Education
| Ph.D. |
University of Cambridge |
Geography |
| M.A. |
University of Cambridge |
Geography |
| B.A. |
University of Cambridge |
Geography |
Professional Interests
Nicholas Lancaster is the world's foremost expert on desert sand dunes. He has worked in deserts in Africa (Namib, Kalahari, northern and western Sahara), Antarctica, and the western United States (Mojave and Sonoran Deserts). His current collaborative research focuses on: (1) Dune sedimentary processes, including the dynamics of lee slope avalanching; (2) Application of remote sensing to assess aeolian transport potential and paleoenvironments in arid regions; (3) Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and optical dating of dune deposits; (4) Influence of vegetation and other roughness elements on wind transport of sand and dust; and (5) Impacts of climatic and sea level change on aeolian processes.
Dr Lancaster is also Executive Director of the Center for Arid Lands Environmental Management (CALEM).
His work has been recognized by the award of the Dandini Medal of Science from DRI in 1994, a Distinguished Career Award from the Geomorphology Speciality Group of the Association of American Geographers in 1997, and the Farouk El-Baz Award for 2001 from the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America, and the NSHE Regent's Researcher Award for 2007.
Current Funded Projects
Recent Publications
- Bristow, C.S., Duller, G.A.T., Lancaster, N., 2007:
- Age and dynamics of linear dunes in the Namib Desert, Geology, 35, 6, 555-558.
- Lancaster, N., 2007:
- Low latitude dune fields, in Elias, S.A. (editor), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, Elsevier, 626-642.
2006
- Lancaster, N., Gillies, J.A., Nickling, W.G., 2006:
- Recent progress in aeolian research, EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 87, 45, 496-497.
- Lancaster, N., 2006:
- XVI INQUA Congress, Reno, Nevada, USA, July 23–30, 2003, Official Compte Rendu, Quaternary International, 145–146, 145–154.
- Lancaster, N., 2006:
- Perspectives, Planetary Science, Linear Dunes on Titan, Science, 702-703.
- Beveridge, C., Kocurek, G., Ewing, R., Lancaster, N., Morthekal, P., Singhvi, A.K., Mahan, S.A., 2006:
- Development of spatially diverse and complex dune-field patterns: Gran Desierto Dune Field, Sonora, Mexico, Sedimentology, 53, 6,1391-1409.
Selected Publications
- Bristow, C.S., Lancaster, N., Duller, G.A.T., 2005:
- Combining ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys and optical dating to determine dune migration in Namibia, Journal of the Geological Society, London, 162, (2) 315-322.
- Lancaster, N., 2005:
- Aeolian erosion, transport and deposition, in Selley, R.C., Robin, L., Cocks, M., and Plimer, I.R, (eds.), Encyclopedia of Geology, Elsevier, Oxford, Vol. 4, p. 612-627.
- Bristow, C.S. and Lancaster, N., 2004:
- Movement of a small slipfaceless dome dune in Namibia. Geomorphology, 59,1-4, 189-196.
- Loope, D.B., Steiner, M.B., Rowe, C.M., Lancaster, N., 2004:
- Tropical westerlies over Pangean sand seas, Sedimentology, 51, 315-322.
- Lancaster, N., 2004:
- Relations between aerodynamic and surface roughness in a hyperarid cold desert: McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 29, 853-867.
- Lancaster, N., 2003:
- Eolian Dunes, In, Middleton G, (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks, Kluwer.
- Busacca, A.J., Begét, J.E., Muhs, D.R, Lancaster, N., Sweeney, M.R., 2003:
- Eolian Sediments, In: Gillespie, A.R., Porter, S.C., Atwater, B.F., (eds.), The Quaternary Period in the United States, Elsevier, 275-309.
- Lancaster, N., Kocurek, G., Singhvi, A.K., Pandey, V., Deynoux, M., Ghienne, J-P.,
- Lo, K., 2002, Late Pleistocene and Holocene dune activity and wind regimes in the western Sahara of Mauritania, Geology, 30 (11), 991-994.
- Kocurek, G. and N. Lancaster, 1999:
- Aeolian system sediment state: Theory and Mojave Desert Kelso Dunefield example. Sedimentology, 46, 505-516.
- Ramsey, M.S., P.R. Christensen, N. Lancaster, and D.A. Howard, 1999:
- Identification of sand sources and transport pathways at the Keso Dunes, California using thermal infrared remote sensing. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 111, 646-662.
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