Dr David Cornwell

Biography

Dave joined the Department of Geology and Geophysics as a Lecturer in Geophysics in January 2013. He previously spent over 5 years in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds as a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Fellow in Geophysics, continuing his research and teaching on the MSc Exploration Geophysics and undergraduate geophysics programmes. His PhD, entitled "Magmatic continental rift zones: the Ethiopian Rift", was awarded from the University of Leicester in 2008, where he was supervised by Prof. Peter Maguire and Prof. Richard England. He also held the post of Graduate Teaching Assistant in Geophysics and taught undergraduate seismic processing and field geophysics. He achieved his MSc. in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Leeds in 2001 and BSc. in Geophysics (Geological) from the University of Leicester in 1999 and spent a year in Menlo Park, CA, as part of the USGS Western Earthquake Hazards Team.   

Prizes and Awards

• Royal Astronomical Association (RAS) Higher Education Award 2024

Research Overview

I am an observational seismologist and geophysicist who works on imaging the Earth at a variety of scales. My work involves field deployment/acquisition, processing, modelling and interpretation of complex datasets to investigate a variety of Earth processes.

Keywords: Tectonics, seismology, gravity, crustal structure, upper mantle structure, lithosphere heterogeneity, magmatism, rifting, strike slip faulting, anisotropy, receiver functions, shear wave splitting, ambient noise tomography, body wave tomography, near surface geophysics (GPR, resistivity, magnetics, seismic), geophysical data processing & inversion, scientific coding, machine learning.

Current Research

Currently characterising crust and mantle structure in Borneo, lithosphere imaging in northern Turkey, and using shallow geophysics for a variety of applications. 

Past Research

Crust and mantle structure at plate margins using seismology and gravity methods.  My research encompasses:

• Imaging magma-rich continental rift zones and developing new models of rift initiation and development (Ethiopia and the North Atlantic)
• Mapping the mantle transition zone using receiver functions (Ethiopia)
• Characterising the velocity and anisotropy of crust and mantle layers with shear wave splitting, receiver functions, tomography and ambient noise techniques (Faroe Islands, Ethiopia and Turkey)
• Passive seismology for hydrocarbon exploration (Faroe Islands)

Teaching Responsibilities

• MSc. Geophysics Programme Director (June 2017-August 2021)
• GL5545 - Seismic Reflection Theory and Processing (practical processing with SeisSpace/ProMAX)(module manager)
• GL5575 - Seismology & Earth Imaging (module manager)
• GL2511 - Geophysics

Qualifications:

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• University Level Teaching Award 2 (ULTA-2), University of Leeds, 2011 (60 Masters-level credits)
• University of Aberdeen teaching training