Staff profile

Dr Jordan Phethean


Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences

Subject

Environmental Science

College

College of Science and Engineering

Department

School of Science

Research centre

Zero Carbon Nature Based Solutions Research Centre

ORCiD ID

0000-0001-5745-188X

Campus

Kedleston Road, Derby Campus

Email

j.phethean@derby.ac.uk

About

As an Earth Sciences Lecturer within the School of Science, I dedicate myself to excellence in teaching and research across a diverse range of Earth and Environmental Science topics.

I bring my world-leading research into the classroom to inspire the next generation, unravelling the enigmatic tectonic origins of Iceland (the world's lost 8th continent!) and teaching students to model ultra-deep aquifer systems to secure drinking water for future generations - just as I do for the €1,000,000 Horizon Europe RESCUE research project.

Research interests

My primary research areas include ultra-deep groundwater resources and plate tectonic theory. With a strong background in Earth sciences, geophysics, and numerical geodynamics, I am able to investigate Earth and environmental problems using a multi-disciplinary approach. Many of my current research projects are of interest to society, industry, and academia, including:

Whilst some of my research also addresses ongoing humanitarian crises:

Further research interests include:

My specific expertise includes: numerical groundwater simulations, plate tectonic modelling, gravity and potential field data, continental margin development, reflection seismics, GIS, geodynamic modelling, and structural geology.

Recent publications

Membership of professional bodies

Qualifications

Recent conferences

Phethean, J.J.J.,

Rapid ML and semi-automated methods for large-scale subsurface data interpretation and reservoir modelling: Applications for offshore freshened groundwater.

Experience in industry

My PhD research was Sponsored by ENI, one of the 7 global energy supermajor corporations. During this project I worked closely with ENI, frequently visiting their head offices in Milan (Italy) for knowledge exchange and data interpretation.

In the media

International experience

Alongside working with many international research partners from Italy, Norway, Canada, France, China, Malta, Germany, and the USA as part of the RESCUE and ICE projects, I also undertake frequent remote research fieldwork campaigns in Iceland, Greenland, and elsewhere around the globe.

Teaching responsibilities

I teach on a wide range of modules for our BSc Earth Sciences, BSc Environmental Sustainability, and MSc GeoEnergy degree programmes, including:

I also supervise student research projects at BSc, MSc and PhD level.

In my strive for teaching excellence, I enjoy actively engaging in pedagogic research, which is currently focused on 'digital learning tools in the field'.

Additional interests and activities

In addition to presenting my research at conferences, as a research leader in my field I also convene and chair conference sessions:

Furthermore, I serve as Topical Editor for the following journal special issues: