University of St Andrews
 
 

School of Geography & Geosciences
Department of Earth Sciences

Department of
Earth Sciences

 
portrait of Ruth Robinson ona field trip in Chile
tel: +44 01334 463996
fax: +44 01334 463949
email: rajr@st-andrews.ac.uk
room: 423

Dr Ruth Robinson

Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences


 

Ruth Alison Joyce Robinson

Supervisor for

Research overview

My research was initially in the area of quantitative sedimentology, using numerical models to understand the controls on grain-size trends in gravel-bed rivers and applying the modeling results and implications to grain-size trends in ancient river systems. In 2000, I started to develop interests in landscape evolution more generally and in trying to constrain surface process rates through numerical age dating techniques, such as optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and cosmogenic-ray nuclide dating. Since 2005, I have been working on provenance studies of theCenozoic deposits in central Burma, which are derived from rocks in Tibet, the eastern Himalayan syntaxis area, and within Burma, and on the modern large rivers of Burma. The work has included quantifying the material fluxes and chemistry of the water and sediment transported by the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers. Our research group is working with Randy Parrish and Matt Horstwood at NIGL to use innovative geochronological methods on detrital minerals. My research is also field-based and I have conducted research in North America, Argentina, Burma, Tibet, Thailand, Chile, Romania and the UK.

Future research

I am hoping to work on new and novel detrital mineral techniques in the future, in order to broaden our geological reconstructions of source terranes. This will combine standard and new detrital mineral chronology with numerical modeling of sediment dispersal and storage, and detrital thermochronology and thermobarometry methods and includes collaboration with Randy Parrish and Matt Horstwood (NIGL),  Andy Carter (Birkbeck), Jen Chambers (St Andrews), and Mark Darren and Dan Barfod (SUERC). 

Industrial relevance

As a member of the Department of Earth Sciences,  I am part of CERSA (Centre of Earth Resources at St Andrews) which is an applied research arm of the department specialising in the exploration of minerals and metals and geothermal energy.

Academic/Professional Qualification

Ph.D., Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University (1997)
B.Sc., Geology with Honours, City College of the City University of New York (1992)

  • Earth Sciences

    School of Geography and

    Geosciences

    Irvine Building

    St Andrews

    KY16 9AL

    United Kingdom

    Phone: +44 (0)1334 463996

  • St Andrews Sustainability Institute

    http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/sasi/home/

  • Scottish Oceans Institute

    http://soi.st-andrews.ac.uk/

  • School of Geography and Geosciences

    1/08/08 to 31/03/11

    School of Geography and

    Geosciences

    Irvine Building

    St Andrews

    KY16 9AL

    United Kingdom

    Phone: +44 (0)1334 463996

  • School of Geography and Geosciences

    1/09/99 to 31/07/08

    School of Geography and

    Geosciences

    Irvine Building

    St Andrews

    KY16 9AL

    United Kingdom

    Phone: +44 (0)1334 463996

  • School of Geography and Geosciences

    1/03/97 to 31/08/99

    School of Geography and

    Geosciences

    Irvine Building

    St Andrews

    KY16 9AL

    United Kingdom

    Phone: +44 (0)1334 463996

 

Recent Publications

King, G , Finch, AA , Robinson, RAJ & Hole, DE 2011, ' The problem of dating quartz 1: Spectroscopic ionoluminescence of dose dependence ', Radiation Measurements , vol 46, no. 1, pp. 1-9.
Hedley, PJ , Bird, MI & Robinson, RAJ 2010, ' Evolution of the Irrawaddy delta region since 1850 ', Geographical Journal , vol 176, no. 2, pp. 138-149.
Hoare, PG, Gale, SJ , Robinson, RAJ , Connell, ER & Larkin, NR 2009, ' Marine Isotope Stage 7-6 transition age for beach sediments at Morston, north Norfolk, UK: implications for Pleistocene chronology, stratigraphy and tectonics ', Journal of Quaternary Science , vol 24, no. 4, pp. 311-316.
Owen, LA , Robinson, R , Benn, DI , Finkel, RC, Davis, NK, Yi, C, Putkonen, J, Li, D & Murray, AS 2009, ' Quaternary glaciation of Mount Everest ', Quaternary Science Reviews , vol 28, no. 15-16, pp. 1412-1433.
Spencer, JQG & Robinson, RAJ 2008, ' Dating intramontane alluvial deposits from NW Argentina using luminescence techniques: problems and potential ', Geomorphology , vol 93, no. 1-2, pp. 144-155.
Bird, MI , Robinson, RAJ , Win Oo, N, Maung Aye, M, Lu, XX, Higgitt, DL, Swe, A, Tun, T, Lhaing Win, S, Sandar Aye, K, Mi Mi Win, K & Hoey, TB 2008, ' A preliminary estimate of organic carbon transport by the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) and Thanlwin (Salween) Rivers of Myanmar ', Quaternary International , vol 186, no. 1, pp. 113-122.
Lukas, S, Spencer, JQG , Robinson, RAJ & Benn, DI 2007, ' Problems associated with luminescence dating of Late Quaternary glacial sediments in the NW Scottish Highlands ', Quaternary Geochronology , vol 2, no. 1-4, pp. 243-248.
Morrocco, SM , Ballantyne, CK , Spencer, JQG & Robinson, RAJ 2007, ' Age and significance of aeolian sediment reworking on high plateaux in the Scottish Highlands ', The Holocene , vol 17, no. 3, pp. 349-360.
Hawkes, AD , Bird, M , Cowie, S, Grundy-Warr, C, Horton, BP, Hwai, ATS , Law, L , Macgregor, C, Nott, J, Ong, JE, Rigg, J , Robinson, R , Tan-Mullins, M, Sa, TT, Yasin, Z & Aik, LW 2007, ' Sediments deposited by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami along the Malaysia-Thailand Peninsula ', Marine and Petroleum Geology , vol 242, pp. 169-190.
Harkins, N, Kirby, E, Heimsath, A , Robinson, R & Reiser, U 2007, ' Transient fluvial incision in the headwaters of the Yellow River, northeastern Tibet, China ', JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE , vol 112.
Robinson, RAJ , Bird, MI, Win Oo, N, Hoey, TB, Maung Aye, M, Higgitt, DL, Lu, XX, Sandar Aye, K, Swe, A, Tun, T & Lhaing Win, S 2007, ' The Irrawaddy River sediment flux to the Indian Ocean: the original nineteenth-century data revisited ', Journal of Geology , vol 115, no. 6, pp. 629-640.
Abesser, C , Robinson, R & Soulsby, C 2006, ' Iron and manganese cycling in the storm runoff of a Scottish upland catchment ', Journal of Hydrology , vol 326, pp. 59-78.
Owens, B, McLean, D, Simpson, KRM, Shell, PMJ & Robinson, R 2005, ' Reappraisal of the Mississippian palynostratigraphy of the East Fife coast, Scotland, United Kingdom ', PALYNOLOGY , vol 29, pp. 23-47.
Owens, B, Shell, P, McLean, D , Robinson, RAJ & Simpson, K Reappraisal of the Dinantian palynostratigraphy of the East Fife coast, Scotland .
Abesser, C , Robinson, RAJ & Soulsby, C 2005, ' Iron and manganese cycling during storm runoff in a Scottish Upland catchment ', Journal of Hydrology .
Robinson, RAJ , Spencer, JQG, Strecker, MR, Richter, A & Alonso, RN 2005, ' Luminescence Dating of Alluvial Fans in Intramontane Basins of NW Argentina ', in A Harvey, A Mather & M Stokes (eds) , Alluvial Fans: Geomorphology, Sedimentology, Dynamics Geological Society of London, pp. 153-168.
Lawton, T, Pollock, S & Robinson, RAJ 2003, ' Integrating sandstone petrology and nonmarine sequence stratigraphy: application to the Late Cretaceous fluvial systems of Southwestern Utah, USA ', Journal of Sedimentary Research , vol 73, pp. 389-406.
Robinson, RAJ & Slingerland, R 2001, ' Predicting fluvial-deltaic aggradation in Lake Roxburgh, New Zealand. Test of a Water and Sediment Routing Model ', in D Merriam & J Davies (eds) , Geologic Modelling and Simulation - Sedimentary Systems Kluwer, pp. 119-133.
Robinson, RAJ , Tucker, G & Gupta, S Modelling River Response to Varying Vertical Uplift and Lateral Propagation Rates of Folds .
Robinson, RAJ & Tucker, G Modelling structurally controlled sediment distribution and storage in Cretaceous piggyback basin, the Canyon Range, Utah .
Dept. of Earth Sciences
Irvine Building
University of St Andrews
St Andrews
KY16 9AL, Scotland UK
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