Dr Roger Clark
- Position: Senior Lecturer
- Areas of expertise: geophysics; seismology
- Email: R.A.Clark@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 5221
- Location: 8.132 South Wing
Profile
Took a Combined Honours BSc in Earth Sciences and Physics at Leeds 1974-77, then a PhD on the upper mantle seismic structure beneath the British Isles, at Leeds and AWE Blacknest until 1981. Following this, he spent 8-10 years developing and applying, with Graham Stuart, new approaches in processing of land seismic data and operating a small consultancy/contracts group working on a large fraction of all UK land exploration.
In 1990, he was appointed as the Shell Lecturer in Geophysics, and became Senior Lecturer in 2001.
He has contributed to outreach and community activities such as working with NGOs, journal editorship, and student-facing activities in the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE). In 2013, he was awarded Honorary Membership of the EAGE in recognition of his contribution to applied geophysics education.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Geological Society of London.
Responsibilities
- MSc Exploration Geophysics Programme Leader
Research interests
From 1982, at the same time as operating the spin-off consultancy, he pursued research interests in the seismic monitoring of underground nuclear test-ban treaties. In 1988, a UK university consortium, organised between the universities of Leeds and Leicester, deployed the first modern seismic station in the former USSR allowed to record nuclear explosions at close (<1000-1500 km) range, accelerating a pivotal aspect of verifying arms control treaties.
Since joining the academic teaching staff, and thereafter leading the Master’s in Exploration Geophysics, his research has been aligned to quantitative analysis of seismic amplitudes, in the contexts of resource exploration, near-surface site investigation, and, currently, cryosphere settings. His particular interest is in measurement of seismic attenuation, quantified by the Seismic Quality Factor, Q – an important parameter in signal processing tools that optimise seismic reflection imaging, a petrophysical characteristic in its own right, and, in ice, a direct proxy for temperature.
He has also contributed to a diverse range of other applied geophysics investigations, including archaeological, engineering, and hydrogeological studies.
<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>Qualifications
- PhD in Seismology
- BSc (Joint Hons.) Earth Sciences & Physics
Professional memberships
- Royal Astronomical Society
- European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Society of Exploration Geophysicists
- Geological Societyof London
Student education
He has taught applied and global geophysics on undergraduate and Master's programmes since 1990, and currently focusses on applied geophysics at Master's level. He has been the Programme Leader of the MSc. Exploration Geophysics since 1996.
Research groups and institutes
- Institute of Applied Geoscience
- Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics