Richard Chalkley

About me:

I am a PhD student with Karen Hudson-Edwards. I began with a military career in the Royal Marine Commandos, then did some time in the US Army where I underwent strenous training in Alaska. I then decided to pursue a career in research, trying to identify solutions to pressing environmental problems. The focus of my PhD is to identify the extent of Acid Rock Drainage/ Acid Mine Drainage globally, and to see how this impacts the biogeochemical cycle, and to the greater extent our biosphere.

The primary objective of this research is to determine the global scale of AMD/ARD within a geospatial model and to observe the impacts on the biogeochemical cycle. The overall objectives are to create a geospatial model using ArcGIS in collaboration with Catapult Satellite Applications Company, to input ARD/AMD total flux into a 7-box reservoir biogeochemical model, and to then use a spatial overlapping coincidence tool on the geospatial model of ARD/AMD with ecologically sensitive areas using various species as biological indicators.

Qualifications:

Sep 2013 – 2016 ~ University of East Anglia & University of York: Environmental Science

• BSc Upper Second Class (Hons.)
• Entry scholarship for this by the University of East Anglia Alumni for previous academic achievement.
• BSc Final Year Dissertation (First – class mark): An investigation into the role of public aquariums in freshwater and marine conservation in terms of genetic preservation in the face of climate change

Sep 2016 – 2017 ~ University of Manchester: MSc in Pollution and Environmental Control

• Distinction & highest mark of cohort
• Msc Final Year Thesis (Distinction & highest mark of the cohort): First-time coastal field assessment to observe the effects of redirected acid mine drainage from Parys Mountain copper mine, evaluating the degree of coastal contamination utilizing macroalgae as biomonitors

Career:

Postgraduate Teaching Assistant with the University of Exeter

Publications & Professional Memberships:

• Chalkley, R., Child, F., Pittman, J. and White, KN. Long-term changes in coastal metal pollution arising from hazard management and remediation of a disused copper mine. Manuscript in preparation
• Associate member of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (AMIEnvSc)