My interest in Earth Science lies in developing proxy records of environmental change preserved in sediments. I use these proxy records to increase our understanding of the magnitude and frequency of natural hazards, and how landscapes and ecosystems respond to these disturbances over timeframes beyond human observation. My current research activity is focused on three main themes:

1) The earthquake behaviour of, and hazard posed by, plate boundary faults.
2) The response of mountain landscapes to seismic shaking and storms.
3) The influence of earthquakes, storms and anthropogenic landuse change on ecosystems and the carbon cycle.

To address these research foci, I use innovative geophysical, sedimentological and geochronological analyses of lacustrine and marine sedimentary records in conjunction with numerical modelling of fault dynamics, ground motions and earth surface processes. The records I develop provide new insights into:

1) The processes that control large earthquake behaviour on plate boundary faults. This research facilitates more accurate earthquake forecasts and improves societal resilience to Earth’s largest sources of seismic hazard.
2) The role of seismic shaking and storms in driving post-earthquake sediment cascades and landscape evolution in active mountain belts, which informs post-event response and recovery
3) The influence of natural and human disturbances on ecosystems, ecosystem services and carbon cycling.

My research is supported by contestable research grants from a diverse array of sources, including the Te Apārangi/Royal Society of New Zealand’s Rutherford Foundation and Marsden Fund, Hīkina Whakatutuki/Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fund and the Toka Tū Ake/Earthquake Commission. Recent distinctions include the 2022 McKay Hammer Award from the Geoscience Society of New Zealand for the most significant contribution to Aotearoa-NZ geoscience in the last three years. In 2023 I will spend 6 months as a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at Oxford University.