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Alan Dykes

Senior lecturer in civil engineering, School of Civil Engineering and Construction, Kingston University London

Alan Dykes Areas of expertise

Find out more about Alan Dykes

Overview

Alan's main research interests involve landslides, including all types of movements of surface and near-surface soils and rocks and the environmental and management issues arising from such phenomena. His particular specialist expertise is in the investigation and analysis of peatland instability and peat landslides, a particular and increasing problem of upland Britain and Ireland as a consequence of changing rainfall patterns and the politically driven need for new windfarms, the best locations for which are typically on peat-covered uplands. However, his  research expertise also includes investigation and analysis of hydrological processes and systems such as rainfall patterns, forest and soil hydrology, flood generation and tropical island groundwater, as well as broader engineering geology and geotechnics topics. Wider academic interests include all types of geological natural hazards (e.g. volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides/mudslides/rockfalls, etc.), including causes, mechanisms and consequences, and some issues of environmental engineering such as water resource planning and management, coastal erosion and solutions, and adverse impacts of geotechnical engineering (e.g. landslides resulting from tropical road construction, damage to limestone caves and groundwater systems and earthquakes triggered by reservoir construction). 

Qualifications

Year gained Subject
1990 - 1994 PhD in Geography, King's College, University of London.
1987 - 1990 BSc (Hons), Geography, University of Bristol.

Career Highlights

Year Position held
2009 - Senior lecturer in Civil Engineering, School of Civil Engineering and Construction, Kingston University.
2007 - 2008 Lecturer in Physical Geography, School of Geography, Geology and Environment, Kingston University.
2005 - 2006 Freelance consultant, researcher and university teacher and Visiting Research Fellow, Limestone Research Group, University of Huddersfield.
2001 - 2005 Senior lecturer in Geomorphology, Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences), University of Huddersfield.
1995 - 2001 Lecturer in Geomorphology, Department of Geographical and Environmental Sciences, University of Huddersfield.
1994 Research Assistant, King's College London.

Research

DYKES AP, Jennings P (2010) Peat slope failures and other mass movements in western Ireland, August 2008. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (in press).

DYKES AP, Selkirk-Bell JM (2010) Landslides in blanket peat on subantarctic islands: review, synthesis and global significance. Geomorphology, doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.09.002.

Alcántara-Ayala I, DYKES AP (2010) Land use change in the tropics: causes, consequences and monitoring in Mexico. Introduction to Special Issue. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 31, 143-151.

DYKES AP (2009) Geomorphological maps of Irish peat landslides created using hand-held GPS - Second Edition. Journal of Maps, v2009, 179-185. 

DYKES AP, Gunn J, Convery (née Kirk) KJ (2008) Landslides in blanket peat on Cuilcagh Mountain, Northern Ireland. Geomorphology, 102, 325-340.

DYKES AP, Warburton J (2008) Characteristics of the Shetland Islands (UK) peat slides of 19 September 2003. Landslides, 5, 213-226.

DYKES AP (2008) Natural and anthropogenic causes of peat instability and landslides. In Farrell C, Feehan, J (Eds.), After Wise Use - The Future of Peatlands. Proceedings of the 13th International Peat Congress (Volume 1). International Peat Society, Jyväskylä, 39-42.

DYKES AP (2008) Properties of peat relating to instability of blanket bogs. In Chen Z-Y, Zhang J, Li Z, Wu A, Ho K (Eds.), Landslides and Engineered Slopes (Vol. 1). Taylor and Francis, London, 339-345.

DYKES AP (2008) Tensile strength of peat and its role in Irish blanket bog failures. Landslides, 5, 417-429.

DYKES, A P and Warburton, J (2008) 'Failure of peat-covered hillslopes at Pollatomish, Co. Mayo, Ireland: analysis of topographic and geotechnical influences'. Catena, 72, 129-145.

DYKES, A P (2007) 'Mass movements in cave sediments: investigation of a ~40,000-year old guano mudflow inside the entrance of the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak, Borneo'. Landslides, 4, 279-290.

DYKES, A P and Warburton, J (2007) 'Mass movements in peat: a formal classification scheme'. Geomorphology, 86, 73-93.

DYKES, A P and Warburton, J (2007) 'Significance of geomorphological and subsurface drainage controls on failures of peat-covered hillslopes triggered by extreme rainfall'. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32, 1841-1862.

DYKES, A P and Welford, M R (2007) 'Landslides in the Tandayapa Valley, northern Andes, Ecuador: implications for landform development in humid and tectonically active mountain ranges'. Landslides, 4, 177-187.

DYKES, A P and Gunn, J (2006) 'The geomorphology and groundwater resource of a small tropical carbonate island: Hoga Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia'. Cave and Karst Science, 33, 21-28.

DYKES, A P and Kirk, K J (2006) 'Slope instability and mass movements in peat deposits', in Martini, I P, Martínez Cortizas, A and Chesworth, W (Eds.), Peatlands: Evolution and Records of Environmental and Climate Changes. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 377-406.

Yang, J and DYKES, A P (2006) 'The liquid limit of peat and its application to the understanding of Irish blanket bog failures'. Landslides, 3, 205-216.

Conference Highlights

Alsn is a seasoned conference attender and keynote presenter both in the UK and abroad.

Professional Body Membership

Chartered Geologist.

Fellow of the Geological Society.

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Member of the British Society for Geomorphology. 

Executive Committee of the British Society for Geomorphology (Ordinary Member, 2007-2010).

Editorial Advisory Board Member, The Open Geology Journal  (Bentham Scientific Publishers Ltd) from 2007 - 2010.

Editorial duties for the international journal Landslides.

Press Office contacts

For journalists only, the Press Office can be contacted on:


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Out of hours: 07771 977768
Email: press@kingston.ac.uk


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Kingston University

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