Biography

Reader in Physical Geography

Biography

• Associate Editor of the journal Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
• UK representative on the Council of the International Permafrost Association
• member of the NERC Arctic Research Programme Advisory Group (2010-2015)

BSc Geography & Geology (London 1988) PhD Geology (Ottawa 1993)

Julian is a Quaternary geologist specializing in sedimentology and stratigraphy of permafrost environments. His research focuses on permafrost as a driver and archive of environmental change, with the aims to elucidate:

1. Ground-ice and permafrost thaw processes,

2. Permafrost-glacier interactions, and

3. Reconstruction of cold Quaternary environments.

To achieve these aims, he performs physical modelling experiments to test hypotheses and develop new technologies on cryogenic processes in rock and soil. These are currently carried out in a dedicated Permafrost Laboratory at Sussex. This experimental work is complemented by geological research in contemporary permafrost regions (Canada, Alaska and Siberia) and in past permafrost regions (NW Europe) to examine the geological effects of glacier-permafrost interactions and to reconstruct cold Quaternary environments. A current focus is on yedoma sedimentology and stratigraphy during Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3.

• Research Skills in Physical Geography (year 2; lecturer)
• Ice Age Earth (year 2: lecturer)
• Polar Regions and Environmental Change (year 3; convenor) 
• Soil & Rock Description & Site Investigation (MSc; convenor)

Murton, Julian (2011) Sand intraclasts as evidence of subglacial deformation of Middle Pleistocene permafrost, north Norfolk, UK. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30 (23-24). pp. 3481-3500. ISSN 0277-3791

Murton, Julian B and Belshaw, Roger K (2011) A conceptual model of valley incision, planation and terrace formation during cold and arid permafrost conditions of Pleistocene southern England. Quaternary Research, 75 (2). pp. 385-394. ISSN 0033-5894

Murton, Julian (2011) Middle and Late Pleistocene glacial lakes of lowland Britain and the southern North Sea Basin. Quaternary International.

Murton, Julian (2011) Sand intraclast development and the deformation of glacially-overridden permafrost, West Runton. In: Glacitectonics¿Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association.

Murton, Julian B, Bateman, Mark D, Dallimore, Scott R, Teller, James T and Yang, Zhirong (2010) Identification of Younger Dryas outburst flood path from Lake Agassiz to the Arctic Ocean. Nature, 464. pp. 740-743. ISSN 0028-0836

Bateman, Mark D, Murton, Julian B and Boulter, Claire (2010) The source of De variability in periglacial sand wedges: Depositional processes versus measurement issues. Quaternary Geochronology, 5 (2-3). pp. 250-256. ISSN 1871-1014

Murton, Julian (2009) Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments of Richards Island and the eastern Beaufort Continental Shelf during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 20 (2). pp. 107-125. ISSN 1045-6740

Harris, Charles, Arenson, Lukas U, Christiansen, Hanne H and Murton, Julian B (2009) Permafrost and climate in Europe: Monitoring and modelling thermal, geomorphological and geotechnical responses. Earth-Science Reviews, 92 (3-4). pp. 117-171. ISSN 00128252

Waller, Richard, Murton, Julian and Whiteman, Colin (2009) Geological evidence for subglacial deformation of Pleistocene permafrost. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 120 (2-3). pp. 155-162. ISSN 00167878

Murton, Julian (2009) Global warming and thermokarst. In: Permafrost Soils. Springer-Verlag,, 185¿203.

Murton, Della K, Pawley, Steven M and Murton, Julian B (2009) Sedimentology and luminescence ages of glacial Lake Humber deposits in the central Vale of York. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 120 (4). pp. 209-222. ISSN 0016-7878

Harris, Charles, Kern-Luetschg, Martina, Murton, Julian, Font, Marianne, Davies, Michael and Smith, Fraser (2008) Solifluction processes on permafrost and non-permafrost slopes: results of a large-scale laboratory simulation. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 19. pp. 359-378. ISSN 1045-6740

Matsuoka, Norikazu and Murton, Julian (2008) Frost weathering: recent advances and future directions. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 19 (2). pp. 195-210. ISSN 1045-6740

Murton, Julian (2008) Full-scale physical modeling of solifluction processes associated with one-sided and two-sided active layer freezing. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Permafrost Conference, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Waller, R, Murton, J and Whiteman, C (2008) Submarginal glaciotectonic deformation of Pleistocene permafrost. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Permafrost Conference, Fairbanks, Alaska 2008. Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. ISBN 9780980017939

Murton, Julian B, Peterson, Rorik and Ozouf, Jean-Claude (2006) Bedrock fracture by ice segregation in cold regions. Science, 314 (5802). pp. 1127-1129. ISSN 0036-8075