Prof G Ian Alsop

Honorary Professor

Researcher profile

Email

gia@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

Biography

In 2025, I was appointed as an Honorary Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of St Andrews, after earlier being employed as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader (1996-2008).

In 2024, I was appointed as an Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Aberdeen, after previously being a Reader and Professor in the School of Geosciences (2009-2024),

In 2021, I was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Structural Geology, after previously being an advisory board member and editor for the journal. 

Teaching

I am committed to furthering the importance of fieldwork in Earth Science education and have encouraged and trained generations of undergraduate and post-graduate students in the field. At St. Andrews, I am involved in assisting with a range of student fieldtrips from 1^st year (ES1002) through to 3^rd year (ES3006) and beyond (ES4801). I have in the past established and led disability-friendly student field courses across a variety of localities in Scotland and am also passionate about the preservation of important geological sites.

Research areas

My research is underpinned by detailed field-based studies that aim to understand the processes behind folding and fracturing of rocks and sediments at a range of depths, including seismic-triggered deformation of unlithified sediments, salt tectonics in sedimentary basins, and deformation in mid crustal shear zones. This has been achieved across a huge breadth of scales that includes regional (1:100,000) maps as well as detailed cm-scale observation and data collection. I have been employed on contracts to map a number of BGS sheets, as well as contributing to maps for the Irish Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Greenland. My studies have incorporated substantial periods of fieldwork in the UK and Ireland, Europe, Asia, Middle East, North America, Central America, South America, Africa and the Arctic. 

Selected publications

• An Excursion Guide to the Moine Geology of the Scottish Highlands.

  Strachan, R. A., Friend, C., Alsop, G. I. & Miller, S., 2010, National Museums of Scotland.

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• Kinematic and thermal constraints on the reactivation of the Outer Hebrides Fault Zone, NW Scotland

  Szulc, A. G., Alsop, G. I. & Oliver, G. J. H., Sept 2008, In: Geological Magazine. 145, 5, p. 623-636 14 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• The brittle evolution of a major strike-slip fault associated with granite emplacement: A case study of the Leannan Fault, NW Ireland

  Kirkland, C. L., Alsop, G. I. & Prave, T., Jan 2008, In: Journal of the Geological Society. 165, 1, p. 341-352 12 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Eye to eye with a mega-sheath fold: A case study from Wadi Mayh, northern Oman Mountains

  Searle, M. P. & Alsop, G. I., Nov 2007, In: Geology. 35, 11, p. 1043-1046 4 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Flow perturbation folding in shear zones

  Alsop, G. I. & Holdsworth, R. E., 2007, Deformation of the continental crust: the legacy of Mike Coward . Ries, A. C., Butler, R. W. H. & Graham, R. H. (eds.). Geological Society, p. 77-103 (Geological Society special publication ; no. 272).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Scale invariant sheath folds in salt, sediments and shear zones

  Alsop, G. I., Holdsworth, R. E. & McCaffrey, K. J. W., Oct 2007, In: Journal of Structural Geology. 29, 10, p. 1585-1604 20 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Tectonic stratigraphy and structural continuity of the northernmost Moine Thrust Zone and Moine Nappe, Scottish Caledonides

  Holdsworth, R. E., Alsop, G. I. & Strachan, R. A., 2007, Deformation of the continental crust: the legacy of Mike Coward. Ries, A. C., Butler, R. W. H. & Graham, R. H. (eds.). Geological Society, p. 123-144 (Geological Society special publication; no. 272).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• The structural evolution of sheath folds: A case study from Cap de Creus

  Alsop, G. I. & Carreras, J., Dec 2007, In: Journal of Structural Geology. 29, 12, p. 1915-1930 16 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of metamorphic fabrics in the Caledonides of north Ireland

  Condon, D., Hodges, K., Alsop, G. I. & White, A., Mar 2006, In: Journal of the Geological Society. 163, 2, p. 337-345 9 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Sheath folds as discriminators of bulk strain type

  Alsop, G. I. & Holdsworth, R. E., Sept 2006, In: Journal of Structural Geology. 28, 9, p. 1588-1606 19 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

 

See more publications