in Asia and its potential role in controlling global climate through CO2 drawdown.

My work often involves integrating geophysical data sets such as reflection seismic with geochemical and provenance-related geochronological data from boreholes, either industrial or more typically related to scientific ocean drilling.