Dr Colman Gallagher BA, PhD.
Contact Details
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Biography:
| My research focuses on planetary, glacial and periglacial geomorphology, the palaeohydrology of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and the alluvial geomorphology of the Holocene. My planetary research is based on High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) investigations of marine, lacustrine and periglacial landforms in the equatorial regions and Northern Plains of Mars. My palaeohydrological research is aimed at understanding deglacial events that occurred in Ireland¿s major glacial meltwater systems at the end of the Pleistocene, in particular trying to quantify and characterise the pathways and rates of glaciofluvial sediment transport in the Rivers Barrow, Slaney, Suir, Nore and Boyne. I am also interested in the response of Ireland's rivers to anthropogenic and climatic changes during Holocene and the last 500 years in particular. |
Research Interests
| My planetary research is based on High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) investigations of marine, lacustrine and periglacial landforms in the equatorial regions and Northern Plains of Mars. This research is collaborative with colleagues in the Planetary Sciences Institute, Tucson Arizona, the Centre for Earth, Planetary Science and Astronomy Research (CEPSAR) Open University UK, the Department of Earth Sciences University College London (UCL) and the Mullard Space Sciences Laboratory UCL, UK. The broad aim of the research is to make palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from geomorphology, mainly using 0.25m resolution stereo imagery, with a particular emphasis on evidence for recent periglacial and cold marine and lake environments. My palaeohydrological research is aimed at understanding deglacial events that occurred in Ireland’s major glacial meltwater systems at the end of the Pleistocene, in particular trying to quantify and characterise the pathways and rates of glaciofluvial sediment transport in the Rivers Barrow, Slaney, Suir, Nore and Boyne. This research involves both terrestrial and marine investigations, owing to the extension of these systems onto the continental shelf during glaciation. The research provides a good benchmark against which to measure the palaeohydrological evolution of Irish rivers during and after the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The offshore component of this research is aimed at characterising the morphology and palaeohydrology of submerged glaciofluvial conduits and ice marginal landforms off the coast of southeastern Ireland. This element provides a broader context than usual for what constitutes a terrestrial landscape – i.e. coastlines are temporary features. I am also interested in the response of Ireland’s rivers to anthropogenic and climatic changes during Holocene and the last 500 years in particular. So far, I have dated the regional onset of new styles of river behaviour and floodplain sedimentation associated with recent climate changes. In addition, I have been involved in dating alluvial sedimentary sequences of layers to ascertain sedimentation frequencies. Recently, this programme has evolved to include research into reconstructing the fluvial environment of the Boyne Valley, with a particular emphasis on the environments within which the Mesolithic and Neolithic settlement of the valley took place. |
Book Chapters
| Bargery, A., Balme, M.R., Warner, N., Gallagher, C., Gupta, S.; (2011) 'A Background to Mars Exploration and Research' In: Balme, M.R., Bargery, A., Gallagher, C., Gupta, S (eds). Martian Geomorphology. London: The Geological Society of London. [Details] |
| Balme, M.R., Bargery, A., Gallagher, C., Gupta, S.; (2011) 'Martian Geomorphology: Introduction' In: Balme, M.R., Bargery, A., Gallagher, C., Gupta, S (eds). Martian Geomorphology. London: The Geological Society of London. [Details] |
| Balme M.R., Gallagher C., Supta S. and Murray J; (2011) 'Fill and spill in Lethe Vallis: a recent flood-routing system in Elysium Planitia, Mars' In: Martian Geomortphology. London: The Geological Society of London. [Details] |
| Balme, M.R., C.J. Gallagher, D. P. Page, J.B. Murray, J-P. Muller, and J-R. Kim; (2010) 'The Western Elysium Planitia Paleolake' In: Cabrol, N. and R. Grin (eds). Lakes on Mars. Amsterdam: Elsevier. [Details] |
| Gallagher C. and Balme M.R.; (2011) 'Landforms indicative of recent northern high latitude thaw on Mars' In: Balme M., Gallagher C., Gupta S. and Bargery A (eds). Martian Geomorphology. London: The Geological Society of London. [Details] |
| Gallagher C.; (2003) 'Ailwee Cave, Benbulben, Bogs, Clara Bog, Dunmore Cave, Energy Sources, Fastnet Rock, Glencar, Glencree, Glendalough Geology, Killary Harbour, Malin Head, Mineral Resources, Mizen Head, Natural Gas, Peatland Conservation, Sally Gap, The Bog of Allen, The Burren, The Cliffs of Moher, The Gap of Dunloe, The Giant’s Causeway, The Glaciation of Ireland, The Glen of Imaal, The Glen of the Downs, The Lakes of Killarney' In: Lalor B (eds). The Encyclopaedia of Ireland. Dublin: Gill and MacMillan. [Details] | |||||||||
| Thorp M., Gallagher C. and Glanville P. ; (1997) 'Global change and river behaviour' In: Sweeney, J (eds). Global Change and the Irish Environment. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. [Details] | |||||||||
| Glanville P, Thorp M. and Gallagher C; (1997) 'Bio-climatic change and the response of rivers in Irish upland regions during the Late Quaternary with particular attention to the Upper River Liffey catchment, Co. Wicklow' In: Sweeney, J (eds). Global Change and the Irish Environment. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. [Details] | |||||||||
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Edited Books
| Balme M., Gallagher C., Gupta S., Bargery A (Ed.). (2011) Martian Geomorphology. London: The Geological Society of London. [Details] |
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Matthew Balme, Colman Gallagher, William Hartmann and David Rothery; (2011) 'Morphologies associated with small impact crater clusters in the Western Elysium Planitia region of Mars'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 13, EGU2011-6489, 2011 . [Details] |
| Colman Gallagher and Matt Balme; (2011) 'Effluent crater breaches and channels on Mars: processes, morphological relationships and implications for understanding hydrology'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 13, EGU2011-11812-1, 2011 . [Details] |
C. Gallagher, M.R. Balme, S.J. Conway, P.M. Grindrod; (2011) 'Sorted clastic stripes, lobes and associated gullies in high-latitude craters on Mars; landforms indicative of very recent, polycyclic ground-ice thaw and liquid flows'. Icarus, .  [DOI] [Details] |
| Colman Gallagher and Matt Balme; (2010) 'Landform assemblages indicative of thaw at high northern latitudes on Mars'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, . [Details] |
| Gez Foster, Jonathan Turner, Colman Gallagher, and Helen Lewis; (2010) 'Digital elevation model based geomorphological mapping in the lower River Boyne valley, Ireland'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, . [Details] |
| J.N. Turner, S. Davis, C. Langdon, R. Scaife, N. Holmes, M. Leng, G. Mulrooney, T. Cummins, H. Lewis, C. Gallagher ; (2010) 'A multiproxy (pollen, stable isotope, chironomid and µXRF) record for the Late Glacial to Holocene transition from Thomastown Bog, Ireland'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Balme, MR,Gallagher, C; (2009) 'An equatorial periglacial landscape on Mars'. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 285 :1-15. [DOI] [Details] | |||||||||
| Balme, MR,Gallagher, CJ,Page, DP,Murray, JB,Muller, JP; (2009) 'Sorted stone circles in Elysium Planitia, Mars: Implications for recent martian climate'. Icarus, 200 :30-38. [DOI] [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher, C and Thorp, MB; (1997) ''The Age of Pleisocene raised Beach near Fethard, Co. Wexford, using Infra Red Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL)''. Irish Geography, 30 (2):68-89. [Details] | |||||||||
| Thorp, M and Gallagher, C; (1997) 'Heavy minerals, rivers and ice sheets'. The Irish Scientist, 5 . [Details] | |||||||||
| M.R Balme, C. Gallagher, J.B Murray, and J-P. Muller; (2009) 'A recent, equatorial, periglacial environment on Mars'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Balme, M., Gallagher, C., Murray, J., Page, D., Muller, J-P. and Kim, J-R.; (2008) 'HiRISE and HRSC studies of the Western Elysium Planitia region, Mars'. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 10 . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C., Sutton G. and Bell T; (2004) 'Submerged ice marginal forms in the Celtic Sea off Waterford Harbour, Ireland: implications for understanding regional glaciation and sea level changes following the last glacial maximum in Ireland'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C.; (2002) 'The morphology and palaeohydrology of a submerged glaciofluvial channel emerging from Waterford Harbour onto the nearshore continental shelf of the Celtic Sea'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Thorp M. and Gallagher C; (1999) 'Dating recent alluvial sediments in the Wicklow Mountains'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C.; (1998) 'A reconstruction of Pleistocene ice sheet limits in Slieve Bloom using heavy minerals'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C. and Thorp M; (1997) 'The age of the Pleistocene raised beach near Fethard, County Wexford, using Infra Red Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL)'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Meehan R., Warren W. and Gallagher C. ; (1997) 'The sedimentology of a Late Pleistocene drumlin near Kingscourt, Ireland'. Sedimentary Geology, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C.; (1997) 'Alluvial heavy minerals as indicators of Late Pleistocene ice flow in the Irish midlands'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C., Thorp M. and Steenson P; (1996) 'Glacier dynamics around Slieve Bloom, Central Ireland'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gallagher C. and Thorp M; (1995) 'The fluvial concentration of heavy minerals in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, central Ireland'. Irish Geography, . [Details] | |||||||||
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Conference Publications
| Colman Gallagher and Matt Balme; (2010) Landform assemblages indicative of northern high latitude thaw on Mars 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2010) [Details] |
| M.R. Balme, J.B. Murray, C. Gallagher, J-P. Muller, J-R. Kim; (2009) A recent equatorial periglacial environment on Mars 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference [Details] |
Published Reports
| Davis, S., Megarry, W., Brady, C., Barton, K., Lewis, H., Mulrooney, G., Cummins, T., Guinan, L., Turner, J., Gallagher, C. and Meehan, R. With a contribution by Jordan, J; (2010) Boyne Valley Landscapes Project. Phase III Final Report. Heritage Council, Dublin. [Details] |
| Lewis, H., Gallagher, C., Davis, S., Turner, J., Foster, G., Courtney, L., Goucher, K., Scaife, R., Langdon, C., Holmes, N., Mulrooney, G., Allen, M.J., Brady, C., Guinan, L., Brown, A., Cummins, T. and Meehan, R. With Contributions by K. Barton, D. Lennon and Beta Analytic Inc. ; (2009) An integrated, comprehensive GIS model of landscape evolution and land use history in the River Boyne valley. Phase II Report 2009. The Heritage Council, Online. [Details] |
Reports
| Lewis, H., Davis, S., Gallagher, C., Turner, J., Guinan, L., Brady, C., Brown, A., Meehan, R. and Cummins, T.; (2009) An integrated, comprehensive GIS model of landscape evolution and land use history in the River Boyne valley: phase II: interim report 2009. Reports [Details] |
| Lewis, H., Gallagher, C., van Breda, W., Mulrooney, G., Davis, S., Meehan, R., Turner, J., Brown, A., Guinan, L. and Brady, C., with a contribution by Beta Analytic Inc.; (2008) An integrated comprehensive GIS model of landscape and land-use history in the Boyne river valley and its catchment. Final report to the Heritage Council. Reports [Details] |
| Lewis, H., van Breda, W., Mulrooney, G., Davis, S., Gallagher, C., Turner, J. and Brown, A.; (2008) An integrated comprehensive GIS model of landscape and land-use history in the River Boyne Valley and its catchment. Second interim report to the Heritage Council. Reports [Details] |
Teaching Interests
| My teaching focuses on Quaternary Period glaciation and geomorphology, planetary geomorphology and terrestrial analogues, methods in physical geography, fieldwork in physical geography and quantitative methods. |