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Josh

Josh

My current research is focussed on the timing of submarine landslides in the Iberian Abyssal Plain (IAP), off the coast of Portugal. Landslides documented in a number of deep-sea basins offshore Portugal have been shown to respond in the long-term to climate dynamics, but also to past earthquakes. This research aims to clarify the various controls on the observed landslide events by comparing their frequency with longer term climatic variability, and to establish whether any overarching palaeoseismic influence exists from the Azores-Gibraltar boundary to the South.

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Grand Canyons

Terrestrial canyons like the Grand Canyon, USA are spectacular geomorphic features carved out over millions of years by river erosion. They can extend for many hundreds of kilometres, have a width of up to 29 Km, and be as deep as 6 Km. However, the submerged margins of continental landmasses are also host to huge canyons systems; the scale of which can rival canyons on land. These submarine canyons extend from the shallow shelf down the deep oceans, and are host to a wide diversity of life. Continue reading →

Foraminifera: The tiny and mighty

This post is reproduced from a 2014 cruise blog: http://slidesinthedeep.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/big-things-in-small-shells.html   Contrary to popular belief, euphemisms, idioms and trite sayings often have little relevance to real life. Foraminifera on the other hand, lend credibility to the notion that big things do indeed come in small packages. Foraminifera are small, single-celled marine plankton; more specifically known as Protists. Continue reading →

Hi There!!

I’m Dr Josh Allin, a marine geoscientist and former PhD student at the National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton. My research focusses on the processes that transport sediment within the world’s oceans, particularly submarine landslides and turbidity currents. Submarine landslides and turbidity currents are one of the most voluminous sediment transport mechanisms operating on our planet. They are also the principal mechanisms transporting sediment into the deep ocean. Continue reading →

What does the ocean mean to me: Josh Allin

Hi everyone Given that your first task is to give us examples of images which you feel best represent the oceans, here are a few which I feel highlight their significance. 1. Cliffs of Moher, Ireland Few places give us a more spectacular view of the influence of the oceans on Earth. Over millions of years they shape the continents through the processes of erosion and deposition, redefining landmasses and providing one of the most important environments we have – Coastlines. 2. Continue reading →

My research; Josh Allin

Hi MOOCers and ocean lovers. This here's a little short post about my area of research, which focusses on submarine landslides. I am currently working on two different research locations; the first of which is Nazaré Canyon, offshore Portugal. Nazaré Canyon is a large submarine channel, comparable in width to the Grand Canyon. At it's mouth (purple in the image below) the canyon is almost 5 miles across and is at a depth of over 5000 m. Continue reading →

Josh Allin: How did I become involved in ocean sciences?

Hi, I'm Josh and I'll be one the facilitators here on the Exploring our Oceans MOOC. My journey into Earth and ocean sciences began at A level Geography, where I became interested in physical geography and geology. This led me to undertake a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree in Earth science at University College Cork. While at UCC I studied many different disciplines of Earth science, including oceanography, geology, climatology and palaeontology. Continue reading →

Life on a research vessel

Hi all Seeing as the topic of the week is scientific cruises, here's a few images from a cruise I participated in back in Feb '13. It's just a little flavour of what living on a research vessel is like. The cruise was part of the INFOMAR programme whose task is integrated sea bed mapping of the Irish continental margin. More information can be found here. The vessel was the Irish research ship The Celtic Explorer, operated by the Marine Institute. Continue reading →

PhD “Life”

Hi all, Given that the topic of landslides came up during week 1 of the course, here is a little about my daily work on submarine landslide deposits. First of all, how do we learn about submarine landslides? Seeing as the ocean is so large and we can't really have any cameras permanently on the ocean floor with which to observe them, we have to primarily look at their aftermath (i.e. the material they leave behind). Continue reading →

What does the ocean mean to me?

Hi everyone Given that your first task is to give us examples of images which you feel best represent the oceans, here are a few which I feel highlight their significance. 1. Cliffs of Moher, Ireland Few places give us a more spectacular view of the influence of the oceans on Earth. Over millions of years they shape the continents through the processes of erosion and deposition, redefining landmasses and providing one of the most important environments we have - Coastlines. 2. Continue reading →

Welcome All

Hi everyone, I'm Josh and I'll be a facilitator here on the ‘Exploring our Oceans’ course. I'm also a PhD student at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. I am part of the larger project which is evaluating the role of climate change on the frequency of submarine landslides in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The goal of the project is to determine any potential risk which may exist to the UK coastline from possible tsunamis which can be created by submarine landslides. Continue reading →