Biography
Dr Richard Streeter joined the School in 2013. Prior to that he undertook his undergraduate (2007) and PhD degree (2011) at the University of Edinburgh.
Teaching
- GG4251 Volcanic Ash: Dispersal, Impact and Applications
- Contributor to GG1002
- Dissertation supervision
Research areas
Earth Observation, Environmental Monitoring and Landscape Change
A major focus of my research is the application of UAVs, remote sensing, and Earth Observation technologies to monitor environmental change across diverse terrestrial and coastal landscapes. Using high-resolution UAV imagery, multispectral sensors, and satellite observations, I develop approaches for mapping vegetation structure, habitat condition, geomorphological processes, and ecosystem change.
Research applications include monitoring erosion and land degradation in high-latitude rangelands, assessing peatland condition and restoration success, and mapping the distribution, structure, and change of coastal and intertidal habitats such as saltmarshes and seagrass meadows. Increasingly, this work incorporates machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques for automated habitat mapping, object detection, environmental monitoring, and the integration of field observations with Earth Observation datasets.
The overarching aim of this research is to improve understanding of how landscapes and ecosystems respond to natural and human pressures, and to develop scalable monitoring approaches capable of linking detailed field and UAV observations with regional and national Earth Observation programmes.
Volcanic Ash, Environmental Reconstruction and Human-Environment Interactions
My research on volcanic ash (tephra) initially focused on the use of tephrochronology to provide precise chronological control for studies of past environmental change. Since then, I have become interested in how tephra deposits are modified by interactions with geomorphological processes, vegetation, and lake systems during and after fallout. Understanding these processes can improve both volcanic hazard assessment and the interpretation of tephra preserved within environmental archives.
Alongside this, I am increasingly developing automated and semi-automated approaches for tephra identification and characterisation, including the application of image analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques. These methods have the potential to improve the speed, consistency, and reproducibility of tephra detection within complex sedimentary records.
A related strand of my research examines long-term interactions between people and their environments, particularly within North Atlantic landscapes. Much of this work has focused on reconstructing environmental change and soil erosion in Iceland and assessing the long-term sustainability of human settlement. By combining palaeoenvironmental records, geomorphological evidence, and geospatial analysis, I investigate how environmental and societal processes have interacted over centuries to millennia, shaping the resilience and vulnerability of landscapes to change.
PhD supervision
- Mugdha Chimote
- Innes Manders
- Cathilyn McIntosh
- Joe O'Sullivan
- Lucy Robinson
- Alasdair Worrell
- Yajie Zhu
Selected publications
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Open access
Cutler, N. A., Yu-Tuan Huang, D., Streeter, R. T. & Dugmore, A. J., 1 Oct 2026, In: Journal of Quaternary Science. 41, 7, p. 1114-1124 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Cutler, N. A., Streeter, R. T., Hutchison, W. & Dugmore, A. J., 1 Jun 2026, In: Quaternary Geochronology. 94, 14 p., 101745.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Smith, C., Hutchison, W., Buisman, I., Law, S., Lawson, I., Streeter, R. & Burke, A., 25 Sept 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Quaternary Science. Early view, 21 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Wang, L., Roucoux, K. H., Davies, A. L., Zhang, S., Sun, C., Streeter, R. T., Hutchison, W. & Lawson, I. T., 1 Feb 2025, In: Quaternary Geochronology. 86, 15 p., 101647.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Wood, E. F., Bolch, T. & Streeter, R. T., 27 Jan 2025, In: Frontiers in Earth Science. 12, 17 p., 1518390.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Kodl, G., Streeter, R. T., Cutler, N. & Bolch, T., 1 Feb 2024, In: Remote Sensing of Environment. 301, 17 p., 113935.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Streeter, R. T., Cutler, N., Lawson, I. T., Hutchison, W., Dominguez, L. & Hiles, W., 3 Oct 2024, In: Frontiers in Earth Science. 12, 20 p., 1433960.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Cutler, N. A., Kodl, G., Streeter, R. T., Thompson, P. I. J. & Dugmore, A. J., 3 Jul 2023, In: European Journal of Soil Science. 74, 4, 15 p., e13393.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Thompson, P. I. J., Dugmore, A. J., Newton, A. J., Cutler, N. A. & Streeter, R. T., 15 May 2023, In: Catena. 225, 13 p., 107025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Comeau, L. E. L., Streeter, R. T. & Madsen, C. K., Oct 2022, In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 45, 15 p., 103549.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review