Research Interests

My research focuses on the use of applied geophysics to contribute to our understanding of the response of the world’s ice masses to past, present, and future climatic change, as well as to address related scientific problems of anthropogenic impact.

 Cryospheric research interests include: 

• The physical mechanisms that control ice fracturing and rifting;
• The basal properties and processes that control fast and unstable flow of ice;
• The physical properties of ice that control present and past ice deformation and flow;
• Selected problems related to the glacial palaeo-record, periglacial processes, snow hydrology, contaminant dynamics in frozen ground, and geotechnical engineering and geo-hazards in glacial tills;
• Technical developments to maximise the usefulness of geophysical methods in the cryospheric sciences, focusing particularly on multi-component seismic reflection and seismic anisotropy, electrokinetic (seismoelectric and electrical self-potential), 4-D complex electrical resistivity, and slug test methods.  

I am also very interested in: 

• The application of geophysical techniques to contaminated land problems, particularly biogeophysical research focusing the development of electrical self-potential, seismoelectric, and high-resolution seismic methods for monitoring of natural and intrinsic attenuation in frozen and unfrozen soils;
• The application of geophysical techniques to hydrogeological problems, particularly hydrogeophysical research focusing on the integration of electrical self-potential, seismoelectric, and high-resolution seismic methods with state-of-the-science hydrogeological techniques and groundwater flow models;
• The application of state-of-the-science geophysical techniques to archaeological problems.  

My research combines fieldwork, laboratory work, and forward and inverse modelling. Novel developments are sought to integrate geophysical information with other scientific approaches, e.g. through joint inversion or Bayesian modelling, fostered by extensive collaboration with other UK and international institutions.

Academic Posts

• Reader in Geophysics, College of Science, Swansea University, UK (2011 - present)
• Harrison McCain Foundation Visiting Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada (2011)
• Senior Lecturer, School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University, UK (2005 - 2011)
• Lecturer, Environmental Engineering Research Centre, School of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland (2002 - 2005)
• Assistant Professor, Geoscience Department, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA (2000 - 2002)
• Postdoctoral Scientist in Hydrogeophysics, ICG-IV, Research Centre Jülich, Germany (1999 - 2000)

Selected Professional Service

• Member, Steering Committee of the Geophysical Equipment Facility, Natural Environment Research Council (2012-14)
• Member, Peer Review College, Natural Environment Research Council (2007 – 2011)
• Member, BGS University Funding Initiative (BUFI) Committee, British Geological Survey (2008 – 2011)
• Panel Member, Antarctic Funding Initiative Rounds 9 and 10, Natural Environment Research Council, UK (2008, 2009)
• Member, Peer-Review Panel, 7^th RFP, European Union (Activity 6.1 – Climate Change, Pollution & Risks; 2008)
• Scientific Editor, Journal of Glaciology (2007 – present)
• Associate Editor, Near Surface Geophysics (2006 – 2010)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics (2003 – present)
• Guest Editor, Special Issue The Geophysics of Glacial and Frozen Materials, Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics 12(1), 2007.
• Member, Editorial Board of the Annals of Glaciology, 51(55), 2010, International Symposium on Glaciology in the International Polar Year, International Glaciological Society, July 2009.
• Chairman / Treasurer / Committee Member, Near-Surface Geophysics Group (formerly Environmental and Industrial Geophysics Group), Geological Society, UK (2006 – 2010 / 2003 - 2006 / 2002 – 2003 and 2010 – present)
• External Examiner, M.Sc. Exploration Geophysics, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds (2006 – 2010)
• Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (November 2003 – present)
• Chairman of Organising Committee, British Geophysical Association - New Advances in Geophysics Meeting, The Geophysics of the Cryosphere and Glacial Products: Properties, Processes and Technical Advances, Royal Astronomical Society / The Geological Society, at Burlington House, London, 9-10 February 2012.
• Chairman of Organising Committee, British Branch Annual Meeting of the International Glaciological Society, 14-16 September 2003, School of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University of Belfast.
• Chairman of Organising Committee, Geophysics and Glacial Materials conference, Environmental and Industrial Geophysics Group, Geological Society, at Northumbria University, September 2005.

Selected Research Grants

Luckman, A. J. (PI), B. Kulessa (Co-PI) and D. Jansen (Researcher Co-Investigator). 2011-12. Quantifying the role of marine ice in Larsen C ice shelf dynamics. Natural Environment Research Council, Small Grant (£60,614).

Kulessa, B. (PI), A. Hubbard (Co-PI), and T. Murray (Co-PI). 2010-2011. Seismic characterisation of subglacial conditions beneath the margin of the West Greenland Ice Sheet. Natural Environment Research Council, Small Grant (£52,129).

Hubbard, A. (PI), B. Kulessa (Co-PI), and P. Christoffersen (Co-PI). 2009-12. Investigating the Dynamic Response of the Greenland Ice Sheet to Climate Forcing using a Geophysical, Remote-Sensing and Numerical Modelling Framework. Natural Environment Research Council, Standard Grant (£144,156).

Kulessa, B. (PI), E. C. King (Co-PI), A. Luckman (Co-PI), and P. R. Sammonds (Co-PI). 2008–2011. Present and future stability of Larsen C ice shelf (SOLIS). Natural Environment Research Council, Antarctic Funding Initiative (£483,608).

West, J. L. (PI), K. Morris (Co-PI), B. Kulessa (Co-PI), and S. Shaw (Co-PI). 2008-2010. Electrical monitoring of biostimulation to remediate subsurface contamination. The Leverhulme Trust, Research Project Grant (£89,308).

Kulessa, B. 2007–2008. Characterising the dynamics of the basal mechanical processes controlling the flow instability of Grubengletscher, Swiss Alps, based on seismic reflection monitoring. The Royal Society, Research Grants Scheme (£13,700).

Kulessa, B., T. Elliot, and R. Kalin. 2003-2007. Monitoring microbial degradation of Light Non- Aqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs) using combined time-lapse geophysical imaging and in-situ biogeochemical sampling. Questor Centre (£117,165).

Chiarulli, B. and B. Kulessa (50/50 share). 2001-2002. Appraisal of the usefulness of integrated geophysical methods to detect and define buried structures associated with Iron Furnace plantations in Pennsylvania. U.S. National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) ($39,991).

Selected Publications (please email me if you are interested in any of these)

Glaciology-Related

Doyle, S. H., A. L. Hubbard, C. F. Dow, G. A. Jones, A. Fitzpatrick, A. Gusmeroli, B. Kulessa, K Lindbäck, R. Pettersson and J. Box. 2012. Ice tectonics during the rapid tapping of a supraglacial lake on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 3863-3889, doi:10.5194/tcd-6-3863-2012.

Jones, G. A., B. Kulessa, S. H. Doyle, C. F. Dow and A. L. Hubbard. An automated approach to the location of icequakes using seismic waveform amplitudes. Annals of Glaciology, in press (May 2012).

Kulessa, B., D. C. Chandler, A. Revil, and R. Essery. Theory and numerical modelling of electrical self-potential (SP) signatures of unsaturated flow in melting snow. Water Resources Research, 48, W09511, doi:10.1029/2012WR012048.

Booth, A. D., R. A. Clark, B. Kulessa, T. Murray, J. Carter, S. Doyle and A. Hubbard. 2012. Thin-layer effects in glaciological seismic amplitude-versus-angle (AVA) analysis: implications for characterising a subglacial till unit, Russell Glacier, West Greenland. The Cryosphere, 6, 909-922, doi:10.5194/tc-6-909-2012.

Thompson, S. S., B. Kulessa, and A. Luckman. 2012. Integrated electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and self-potential (SP) techniques for assessing the structural integrity of glacier moraine dams. Journal of Glaciology, 58(211), 849-858, doi: 10.3189/2012JoG11J235.

Luckman, A., D. Jansen, B. Kulessa, E. C. King, P. Sammonds and D. I. Benn. 2012. Basal crevasses in Larsen C Ice Shelf and implications for their global abundance. The Cryosphere, 6, 113-123, doi:10.5194/tc-6-113-2012.

Hiemstra, J. F., B. Kulessa, E. C. King, and D. Ntarlagiannis. 2011. The use of integrated sedimentological and geophysical methods in drumlin research – a case study of Pigeon Point, Clew Bay, Northwest Ireland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 36(14), 1860-1871, doi: 10.1002/esp.2207.

King, M. A., L. Padman, K. Nicholls, P. Clarke, H. Gudmundsson, B. Kulessa, A. Shepherd, and N. Gourmelen. 2011. Ocean tides in the Weddell Sea: new observations on the Filchner-Ronne and Larsen C ice shelves and model validation. Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 116, C06006, doi:10.1029/2011JC007463.

Jansen, D., B. Kulessa, P. R. Sammonds, A. Luckman, E. C. King, and N. F. Glasser. Present stability of the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Glaciology, 56(198), 593-600, doi:10.3189/002214310793146223.

Gusmeroli, A., R. A. Clark, T. Murray, A. D. Booth, B. Kulessa and B. E. Barrett. 2010. Seismic wave attenuation in the uppermost glacier-ice of Storglaciären, Sweden. Journal of Glaciology, 56(196), 249-256, doi:10.3189/002214310791968485.

Glasser, N., B. Kulessa, A. Luckman, E. C. King, P. R. Sammonds, T. Scambos, and K. Jeczek. 2009. The structural glaciology and inferred ice mechanical properties of the Larsen C ice shelf. Journal of Glaciology, 55(191), 400-410, doi:10.3189/002214309788816597.

Kulessa, B., A. D. Booth, A. Hobbs, and A. L. Hubbard. 2008.  Automated monitoring of subglacial hydrological processes with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) at high temporal resolution: scope and potential pitfalls. Geophysical Research Letters, 35(L24502), doi:10.1029/2008GL035855.

Kulessa, B., G. Clarke, D. A. B. Hughes, and S. L. Barbour. 2007. Anatomy and facies association of a drumlin in Co. Down, Northern Ireland, from seismic and electrical resistivity surveys. In: M. J. Hambrey et al. (eds), Glacial sedimentary properties and processes, Special Publication of the International Association of Sedimentologists, 39, 165-176.

Kulessa, B. 2007. A Critical Review of the Low-Frequency Electrical Properties of Ice Sheets and Glaciers. In: B. Kulessa and J. Woodward (eds), Geophysics and Glacial Materials, Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 12(1), 23-36.

Kulessa, B. and J. Woodward. 2007. Introduction to this special issue of JEEG: The geophysics of glacial and frozen materials. In: B. Kulessa and J. Woodward (eds), Geophysics and Glacial Materials, Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 12(1), 23-36.

Kulessa, B., B. Hubbard, and G. Brown. 2006. Time-lapse imaging of subglacial drainage conditions using 3-D inversion of subglacial electrical resistivity data. Journal of Glaciology, 42(176), 49-57.

Kulessa, B., T. Murray, and D. Rippin. 2006. Active seismoelectric exploration of glaciers. Geophysical Research Letters, 33(L07503), doi:10.1029/2006GL025758.

Kulessa, B., B. Hubbard, M. Williamson, and G. Brown. 2005. Hydrogeological analysis of slug tests in glacier boreholes. Journal of Glaciology, 51(173), 269-280.

Kulessa, B., B. Hubbard, and G. Brown. 2003. Cross-coupled flow modelling of coincident streaming and electrochemical potentials, and application to subglacial self-potential (SP) data. Journal of Geophysical Research – Solid Earth, 108(B8, 2381), doi: 10.1029/2001JB001167.

Kulessa, B. and T. Murray. 2003. Slug-test derived differences in bed hydraulic properties between a surge-type and a non-surge type Svalbard glacier. Annals of Glaciology, 36, 103-109.

Kulessa, B., B. Hubbard, G. Brown, and J. Becker. 2003. Earth tide forcing of glacier drainage. Geophysical Research Letters, 30(1), doi: 10.1029/2002GL015303.

Hubbard, B., A. Binley, L. Slater, R. Middleton, and B. Kulessa. 1998. Inter-borehole electrical resistivity imaging of englacial drainage. Journal of Glaciology, 44(147), 429-434.

Nixdorf, U., B. Kulessa, A. Lambrecht, M. Nolting, B. Riedel, G. Stoof, D. Vogel, J. Wehrbach. 1998. Geophysikalische Messungen im Aufsetzgebiet des Ekström-Schelfeises. Berichte zur Polarforschung, 267, Bremerhaven, Germany.

Kulessa, B. and B. Hubbard. 1997. Interpretation of borehole impulse tests at Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Annals of Glaciology, 24, 397-402.

Other Publications in Applied Geophysics

Hubbard, C. G., L. J. West, K. Morris, B. Kulessa, D. Brookshaw, J. R. Lloyd, and S. Shaw. In search of experimental proof for the biogeobattery. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 116, G04018, doi:10.1029/2011JG001713.

Davis, C. A., L. D. Slater, B. Kulessa, A. S. Ferguson, E. A. Atekwana, R. Doherty, and R. Kalin. 2010. Self-tential (SP) signatures associated with an injection experiment at an in-situ biological permeable reactive barrier (PRB). Near Surface Geophysics, 8(6), 541-551, doi:10.3997/1873-0604.2010034.

Mewes, A., B. Kulessa, J. D. McKinley, and A. M. Binley. 2010. Anisotropic seismic inversion using a Multigrid Monte Carlo approach. Geophysical Journal International, 183(1), 267-276, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04707.x.

Doherty, R., B. Kulessa, A. S. Ferguson, M. J. Larkin, L. A. Kulakov and R. M. Kalin. 2010. A microbial fuel cell in contaminated ground delineated by electrical self potential and normalised induced polarisation data. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 115(G00G08), doi:10.1029/2009JG001131.

Revil, A., C. A. Mendoça, E. A. Atekwana, B. Kulessa, S. S. Hubbard and K. Bohlen. 2010. Understanding biogeobatteries: where geophysics meets microbiology. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 115(G00G02), doi:10.1029/2009JG001065.

Sentenac, P., A. Montinaro and B. Kulessa. 2009. Diesel transport monitoring in simulated unconfined aquifers using miniature resistivity arrays. Environmental Earth Sciences, doi:10.1007/s12665-009-0325-9.

Ruffell, A. and B. Kulessa. 2009. Rapid Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Geophysical Assessment of Illegally Buried Toxic Waste. Environmental Forensics, 10, 197-206, doi:10.1080/15275920903130230.

Kulessa, B., B. Chiarulli, P. McCarthy, S. Haney, and K. Jones. 2006. Large-scale geophysical reconstruction of complex ground at a former industrial furnace site: scope and potential pitfalls. Geophysics, 71(3), 55-61.

French, H. K., A. Binley, I. Kharkhordin, B. Kulessa, and S. S. Krylov. 2006. Cold regions hydrogeophysics: physical characterisation and monitoring. In: H. Vereecken, A. Binley, G Cassiani, A. Revil, and K. Titov (eds): Applied Hydrogeophysics. Springer, 195-232.

Kulessa, B., B. Chiarulli, and S. Haney. 2004. Geophysics in support of industrial archaeology in a challenging environment: Shade furnace, Pennsylvania, USA. Archaeological Prospection, 11(4), 181-187.

Kulessa, B., A. Ruffell, and D. Glynn. 2004. Characterising ground hazards induced by historic salt mining using ground-penetrating radar. In: de Fonseca, A. V. and P. W. Mayne (eds) 2004: Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation. Millpress, Rotterdam, 497-504.

Kulessa, B., U. Jaekel, A. Kemna, and H. Vereecken. 2002. Magnetometric resistivity (MMR) imaging of subsurface solute flow: inversion framework and laboratory tests. Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 7(3), 111-118.

Kemna, A., J. Vanderborght, B. Kulessa, and H. Vereecken. 2002. Imaging and characterisation of subsurface solute transport using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and equivalent transport models. Journal of Hydrology, 267(3-4), 125-146. (18^th most downloaded paper in Journal of Hydrology in 2002).

Slater, L., B. Kulessa, and K. Barton. 1996. An investigation of the ability of geophysical methods to detect and define Fulachta Fia (Burnt Mounds) on Clare Island, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Archaeological Prospection, 3, 53-69.

Barton, K. and B. Kulessa. 1994. Geophysical images of a Fulacht Fia at Capnagower, Clare Island. In: Coxon, P. and M. O’Connell (eds) 1994: Clare Island and Inishboffin. Irish Association for Quaternary Studies, Dublin, 39-42.