Patrick Sharrocks

Profile

I am a PhD student in the sedimentology research group interested in the processes and dynamics of tsunamis. Previously i completed an integrated master degree in Natural Sciences specialising in Environment at the University of York. For my masters project i simulated the effect of the Storeega tsunami on Mesolithic communities in Northumberland using a numerical model with Dr Jon Hill, now published in JQS https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jqs.3586.

My PhD (funded through the PANORAMA DTP) examines the processes that occur within and beneath a tsunami. Currently our main source of information on tsunamis is from sediment deposits, however, very little knowledge of an event is extracted from these deposits other than rough estimations of wave height and run-up extents. This project takes an interdisciplinary approach utilising recent advances within deep sea sedimentology to apply process sedimentology to tsunami deposits and modern observations. Initially, I investigated the Tohoku-oki 2011 tsunami to interpret how the tsunami flow evolves over the inundation of a coastal plain, with the potential for more hazardous flow states developing away from the coastal zone. I have later tackled one of the long-standing problems in the field, identifying between coastal storm and tsunami deposits. My new paper (Tsunami versus storms), uses a process sedimentology approach in lakes, lagoons and sinkholes has shown that processes are distinct between tsunami and storm events. In many areas, unequivocal criteria were established to differentiate between the two event types.

Later in my PhD I have conducted field work in Fife, Scotland, to investigate the depositional processes that created a highly unusual deposit from the Storegga tsunami that occurred ~8150 years ago. I have also conducted complementary modelling of the tsunami at the field site to enhance the interpretations from the sedimentary data. My final chapter will further explore the idea of density differences within a tsunami wave and quantify the effect on hazard that a denser tsunami flow may have.

I have presented work on my PhD at the Quaternary Research Association in Manchester in 2024 and Newcastle in 2025; the British Sedimentology Research Group conference in Leeds in 2024 and the Particulate Gravity currents conference in 2024.

Outside of my PhD work I strive to make geohazards and coastal research relevant to diverse audiences. I have written a science communication article in the conversation on the Kamchatka 1952 tsunami (The Soviet Union’s secret tsunami). I have also been a demonstrator on modules in GIS (QGIS) and Foundation Chemistry supporting computer practicals and workshops.

I’m deeply interested in how coastal societies and ecosystems, both ancient and modern, are affected by and respond to coastal flooding (tsunami and storm) events. I also have a strong interest in modern coastal management and how science can inform good decisions in the rapidly developing and changing coastal environments across the world.

Research interests

• Tsunamis
• Geohazards
• Quaternary Science
• Sedimentology
• Coastal management

Qualifications

• MSci Natural Sciences Specialising in Environment. University of York.

Research groups and institutes

• Institute of Applied Geoscience
• Sedimentology
• Earth Surface Science Institute