This study of slope instability in the Matlock region of Derbyshire uses, and tests the applicability of, a variety of techniques from reconnaissance through to site investigation. The aims have been to (i) provide a greater understanding of landsliding in this area and (ii) produce a critical assessment of the techniques employed. A procedure was developed for the application of Landsat-5 TM imagery to slope stability studies, however, such imagery was found to be of very limited use in the study area. Morphological and geomorphological mapping from aerial photographs and in the field proved to be of greatest use for supplying information on landslide location, morphology, type and recent activity, and also in identifying surface water conditions. These techniques are relatively rapid, require the minimum of equipment, and provide a large amount of relevant data in a short time. They are also applicable to both reconnaissance surveys and site investigations. The geomorphological survey of Oker Hill near Matlock revealed a large multiple rotational landslide. An ochre-precipitating spring is situated within this landslide. A similar spring occurs on Mam Tor landslide in north Derbyshire, and Vear (1981) has shown this to be evidence of pyrite oxidation of the shale, a process which is believed to lead to periodic slope failure. Analysis of core material from two boreholes through the Oker Hill landslide confirmed that pyrite has been lost from the failed material and that the present base of the weathered zone is in the pyritic shale. Pyrite oxidation is resulting in iron oxide staining, the loss of sulphur (presumably as sulphuric acid which will participate in further reactions) and in an overall deterioration of the rock quality of the shale.

Characterisation of the complex geomorphological and ecological structure of river channels into workable units of instream habitat is a key step in enabling the assessment of habitat for river management purposes. The research presented in this thesis uses a range of methodological approaches at a variety of spatial scales in order to improve the conceptual basis of habitat characterisation at the reach and sub-reach scale. An appraisal of published works is used in conjunction with an extensive analysis of habitat features for sites across the UK, and intensive field studies on the River Tern, Shropshire, to improve the conceptual basis and ecological validity of the 'physical biotope' as the basic unit of instream habitat. Physical biotopes demonstrate correlations with biologically functional habitat units at relatively broad scales, suggesting that assemblages of habitat units may provide the most appropriate level of simplification of aquatic habitat structure. A simplified, but more transferable classification using biotope assemblages is suggested, with potential application to a range of instream assessment and river design needs. Reach-scale field surveys reveal complex and dynamic relationships between channel hydraulics and morphology and highlight the influence of sampling design and hydrological context on the outcomes of rapid field surveys. A microscale research component addresses within-biotope variation at small scales by focusing on high frequency flow behaviour and sediment transport mechanisms which have, to date, been largely overlooked in biotope studies. This provides both detailed descriptions of hydraulic behaviour, and an indication of differences in internal spatial and temporal heterogeneity between biotopes, with implications for instream biota.

There is growing concern that the adoption of intensive agricultural land management practices in upland areas of the UK over the past 50-60 years may have affected hydrological responses and sediment transfer regimes in river catchments and could, therefore, be contributing to increased levels of flood risk and ecological disturbance. However, recent evidence from a research catchment at Pontbren in mid-Wales indicates that the implementation of a more sustainable livestock farming strategy could help to mitigate some of these impacts, raising the possibility that strategic land use planning could be used as a cost-effective, multi-functional river management option. The impacts of historical land use changes and land management practices on contemporary sediment dynamics in the study area are explored in this thesis through a system approach which acknowledges the importance of interrelationships between hydrological and geomorphological processes. Results from hydrological experiments and modelling exercises are used to inform analyses of spatial and temporal variation in sediment production and transfer from a variety of potential sources. Grazed, agriculturally-improved pastures were found to supply fine material to stream channels via both surface runoff and field drains. In particular, drain-derived sediment is likely to represent an important component of the total fine sediment yield in subcatchments where agricultural intensification has been widespread. Agricultural drainage ditches were also found to act as sources of sediment in such areas, along with eroding channel banks. Sediment production from bank sources may relate to historical changes in peak flows caused by agricultural intensification. Stream sediment yields are strongly related to differences in sediment supply from the aforementioned sources and could therefore be reduced by limiting mobilisation at the point of origin within the landscape. In terms of channel-derived material, this could be achieved through peak flow reductions associated with woodland and hedgerow restoration.

This study investigated contemporary floodplain sedimentation, interactions between sediment, vegetation, and agricultural land use, and the potential utility for a Bayesian Network Decision Support System (BNDSS) to assist farmers in making better decisions concerning agricultural land use. The research was performed around Bara Bania Mouza (village) under Daulotpur Uazila in Manikgong district of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna floodplain in Bangladesh. This area was selected because it is representative of the young and active floodplain, where the land is flooded and receives overbank sediment deposition every year. The research employed exploratory data analysis and Bayesian approaches to identify and investigate causal relationships among the variables and so support probabilistic inferences. The study investigated two distinctly different types of monsoonal flood: a bonna (an abnormally large flood that occurred in 2007) and a barsho (a normal flood that occurred in 2008). Data on landforms, flood hydraulics, sediment dynamics (suspended sediment concentrations and sediment accumulation rates), and vegetation, rain-fed flooding, land use and farmers knowledge on soil suitability and cropping were collected through field surveys. The results establish how flow and sediment dynamics contrast as a function of landform and demonstrate that the thickness and calibre of deposited sediment strongly influence farmers' decisions on which and how many crops to cultivate on a given plot. Natural vegetation (e.g. sun grass) and certain agricultural crops were shown to have huge potential for use in slowing floodwater and trapping coarse grain sediment particles in buffer stripes. Marked contrasts were also observed between the characteristics of sediment deposited by rain-fed and river water flooding. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews revealed that although farmers have profound knowledge on soil types and crop associations their methods are crude and little or no science is involved in the investigation of soil and sediment properties. Despite this, farmers' estimates of soil properties proved to be reasonably accurate with the estimate of particle size differing by only <15% from the results of laboratory particle size analysis. This suggests that the farmers' methods do give reliable indications of key soil attributes, but that they could be improved if scientific information was integrated with their local knowledge. A Bayesian approach provides a means of achieving this and the BNDSS developed in this study was found to produce good results when compared to field observations and backward propagation indicated that for better decision making it is crucial to consider both physical and socioeconomic variables. The findings of the research reported in this thesis show that sedimentation has major impacts on agricultural land use dynamics in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna floodplain and that both natural vegetation and agricultural crops significantly influence sediment movement and the way that deposition is distributed over the floodplain. In a wider context, flood, sediment, vegetation and agricultural land use dynamics are controlled by complex set of both physical and human phenomena that are challenging to describe, integrate, analyse and interpret in a single study. In light of this, it is not surprising that the findings presented in this thesis highlight important gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed through further research.

Collapse is part of the growth cycle of volcanoes with active rift-zones. As the volcano develops and grows disequilibrium between the strength of the edifice and the applied stresses, produce instability within the edifice which can potentially lead to catastrophic lateral collapse. The intra-eruptive periods on persistently active volcanoes are often short-lived. The recent intra-eruptive windows at Piton de la Foumaise, Reunion Island (1994-1996), Etna, Sicily (1994-1997) and the less-frequently-active Cumbre Vieja ridge on La Palma (1994-1998), have provided a valuable opportunity in which to compare the background deformation (which can indicate whether the edifice is stable between eruptions). Influences such as gravitational loading, tectonic activity, creep or the intrusion of fresh magma would cause coherent deformation patterns, and even small movements within the estimated errors of the measuring techniques are assessed over time to identify patterns. For each site the background seismicity has remained low and no flank eruptions were recorded during the monitoring program. The results suggest that each site is stable between eruptions. Etna has shown increasing activity since 1995 reflected by a general pattern of inflation. This inflation and a small isolated pocket of inflation on the SW flank are attributed to the intrusion of magma in 1995. A coherent pattern of very minor deformation was observed spanning the 1949 fault of the Cumbre Vieja from 1994 to 1997, however, this was not sustained in 1998. Piton de la Fournaise remained stable during the monitoring program and then erupted at the end of the study in 1998. This inter-eruptive period also provides an optimal time for the transition from one technique to another. On each site the existing EDM (Electronic Distance Measurement) networks were re-occupied using GPS (Global Positioning System), the comparison of individual vectors indicated that the accuracy was approximately 5-12mm, which was less than the expected error between EDM surveys. The networks at all sites have been expanded during the quiescent period and the use of GPS has permitted the optimal positioning of survey stations in order to assess future ground deformation.

Water is a politically sensitive resource in the Near East and water stress is increasing. It is therefore vital that there is a strong understanding of past hydrological variability, so that the drivers of change can be better understood, and so that the links between the palaeoclimate and archaeological records in this key region in the development of human civilisation can be investigated. To be of most use, this requires high resolution records and a good understanding of palaeoseasonality. A sediment sequence spanning ~14,000 years has been retrieved from Nar Gölü, a lake in central Turkey. This thesis presents isotope data from carbonates, diatoms and bulk organic matter, in particular focussing on oxygen isotope (δ18O) analysis of carbonates (which detailed monitoring of the modern lake system shows to be a strong proxy for water balance) and comparing δ18Ocarbonate and δ18Odiatom data in order to examine palaeoseasonality. Improved techniques for the interpretation of carbonate isotope records of mixed mineralogies and the mass balance correction of diatom samples contaminated with minerogenic material are also proposed. Due to the high resolution δ18Ocarbonate data, it was possible to show that the rapidity of the Younger Dryas to Holocene transition at Nar Gölü was similar to that seen in North Atlantic records and that centennial scale arid events in the Holocene seem to occur at the time of cold periods in the North Atlantic. Taken together, this suggests a strong teleconnection between the two regions. However, the longer duration of the aridity peaks ~9,300 and ~8,200 years BP at Nar Gölü, compared with the more discrete cooling events at this time in the North Atlantic, suggest that there are additional controls on Near East hydroclimate. There is a multi-millennial scale trend of increasing δ18Ocarbonate values from the early to late Holocene. This ‘Mid Holocene Transition’ has previously been identified in the Near East, however here it is demonstrated that water balance and not a shift in the seasonality of precipitation was the primary cause. Finally, for the first time, the stability of Near East climate in the early Holocene is robustly demonstrated, suggesting that this could have been a key enabler of the development of agriculture at this time.

This thesis uses data sets at a range of spatial and temporal scales to examine the geomorphological response of the Lower Mississippi River to engineering and management. During the twentieth century the geomorphology of the Lower Mississippi River has been transformed by a series of engineering modifications to improve flood control and aid navigation. These have included steepening of the longitudinal profile by removal of the most sinuous bends, fixing the river to a constant planform through extensive bank stabilisation, and regulating sediment movement through the channel system by dike field construction. Prior to these modifications, the Lower Mississippi River adjusted its planform morphology to satisfy large-scale flow resistance requirements. However, this mode of adjustment has been effectively removed and adjustments are now restricted to the long profile and cross-sectional form. Morphological analysis reveals that the river has responded to engineering intervention at two principal scales: by vertical changes in the elevation of the channel bed at the reach-scale; and by increasing large-scale bedform resistance at the sub-reach scale through longitudinal and cross-sectional adjustments. These mutual changes are consistent with the changes in water surface elevation in the post-modification period noted by Biedenharn and Watson (1997). However, analysis of morphological and process dynamics at shorter timescales shows that geomorphological response remains difficult to explain. This is because geomorphological behaviour at any scale, and in any location within an alluvial channel, is a product of complex spatially-distributed feedbacks between operating processes and multiple scales of channel morphology. This has general significance in terms of research design because detecting the complexity at each scale of adjustment, and forming linkages between scales of adjustment, is dependent on taking into account all possible degrees of freedom, and applying a range of complementary analytical techniques.

The history of Catholicism is an essential component in the history of modern Ireland. As locations of a distinctively Catholic faith, Mass Rocks are important historical, ritual and counter-cultural sites. Their continued use reflects, and helps reconstruct and legitimise, contemporary Irish identity whilst providing a tangible and experiential connection to Irish heritage and tradition. The mythology surrounding Mass Rocks tends to symbolise the worst excesses of the ‘Penal Laws’. Yet, as Elliott (2000) has pointed out, the impact of the Penal Laws was short-lived and the worst was over by 1730 (Elliott 2000:170). Since the 1990s, most historians have rejected this traditional ‘penal’ paradigm with its subtext of a heroic but silenced Catholic nation (Dickson 2004:38). Yet, the Irish countryside remains littered with the Mass Rocks that were used throughout this period and they are still considered to be special and sacred places. Using a framework of sacred space this research provides an original and important vista on this topic. An examination of their geographical distribution has yielded some surprising concentrations and absences in certain areas. The actual locations of these sites have proved equally intriguing since few appear to conform to the mythical, secluded, upland sanctuaries depicted in early and mid-twentieth century history textbooks and more recently on ‘republican’ murals. This research does not attempt to assess the implementation, success or failure of the Penal Laws. However, it does provide one of the most thorough syntheses of available information in respect to Mass Rocks at a diocesan level and therefore provides a valuable resource that will help widen knowledge of this emotive and often misunderstood period. Research has been based in the diocese of Cork and Ross, county Cork. The parish of Uíbh Laoghaire or Iveleary, the county of Cineal Laoghaire or O’Leary, is located within this diocese and is relatively rich in Mass Rock sites. The parish of ‘Inshiguilah’ or Inchigeelagh is referenced within the Report on the State of Popery of 1731 along with adjoining parishes. Its sound pedigree in terms of its historical, geographical and cultural background made it an excellent candidate for a case study. It offered a valuable opportunity to apply the conceptual framework of sacred space to a specific parish within the research area in order to evaluate the validity of the research findings. Although much has been written about the Penal era, the study of Mass Rocks is a neglected area of study and it is hoped that these results will help to frame Eighteenth-century Irish Catholicism within a broader economic, social, cultural and political context.

Fire has not always been so elusive in the northern European forest yet forest management and active fire suppression has created an ecosystem almost free of fire. This absence of fire is thought to have contributed to the widespread dominance of Picea abies as well as the decline in deciduous species and subsequent loss of floristic diversity. Forest fires in general are driven by a complex interplay between natural (climate, vegetation and topography) and anthropogenic disturbance and through palaeoecology we are able to explore spatio-temporal variability in the drivers of fire and changing fire dynamics. This thesis explores spatial and temporal variability in Holocene vegetation and disturbance dynamics through stand-scale palynology. Pollen and macroscopic charcoal are used to reconstruct past vegetation and fire dynamics with local- and regional-scale pollen-derived quantitative vegetation reconstructions able to identify both large-scale ecosystem response and local-scale disturbance. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity and variability in biomass burning is explored to identify the drivers of fire and palaeo-vegetation reconstruction is compared to process-based, climate-driven dynamic vegetation model output to test the effect of fire frequency as a driver of vegetation composition and dynamics. Early-Holocene fire was driven by natural climate variations and fuel availability. The establishment and spread of Picea abies (Norway spruce) appears to be driven by an increase in continentality although local disturbance cannot be ruled out. The expansion of Picea led to a step-wise reduction in regional biomass burning and the now widespread dominance of Picea abies is responsible for the low fire frequency observed through Fennoscandia. The mid-Holocene decline in deciduous species was primarily driven by localised anthropogenic disturbance and may have been assisted by the shift to cooler, wetter climate conditions. There is an underlying natural fire frequency of approximately 400 years observed in southern Finland and without intensive anthropogenic disturbance floristic diversity may have remained locally, to the present day. Stand-scale palynology is able to record past local disturbance at a high spatial precision however more than one site is required to understand regional disturbance and the variable controls of fire dynamics.

Surface Flow Types (SFTs), distinctive patterns of disturbance on the surface of flowing water resulting from the interaction between flow and channel shape, were used to delimit meso-scale in-channel habitats in eight British lowland rivers to determine whether SFT mesohabitats were capable of being mapped, and were physically and biologically distinct. Five different SFTs - No Perceptible (NP), Smooth (SM), Rippled (RP), Unbroken wave (UW) and Upwelling (UP) - were investigated, a further three rare types (Chute, Broken wave and Confused) were mapped but not investigated further. Identification and mapping the extent of SFTs of was shown to be practical by estimating SFT mesohabitat extent onto large scale plans of the stream channel supported by differential Global Positioning Satellite technology. Mesohabitats were drawn as they existed, giving a large degree of variability in relation to channel shape and improving over several current rapid habitat mapping methods. The physical distinctiveness of five SFT mesohabitats was examined using data collected from 596 mesohabitats over a wide range of discharges. Mean column velocity and substrate grain size (dominant and sub-dominant) increased from NP, through SM and RP to UW. Velocity, substrate size and embeddedness of fine particles were significantly different (ANOVA and Pair-wise) between the five SFTs investigated. Substrate size was positively associated with increasing velocity, depth and embeddedness were negatively associated with velocity. PCA showed that substrate opposes embeddedness and velocity opposes depth. The degree of distinctiveness was diminished by data ranges which encompassed several SFTs. Macroinvertebrates were collected in 375 samples from 139 SFTs, using one-minute kick samples and identified to Biological Monitoring Working Party family level. ANOVA and Pair-wise analysis of Lotic-invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation Velocity Group shows significant differences between 80% of SFT combinations with UP least distinct. Mean relative abundance and taxonomic richness increased from NP, through SM and RP to UW and were positively related to velocity. ANOVA showed significant differences between relative abundance and richness in SFTs, whilst Pair-wise analysis shows that adjacent SFTs, in relation to velocity, were less different than those further away. Thus NP is similar to SM and different to UW. Diversity and Equitability between SFTs were less distinct. Thirteen macroinvertebrate family groups were significantly associated (X2 Test) with particular Surface Flow Types, e.g. Ancylidae with UW; Chironomidae with NP. Biological distinctiveness was not established, although general trends were identified One mesohabitat – UP - is rare, being physically related to NP and SM in depth and substrate, and to SM and RP in velocity and embeddedness. It is biologically less distinct than the other four SFTs. The research shows that the extents of NP, SM, RP and UW mesohabitats in British lowland rivers are capable of being mapped. There are significant trends in their physical distinctiveness which are linked to increasing downstream velocity although is not strong. The macroinvertebrate relationship is weaker, with abundance and richness increasing with velocity.