Becky Briant
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Overview
Overview
Biography
Dr Becky Briant joined Birkbeck in December 2008. Since arriving, she has started the MSc in Climate Change, served as Programme Director for multiple MSc and BSc programmes, as Research Director and REF UoA lead for Geography and as Assistant Dean for Research in the School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy. She is currently Co-Director of the Birkbeck Research Centre for Environment and Sustainability, encouraging and establishing interdisciplinary research projects and building partnerships with external partners through knowledge exchange activities. Prior to joining Birkbeck, Becky held Lectureships at Queen Mary, University of London and King's College, London and a postdoctoral position at the University of Wales Trinity St David in Lampeter.
Highlights
Briant, Rebecca and Cohen, K. and Cordier, S. and Demoulin, A. and Macklin, M. and Mather, A. and Rixhon, G. and Veldkamp, A. and Wainwright, J. and Whittaker, A. and Wittmann-Oelze, H. (2018) Applying Pattern Oriented Sampling in current fieldwork practice to enable more effective model evaluation in fluvial landscape evolution research. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 43 (4), pp. 2964-6980. ISSN 0197-9337. http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/22850/
Royal Society Industry Fellow 2024-2026: Quaternary geology for the low-carbon transition
Briant, Rebecca M. and Brock, F. and DeMarchi, B. and Langford, H.E. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Schreve, D.C. and Schwenninger, J.-L. and Taylor, S. (2018) Improving chronological control for environmental sequences from the last glacial period. Quaternary Geochronology 43 , pp. 40-49. ISSN 18711014. http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/19959/
Qualifications
- PhD, University of Cambridge, 2002
- MSc, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1998
- BA (Hons), University of Cambridge, 1996
Web profiles
Administrative responsibilities
- Co-Director, Birkbeck Research Centre for Environment and Sustainability
Professional activities
Editorial Board member of Open Quaternary, E&G Quaternary Science Journal and Proceedings of the Geologists Association.
Organising Committee (2020-2026), Quaternary Research Association Engineering Research Group
Professional memberships
Quaternary Research Association
British Society for Geomorphology
ORCID
0000-0003-3776-0313 -
Research
Research
Research interests
- Quaternary fluvial systems
- Landscape evolution - field and modelling data
- Landscape development in Iraq
- Geochronology
- Application of Quaternary understanding to ground engineering
Research overview
I am an expert in Quaternary palaeoenvironments, with particular interests in sediment dating methods (OSL, radiocarbon), fluvial sequences and integrating geological data with numerical modelling.
Since 2020, I have been collaborating with academics, industry, geoarchaeologists and Government bodies such as the British Geological Survey to build collaborations and common ways of working. From 2024, my Royal Society Industry Fellowship will allow me to access sequences and contribute to training at Jacobs, building these collaborations further.
Since 2017, I have been working with Iraqi colleagues (Dr Ismael Al-Ameri from the University of Baghdad; Dr Jaafar Jotheri from the University of Al Qasidiyah) to investigate the Holocene history of both the Arabian Gulf (Al Ameri and Briant, 2019) and, more recently, the Najaf Sea (Briant et al., forthcoming).
I am currently publishing results of QRA-funded research on radiocarbon dating of beetle remains, including analysis of removal of chemical pretreatments and moder experimental work, in collaboration with Dr David Smith (University of Birmingham), Dr Fiona Brock (Cranfield Forensic Institute) and Dr Philippa Ascough (Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre). This builds on work improving radiocarbon pretreatments on plant material supported by a NERC Radiocarbon Facilities Grant, in collaboration with Dr Harry Langford (Geography, Birkbeck), Dr Fiona Brock (Cranfield Forensic Institute) and Professor Danielle Schreve (Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London) and published in 2018.
Research clusters and groups
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Supervision and teaching
Supervision and teaching
Supervision
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in projects relating to my research interests.
Specific projects can be found listed on the London NERC DTP website: https://london-nerc-dtp.org/
Teaching
I am bought out of teaching from 2024-2026.
I have taught on / convened the following modules:
- Climate Change (Level 7 - Masters)
- Landscape Change: Past and Future (Level 6)
- Environmental Processes (Level 5)
- Dissertation supervising at undergraduate and postgraduate levels
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Publications
Publications
Article
- Briant, Rebecca M and Haggart, B.A. and Schreve, D. and Whiteman, C.A. (2022) Quaternary sea level landforms and sediments in southern England: description of Geological Conservation Review sites. Proceedings of the Geologists Association ISSN 0016-7878.
- Al Ameri, I.D.S. and Briant, Rebecca and Engels, Stefan (2019) Drought severity and increased dust storm frequency in the Middle East: a case study from the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial plain, Central Iraq. Weather 74 (12), pp. 416-426. ISSN 1477-8696.
- Al Ameri, Ismael and Briant, Rebecca (2018) A late Holocene molluscan-based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from southern Mesopotamia: implications for the palaeogeographic evolution of the Arabo-Persian Gulf. Journal of African Earth Sciences 152, pp. 1-9. ISSN 1464-343X.
- Briant, Rebecca and Wainwright, J. and Maddy, D. (2018) New approaches to field-model data comparison: numerical modelling of the last glacial cycle in the Welland catchment, England. Geomorphology 323, pp. 106-122. ISSN 0169-555X.
- Briant, Rebecca and Cohen, K. and Cordier, S. and Demoulin, A. and Macklin, M. and Mather, A. and Rixhon, G. and Veldkamp, A. and Wainwright, J. and Whittaker, A. and Wittmann-Oelze, H. (2018) Applying Pattern Oriented Sampling in current fieldwork practice to enable more effective model evaluation in fluvial landscape evolution research. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 43 (4), pp. 2964-6980. ISSN 0197-9337.
- Meschis, Marco and Roberts, Gerald P. and Robertson, Jennifer and Briant, Rebecca (2018) The relationships between regional Quaternary uplift, deformation across active normal faults and historical seismicity in the upper plate of subduction zones: The Capo D’Orlando Fault, NE Sicily. Tectonics 37 (5), pp. 1231-1255. ISSN 0278-7407.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Brock, F. and DeMarchi, B. and Langford, H.E. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Schreve, D.C. and Schwenninger, J.-L. and Taylor, S. (2018) Improving chronological control for environmental sequences from the last glacial period. Quaternary Geochronology 43, pp. 40-49. ISSN 18711014.
- Briant, Rebecca and Bates, M.R. and Boreham, S. and Cameron, N.G. and G.R., Coope and Field, M.H. and Hatch, B.M. and Holmes, J.A. and Keen, D.H. and Kilfeather, A.A. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Simons, R.M.J. and Schwenninger, J.-L. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. and Whitehouse, N.J. and Whittaker, J.E. (2018) Early Ipswichian (last interglacial) sea level rise in the Channel region: stone point site of special scientific interest, Hampshire, England. Proceedings of the Geologists Association ISSN 0016-7878.
- Langford, Harold and Boreham, S. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Horne, D. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Schreve, D. and Whitehouse, N. and Whittaker, J. (2017) Evidence for the early onset of the Ipswichian thermal optimum: palaeoecology of last interglacial deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England. Journal of the Geological Society 174 (6), pp. 988-1003. ISSN 0016-7649.
- Chauhan, P. and Bridgland, D. and Moncel, M.-H. and Antoine, P. and Bahain, J.-J. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Cunha, P. and Locht, J.-L. and Martins, A. and Schreve, D. and Shaw, A. and Voinchet, P. and Westaway, R. and White, M. and White, T. and Limondin-Lozouet, N. and Despriée, J. (2017) Fluvial deposits as an archive of early human activity: progress during the 20 years of the Fluvial Archives Group. Quaternary Science Reviews 166, pp. 114-149. ISSN 0277-3791.
- Rixhon, G. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Cordier, S. and Duval, M. and Jones, A. and Scholz, D. (2017) Revealing the pace of river landscape evolution during the Quaternary: recent developments in numerical dating methods. Quaternary Science Reviews 166, pp. 91-113. ISSN 0277-3791.
- Hatch, M. and Davis, R.J. and Lewis, S.G. and Ashton, N. and Lukas, S. and Briant, Rebecca M. (2017) The stratigraphy and chronology of the Pleistocene fluvial sediments at Warsash, Hampshire, UK: implications for the terrace stratigraphy and Palaeolithic archaeology of the River Test. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 128 (2), pp. 198-221. ISSN 0016-7878.
- Cordier, S. and Briant, Rebecca and Bridgland, D. and Herget, J. and Maddy, D. and Mather, A. and Vandenberghe, J. (2017) The Fluvial Archives Group: 20 years of research connecting fluvial geomorphology and palaeoenvironments. Quaternary Science Reviews 166, pp. 1-9. ISSN 0277-3791.
- Langford, Harry and Boreham, S. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Horne, D.J. and Schreve, D.C. and Whittaker, J.E. and Whitehouse, N.J. (2014) Middle to late Pleistocene palaeoecological reconstructions and palaeotemperature estimates for cold/cool stage deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England. Quaternary International 341, pp. 6-26. ISSN 1040-6182.
- Mann, Sarah and Briant, Rebecca M. and Gibin, Maurizio (2014) Spatial determinants of local government action on climate change: an analysis of local authorities in England. Local Environment 19 (8), pp. 837-867. ISSN 1354-9839.
- Roberts, Gerald P. and Meschis, M. and Houghton, S. and Underwood, Charlie J. and Briant, Rebecca M. (2013) The implications of revised Quaternary palaeoshoreline chronologies for the rates of active extension and uplift in the upper plate of subduction zones. Quaternary Science Reviews 78, pp. 169-187. ISSN 0277-3791.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Marshall, G.D. and Schwenninger, J.L. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (2012) Terrace reconstruction and long profile projection: a case study from the Solent river system near Southampton, England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 123 (3), pp. 438-449. ISSN 0016-7878.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Kilfeather, A.A. and Parfitt, S. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Preece, R.C. and Roe, H.M. and Schwenninger, J.L. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. and Whittaker, J.E. (2012) Integrated chronological control on an archaeologically significant Pleistocene river terrace sequence: the Thames-Medway, eastern Essex, England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 123 (1), pp. 87-108. ISSN 0016-7878.
- Roe, H.M. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Preece, R.C. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (2011) Evolution of the Thames estuary during MIS 9: insights from the Shoeburyness area, Essex. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 122 (3), pp. 397-418. ISSN 0016-7878.
- Bates, M.R. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Rhodes, E.J. and Schwenninger, J.L. and Whittaker, J.E. (2010) A new chronological framework for Middle and Upper Pleistocene landscape evolution in the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 121 (4), pp. 369-392. ISSN 0016-7878.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bateman, M.D. (2009) Luminescence dating indicates radiocarbon age underestimation in late Pleistocene fluvial deposits from eastern England. Journal of Quaternary Science 24 (8), pp. 916-927. ISSN 0267-8179.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Gibbard, P.L. and Boreham, S. and Coope, G.R. and Preece, R.C. (2008) Limits to resolving catastrophic events in the Quaternary fluvial record: a case study from the Nene valley, Northamptonshire, UK. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 296 (1), pp. 79-104. ISSN 0305-8719.
- Bates, M.R. and Bates, C.R. and Briant, Rebecca M. (2007) Bridging the gap: a terrestrial view of shallow marine sequences and the importance of the transition zone. Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (9), pp. 1537-1551. ISSN 0305-4403.
- Gao, C. and Boreham, S. and Gibbard, P.L. and Preece, R.C. and Briant, Rebecca M. (2007) Fluvial response to rapid climate change during the Devensian (Weichselian) Lateglacial in the River Great Ouse, southern England, UK. Sedimentary Geology 202 (1-2), pp. 193-210. ISSN 0037-0738.
- Langford, H.E. and Bateman, M.D. and Penkman, K.E.H. and Boreham, S. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Keen, D.H. (2007) Age-estimate evidence for Middle-Late Pleistocene aggradation of River Nene 1st Terrace deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 118 (3), pp. 238-300. ISSN 0016-7878.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Boreham, S. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. and Whittaker, J. (2006) Re-investigation of interglacial sediments at Stone Point, Lepe Country Park, Hampshire. Quaternary Newsletter 108, pp. 43-51. ISSN 0143-2826.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Schwenninger, J.-L. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (2006) An optically stimulated luminescence dated Middle to Late Pleistocene fluvial sequence from the western Solent Basin, southern England. Journal of Quaternary Science 21 (5), pp. 507-523. ISSN 0267-8179.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bateman, M.D. and Coope, G.R. and Gibbard, P.L. (2005) Climatic control on Quaternary fluvial sedimentology of a Fenland Basin river, England. Sedimentology 52 (6), pp. 1397-1424. ISSN 0037-0746.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Preece, R.C. and Gibbard, P.L. (2004) The Upper Pleistocene deposits at Deeping St James, Lincolnshire: evidence for Early Devensian fluvial sedimentation. Quaternaire 15, pp. 5-15. ISSN 1142-2904.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Preece, R.C. and Keen, D.H. and Boreham, S. and Griffiths, H.I. and Seddon, M.B. and Gibbard, P.L. (2004) Fluvial system response to Late Devensian (Weichselian) aridity, Baston, Lincolnshire, England. Journal of Quaternary Science 19 (5), pp. 479-495. ISSN 0267-8179.
- Van Huissteden, J. and Gibbard, P.L. and Briant, Rebecca M. (2001) Periglacial fluvial systems in northwest Europe during marine isotope stages 4 and 3. Quaternary International 79 (1), pp. 75-88. ISSN 1040-6182.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Rose, J. and Branch, N.P. and Lee, J.A. (1999) 'Pre-glacial' Quaternary sediments from Trimingham, North Norfolk, England. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Norfolk 49, pp. 15-47. ISSN 0143-9286.
Book
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Hosfield, R.T. and Wenban-Smith, F.F., eds. (2009) The quaternary of the Solent Basin and West Sussex raised beaches. QRA Field guides. pp. 21-41. London, UK: Quaternary Research Association. ISBN 9780907780793.
- Langford, Harry and Briant, Rebecca M., eds. (2004) Field guide: Nene Valley. Quaternary Research Association. ISBN 9780907780649.
Book Section
- Bates, M.R. and Briant, Rebecca M. (2009) Quaternary sediments of the Sussex/Hampshire coastal corridor. In: Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Hosfield, R.T. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (eds.) The Quaternary of The Solent Basin and West Sussex Raised Beaches. QRA Field guides. London, UK: Quaternary Research Association. pp. 21-41. ISBN 9780907780793.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Boreham, S. and Cameron, N.G. and Coupe, G.R. (2009) Gravels and interglacial sediments at Stone Point site of special scientific interest, Lepe Country Park, Hampshire. In: Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Hosfield, R.T. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (eds.) The Quaternary of The Solent Basin and West Sussex Raised Beaches. QRA Field guides. London, UK: Quaternary Research Association. pp. 171-188. ISBN 9780907780793.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Schwenninger, J.L. (2009) Solent river gravels at Badminston Farm, Hampshire SU 463 019. In: Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Hosfield, R.T. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (eds.) The Quaternary of The Solent Basin and West Sussex Raised Beaches. QRA Field guides. London, UK: Quaternary Research Association. pp. 189-188. ISBN 9780907780793.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. and Schwenninger, J.L. (2009) Solent river gravels at Barton on Sea, Hampshire SZ 230 930. In: Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, M.R. and Hosfield, R.T. and Wenban-Smith, F.F. (eds.) The Quaternary of The Solent Basin and West Sussex Raised Beaches. QRA Field guides. London, UK: Quaternary Research Association. pp. 161-170. ISBN 9780907780793.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Bateman, M.D. (2004) Pode Hole Quarry, Thorney (TF261033 - TF265033): early Devensian sands and gravels. In: Langford, Harry and Briant, Rebecca M. (eds.) Nene Valley: Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association. pp. 130-144. ISBN 9780907780649.
- Briant, Rebecca M. and Coope, G.R. and Bateman, M.D. and Griffiths, H.I. (2004) Eye Quarry (TF273023 - TF240021): early Devensian sands and gravels. In: Langford, Harry and Briant, Rebecca M. (eds.) Nene Valley: Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association. pp. 116-129. ISBN 9780907780649.
- Langford, Harry and Briant, Rebecca M. (2004) Post-Anglian Pleistocene deposits of the Peterborough area and the Pleistocene history of the Fen Basin. In: Langford, Harry and Briant, Rebecca M. (eds.) Nene Valley: Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association. pp. 22-35. ISBN 9780907780649.
Editorial
- Briant, Rebecca and Bridgland, D. and Cordier, S. and Rixhon, G. and Van Balen, R. (2019) A celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG). Quaternary Research 91 (2), pp. 453-456. Cambridge Journals. ISSN 0033-5894.
Monograph
- Bates, M.R. and Wenban-Smith, F. and Briant, Rebecca M. and Bates, C.R. (2007) The Palaeolithic archaeology of the Sussex/Hampshire coastal corridor. Archaeology Data Service.
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Business and community
Business and community
Services
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Consultancies and expert advice
I can provide Pleistocene geological and geoarchaeological expertise for site-based investigations, both at desk-study stage and on site. I also provide soft sediment (non-glacial) thin-section analysis and mollusc and plant macrofossil identification and interpretation.
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Consultancies and expert advice