Dr Adam McArthur

Profile

Earth scientist and leader of the Turbidites Research Group (TRG), based at the University of Leeds since 2017. My main interests include the multidiciplinary study of sedimentary environments and the interaction of sedimentary processes with active tectonics. I have previously worked on a range of continental, marine and lacustrine systems across the globe, from the seafloor, outcrop and subsurface, with a range of techniques from outcrop and core based sedimentology; organic matter studies (palynofacies and organic geochemistry); petrographic studies; detrital zircon analysis; microfossil assemblages; 2D, 3D and 4D seismic data; wireline well-log and core interpretations. 

I obtained my PhD in Geology from the University of Aberdeen in 2012, subsequently leading an internation research program on deep-marine systems at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 

My present research focuses on investigating the evolution of deep-water systems. I am also involved in collaborative projects studying deep-marine systems in Baja California, Mexico; the North Sea; offshore Tanzania, East Africa; offshore Brazil; Morocco; and in the French and Italian Alps.

I welcome interest from like-minded researchers and potential students. Please contact me if you are interested in collaboration on any aspect of deep-water sedimentary systems.

Responsibilities

• Sedimentary Processes Research Cluster lead
• Associate Editor for Sedimentology

Research interests

• French cheese (and turbidites)
• Italian wine (and turbidites)
• Argentinian steaks (and turbidites)
• New Zealand lamb (and turbidites)
• Scottish Whisky (and turbidites)
• Moroccan tajine (and turbidites)

• East Coast Basin Project
• Ponded Mini-basin Evolution, Oligo-Miocene of New Zealand
• The Turbidites Research Group

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Aberdeen
• BSC (Hons), University of Aberdeen

Professional memberships

• American Association of Petroleum Geologists
• British Sedimentological Research Group
• International Association of Sedimentologists
• Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain
• Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM)

Student education

Current research students:

• Ebizimo Debekeme (Leeds). PhD topic: Fault seals in deep-water. Primary supervisor.
• Carys Simpson (Leeds).PhD topic: Post-rift deep-water sedimentation. Primary supervisor.
• Sheng Chen (Leeds). PhD topic: Delta to deep-water transitions. Primary supervisor. 
• Megan Davies (Leeds). PhD topic: Architecture of confined deep-water basins. Primary supervisor. 
• Abrar Albloushi (Leeds). PhD topic: Carbon storage in carbonates. Co-supervisor.
• Jack Humphries (Leeds). PhD topic: Environmental change in fluvial-aeolian sediments. Co-supervisor. 
• Sam Scott (Leeds). MSc topic: Carbon storage potential of the Sherwood Sandstone. Co-supervisor.
• Qing He (Leeds visitor). PhD topic: Evolution of Cambrian carbonate platforms. Co-supervisor.
• Sharif Al Bahri (Leeds). PhD topic: Carbon storage in carbonates. Co-supervisor.
• Hang Cui (Leeds). PhD topic: Rift basin sediment provenance. Co-supervisor.
• Moreno Pizzutto (University of Milan) PhD topic: The inception of deep-water channels. Co-supervisor.
• Daniele Invernizzi (University of Milan). PhD topic: Deep-water channel architecture. Co-supervisor.
• Laura McDonald (Auckland, New Zealand). PhD topic: Paleoclimate reconstruction of Aotearoa New Zealand over the Late Quaternary (~1 million years). Co-supervisor.
• Anthony Shorrock (Auckland, New Zealand). PhD topic: Does climate change influence the frequency of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? Co-supervisor.

Completed research students:

• Xiao Liang (May 2018 to October 2018). MSc topic: Distribution and controls on submarine slope mass-failures in subduction complexes. Primary supervisor.
• William Bailey (May 2019 to October 2019). MSc topic: Distribution and controls on contourite drift in subduction complexes: implications for structural evolution and petroleum systems of active margins. Primary supervisor. 
• Hayley Scholefield (May 2020 to October 2020). MSc topic: Dynamic Sediment Loading and Unloading of Deep-water Thrusts: Implications on the Tectono-stratigraphic Evolution of Fold-and-Thrust Belts. Primary supervisor. 
• Evangel Chukwudubem Uwandi (May 2020 to October 2020). MSc topic: Examining thedistribution of gas hydrates in the central Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand. Primary supervisor. 
• Angus Brown (May 2021 to October 2021). MSc topic: Modelling the influenceof sediment type on the subduction interface of the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Primary supervisor. 
• Robert White (May 2021 to October 2021). MSc topic: Forward Seismic Modelling of Deep-Water Turbidite Onlap and Pinchout Structures. Co-supervisor.
• Daniel Tek (June 2018 to February 2022). PhD topic: Autogenic versus allogenic controls on deep-sea channel evolution. Co-supervisor.
• Adriana Crisostomo Figueroa (March 2018 to November 2022). PhD topic: Predicting stratigraphic trap integrity in deepwater settings. Co-supervisor.
• Nejoud Garoot (May 2022 to October 2022). MSc topic: Reconstructing Plate Convergence from Seismic Data. Primary supervisor.
• Max Bouwmeester (University of Manchester - completed). PhD topic: Bypass records in submarine channel fills.
• Weston Harding (May 2023 to October 2023). MSc topic: Evidence of fault control on basin floor submarine channels.  

Research groups and institutes

• Institute of Applied Geoscience
• Sedimentology
• Geosolutions Leeds

Current postgraduate researchers

• Meg Davies
• Samuel A. R. Scott

Projects

<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1304-hybrid-event-beds-in-confined-basins">Hybrid event beds in confined basins</a></li>