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Dr Robert Parker
Timau a rolau for Robert Parker
Darlithydd er Anrhydedd
Trosolwyg
Large earthquakes and storms commonly trigger widespread and destructive landsliding. At the interface of physical geography, engineering geology, geoinformatics and seismology, my research addresses how we can understand and predict the impact of these events. I am passionate about public communication of science, working closely with broadcast networks and the secondary education community to promote new scientific findings.
Latest updates
Supporting student success: Young Scientist of the Year Finalists
New research: Climate change to have ‘little effect’ on common landslides
Video: Remembering the 1966 Aberfan landslide disaster
New research: Do past earthquakes influence future landslides?
In the news: Supporting Nepal’s post-disaster efforts
Video: Using Django to predict landslides
Video: GCSE coastal landforms - Time for Geography
Key areas of research:
- The impact of climate change on landslide hazards
- Determining how landscape evolution and hillslope failure processes influence orogen-scale spatial and temporal patterns of landslide activity and hazard
- Deriving practical outputs from this work, which are used to provide automated, rapid assessment of the large-scale impact of landslides. This applied work is carried out in collaboration with the international reinsurance broker Willis Re and the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.
- Exploring the process of competition between tectonic uplift and landslide erosion that builds mountain ranges – do earthquakes build or destroy topography?
- Developing new remote sensing and field techniques for monitoring earth surface processes
Research impact and engagement
I am the director of the ShakeSlide project, which aims to provide near-real-time assessment of earthquake-induced landslide hazards, for use by disaster response and risk management organisations.
Through Time for Geography, I am invloved in creating online educational videos for GCSE students.
Cyhoeddiad
2018
- Cere, G., Zhao, W., Rezgui, Y., Parker, R., Hales, T., MacGillivray, B. H. and Gong, Y. 2018. Multi-objective consideration of earthquake resilience in the built environment: The case of Wenchuan earthquake. Presented at: International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC), Funchal, Portugal, 27-29 Jun 2017Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC), 2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation. IEEE pp. 513-520., (10.1109/ICE.2017.8279929)
2017
- Cere, G., Zhao, W., Rezgui, Y., Parker, R., Hales, T., MacGillivray, B. and Gong, Y. 2017. Multi-objective consideration of earthquake resilience in the built environment: the case of Wenchuan earthquake. Presented at: 2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC), Madeira, Portugal, 26-30 June 2017.
2016
- Parker, R. N., Hales, T. C., Mudd, S. M., Grieve, S. W. D. and Constantine, J. A. 2016. Colluvium supply in humid regions limits the frequency of storm-triggered landslides. Scientific Reports 6, article number: 34438. (10.1038/srep34438)
2015
- Parker, R., Hancox, G., Petley, D., Massey, C., Densmore, A. and Rosser, N. 2015. Spatial distributions of earthquake-induced landslides and hillslope preconditioning in northwest South Island, New Zealand. Earth Surface Dynamics 3, pp. 1-52. (10.5194/esurfd-3-1-2015)
2014
- Li, G., West, A. J., Densmore, A. L., Jin, Z., Parker, R. N. and Hilton, R. G. 2014. Seismic mountain building: Landslides associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in the context of a generalized model for earthquake volume balance. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 15(4), pp. 833-844. (10.1002/2013GC005067)
2013
- Parker, R. N. 2013. Hillslope memory and spatial and temporal distributions of earthquake-induced landslides. PhD Thesis, Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University.
- Marc, O. H., Hovius, N., Meunier, P. and Parker, R. N. 2013. Controls on the mass balance of earthquakes. Presented at: European Geophysical Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 7-12 April 2013, Vol. 15. EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts: Geophysical Research Abstracts pp. 3207.
- Parker, R. N., Petley, D., Densmore, A., Rosser, N., Damby, D. and Brain, M. 2013. Progressive failure cycles and distributions of earthquake-triggered landslides. In: Ugai, K., Yagi, H. and Wakai, A. eds. Earthquake-induced landslides: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Earthquake induced landslides. Berlin: Springer, pp. 755-762., (10.1007/978-3-642-32238-9_82)
2012
- Densmore, A. L. et al. 2012. Reply to 'Isostasy can't be ignored'. Nature Geoscience 5, pp. 83-84. (10.1038/ngeo1385)
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L., Petley, D. N., Cox, N. J., Hancox, G. T. and Massey, C. R. 2012. Spatial variability in rates of landsliding in seismically active mountain ranges: landslide probability models. Presented at: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2012, Vienna, Austria, 22-27 April 2012.
2011
- Parker, R. N. et al. 2011. Mass wasting triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is greater than orogenic growth [Letter]. Nature Geoscience 4, pp. 449-452. (10.1038/ngeo1154)
- Murphy, W., Parker, R. N. and Hancox, G. 2011. Back analysis of landslides triggered by earthquakes – some implications for future practice. Presented at: International Symposium on Slope Stability in Open Pit Mining and Civil Engineering, Vancouver, Canada, 18-21 September.
2010
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L. and Petley, D. N. 2010. Spatial modelling of landslide hazard at regional scales. Presented at: 2010 Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Annual Conference with Irish Earth Observation Symposium, Cork, Ireland, 31 Aug - 3 Sept 2010.
- Parker, R. N., Petley, D. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L. and Whadcoat, S. 2010. Mapping and monitoring the spatial distribution of landslide hazards induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. Presented at: 2010 International Association of Engineering Geologists Symposium, Auckland, New Zealand, 5-10 September 2010.
- Parker, R. N. 2010. Controls on the distribution of landslides triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. , Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University.
2009
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L. and Petley., D. N. 2009. Automated landslide detection algorithms to investigate controls on the spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. Presented at: The Next Generation of Research on Earthquake-triggered Landslides: An International Conference in Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Chi-Chi Earthquake, National Central University, Taiwan, 21-26 Sept 2009.
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Petley, D. N. and Densmore, A. L. 2009. Controls on the spatial distribution of landslide hazards triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan Province. Presented at: 2009 AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 14-18 December 2009. American Geophysical Union pp. NH43C-1350.
- Petley, D. N., Rosser, N. J. and Parker, R. N. 2009. Quantifying the impacts of landslides on society. Presented at: 2009 AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 14-18 December 2009EOS Trans, AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract, Vol. 90. pp. NH52A-04.
Articles
- Parker, R. N., Hales, T. C., Mudd, S. M., Grieve, S. W. D. and Constantine, J. A. 2016. Colluvium supply in humid regions limits the frequency of storm-triggered landslides. Scientific Reports 6, article number: 34438. (10.1038/srep34438)
- Parker, R., Hancox, G., Petley, D., Massey, C., Densmore, A. and Rosser, N. 2015. Spatial distributions of earthquake-induced landslides and hillslope preconditioning in northwest South Island, New Zealand. Earth Surface Dynamics 3, pp. 1-52. (10.5194/esurfd-3-1-2015)
- Li, G., West, A. J., Densmore, A. L., Jin, Z., Parker, R. N. and Hilton, R. G. 2014. Seismic mountain building: Landslides associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in the context of a generalized model for earthquake volume balance. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 15(4), pp. 833-844. (10.1002/2013GC005067)
- Densmore, A. L. et al. 2012. Reply to 'Isostasy can't be ignored'. Nature Geoscience 5, pp. 83-84. (10.1038/ngeo1385)
- Parker, R. N. et al. 2011. Mass wasting triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is greater than orogenic growth [Letter]. Nature Geoscience 4, pp. 449-452. (10.1038/ngeo1154)
Book sections
- Parker, R. N., Petley, D., Densmore, A., Rosser, N., Damby, D. and Brain, M. 2013. Progressive failure cycles and distributions of earthquake-triggered landslides. In: Ugai, K., Yagi, H. and Wakai, A. eds. Earthquake-induced landslides: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Earthquake induced landslides. Berlin: Springer, pp. 755-762., (10.1007/978-3-642-32238-9_82)
Conferences
- Cere, G., Zhao, W., Rezgui, Y., Parker, R., Hales, T., MacGillivray, B. H. and Gong, Y. 2018. Multi-objective consideration of earthquake resilience in the built environment: The case of Wenchuan earthquake. Presented at: International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC), Funchal, Portugal, 27-29 Jun 2017Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC), 2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation. IEEE pp. 513-520., (10.1109/ICE.2017.8279929)
- Cere, G., Zhao, W., Rezgui, Y., Parker, R., Hales, T., MacGillivray, B. and Gong, Y. 2017. Multi-objective consideration of earthquake resilience in the built environment: the case of Wenchuan earthquake. Presented at: 2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC), Madeira, Portugal, 26-30 June 2017.
- Marc, O. H., Hovius, N., Meunier, P. and Parker, R. N. 2013. Controls on the mass balance of earthquakes. Presented at: European Geophysical Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 7-12 April 2013, Vol. 15. EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts: Geophysical Research Abstracts pp. 3207.
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L., Petley, D. N., Cox, N. J., Hancox, G. T. and Massey, C. R. 2012. Spatial variability in rates of landsliding in seismically active mountain ranges: landslide probability models. Presented at: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2012, Vienna, Austria, 22-27 April 2012.
- Murphy, W., Parker, R. N. and Hancox, G. 2011. Back analysis of landslides triggered by earthquakes – some implications for future practice. Presented at: International Symposium on Slope Stability in Open Pit Mining and Civil Engineering, Vancouver, Canada, 18-21 September.
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L. and Petley, D. N. 2010. Spatial modelling of landslide hazard at regional scales. Presented at: 2010 Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Annual Conference with Irish Earth Observation Symposium, Cork, Ireland, 31 Aug - 3 Sept 2010.
- Parker, R. N., Petley, D. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L. and Whadcoat, S. 2010. Mapping and monitoring the spatial distribution of landslide hazards induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. Presented at: 2010 International Association of Engineering Geologists Symposium, Auckland, New Zealand, 5-10 September 2010.
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Densmore, A. L. and Petley., D. N. 2009. Automated landslide detection algorithms to investigate controls on the spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. Presented at: The Next Generation of Research on Earthquake-triggered Landslides: An International Conference in Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Chi-Chi Earthquake, National Central University, Taiwan, 21-26 Sept 2009.
- Parker, R. N., Rosser, N. J., Petley, D. N. and Densmore, A. L. 2009. Controls on the spatial distribution of landslide hazards triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan Province. Presented at: 2009 AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 14-18 December 2009. American Geophysical Union pp. NH43C-1350.
- Petley, D. N., Rosser, N. J. and Parker, R. N. 2009. Quantifying the impacts of landslides on society. Presented at: 2009 AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 14-18 December 2009EOS Trans, AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract, Vol. 90. pp. NH52A-04.
Thesis
- Parker, R. N. 2013. Hillslope memory and spatial and temporal distributions of earthquake-induced landslides. PhD Thesis, Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University.
- Parker, R. N. 2010. Controls on the distribution of landslides triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. , Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University.
Ymchwil
PARKER, R. N., HALES, T. C., MUDD, S. M., GRIEVE, S. W. D. & CONSTANTINE, J. A. 2016. Colluvium supply in humid regions limits the frequency of storm-triggered landslides. Scientific Reports, 6, 34438.
HANCOX, G. T., RIES, W. F., PARKER, R. N. & ROSSER, B. 2016. Landslides caused by the MS 7.8 Murchison earthquake of 17 June 1929 in northwest South Island, New Zealand. GNS Science Report 2015/42, 2 Volumes, 127
PARKER, R. N., HANCOX, G. T., PETLEY, D. N., MASSEY, C. I., DENSMORE, A. L. & ROSSER, N. J. 2015. Spatial distributions of earthquake-induced landslides and hillslope preconditioning in the northwest South Island, New Zealand. Earth Surf. Dynam., 3, 501-525.
LI, G., WEST, A. J., DENSMORE, A. L., JIN, Z., PARKER, R. N. & HILTON, R. G. 2014. Seismic mountain building: Landslides associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in the context of a generalized model for earthquake volume balance. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 15, 833-844.
HANCOX, G. T., RIES, W., LUKOVIC, B. & PARKER, R. 2014. Landslides and ground damage caused by the Mw 7.1 Inangahua Earthquake of 24th May 1968 in north west South Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences: GNS Science Report 2014/06.
PARKER, R., PETLEY, D., DENSMORE, A., ROSSER, N., DAMBY, D. & BRAIN, M. 2013. Progressive Failure Cycles and Distributions of Earthquake-Triggered Landslides. In: UGAI, K., YAGI, H. & WAKAI, A. (eds.) Earthquake-Induced Landslides: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Earthquake-Induced Landslides, Kiryu, Japan, 2012. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
DENSMORE, A. L., PARKER, R. N., ROSSER, N. J., DE MICHELE, M., YONG, L., RUNQIU, H., WHADCOAT, S. & PETLEY, D. N. 2012. Reply to 'Isostasy can't be ignored'. Nature Geoscience, 5, 83-84.
PARKER, R. N., DENSMORE, A. L., ROSSER, N. J., DE MICHELE, M., LI, Y., HUANG, R., WHADCOAT, S. & PETLEY, D. N. 2011. Mass wasting triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is greater than orogenic growth. Nature Geoscience, 4, 449-452.
MURPHY, W., PARKER, R. N. & HANCOX, G. Back analysis of landslides triggered by earthquakes – some implications for future practice. International Symposium on Rock Slope Stability in Open Pit Mining and Civil Engineering, 2011 Vancouver, Canada.
PARKER, R., PETLEY, D., ROSSER, N., DENSMORE, A. & WHADCOAT, S. 2010. Mapping and monitoring the spatial distribution of landslide hazards induced by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. Geologically Active - 11th International Association for Engineering Geology Congress. Aukland, New Zealand.
PARKER, R. N., ROSSER, N. J., DENSMORE, A. L. & PETLEY, D. N. 2009. Automated landslide detection algorithms to investigate controls on the spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan Province, China. The Next Generation of Research on Earthquake-triggered Landslides: An International Conference in Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Chi-Chi Earthquake. National Central University, Taiwan.
Bywgraffiad
2013-present
Post-doctoral Research Associate, Cardiff University School of Earth and Ocean Sciences
2013
PhD entitled Hillslope memory and spatial and temporal distributions of earthquake-induced landslides, Durham University
2010
MSc by research thesis entitled Controls on the distribution of landslides triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Sichuan Province, China, Durham University (Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society prize)
2008
BSc in Physical Geography (1st class honours), Durham University
