Matthew is an aeolian geomorphologist with interests in the Earth’s surface processes and landforms that are associated with the work of the wind. His research investigates the transport of sediment within different environmental systems and he studies this using a range of approaches including remote sensing and geospatial analysis, together with field-based measurement.
His work currently concentrates on two different themes. To understand the variability of mineral aerosol emissions into the atmosphere he is engaged in the characterisation of sources and environmental drivers of dust and wind erosion in both low and high latitude regions. In the high latitudes, his research is helping to drive the emerging recognition of the role played by the dust cycle in those environments. His second area of focus covers the processes governing the initiation of sand dunes and the fundamental interactions between airflow and sand transport that control how dune bedforms evolve. Matthew has conducted fieldwork on different aeolian systems across four continents.
