Since locating to Townsville I have continued my research on the Holocene development of coral reefs, including investigations of the impacts of environmental change on modern coral reef systems, and the recovery and interpretation of records of environmental change preserved within coral skeletons and reef deposits. Key areas of research include: 1) understanding spatial and temporal patterns and controls of reef growth and carbonate production; 2) the reconstruction of records of environmental change from coral skeletons, reef framework and sedimentary deposits as a context for understanding contemporary changes; and 3) understanding the geomorphological development and morphodynamics of coral reef islands. Unsurprisingly a large proportion of my research is focused on the Great Barrier Reef, but my research includes reefs in the Pacific (e.g. Torres Strait, Kiribati, PNG) and Indian Oceans (Maldives, Chagos, Singapore), as well as in the Caribbean Sea (Bahamas, Bonaire, Belize).
In addition to reef research I am also actively involved in projects examining tropical coasts more generally, fluvial and catchment studies, and geochemical and sedimentological reconstructions of paleoenvironmental conditions
