Professor John McCloskey

John is the leader and founder of the Geophysics Research Group.

He is from Derry and his main research interests involve the application of ideas of chaos and complexity to a variety of geophysical problems including earthquake dynamics, fluid flow in fractured porous rock, ice sheet processes and aeolian sediment transport.

Education

Experience

Community Service

Awards

Publications

Research Grants

Education

1980 B.Sc. (Hons) Geology with Physics, Queen's University Belfast

1982 PGCE Physics (Chemistry) Queen's University Belfast

1993 D.Phil. Geophysics University of Ulster

Thesis title: 'The Dimensionality of Crustal Structure'

Experience

2002-2006 Head of School, Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster

2001-present Professor of Geophysics, University of Ulster

1999-2001 Reader in Environmental Science, University of Ulster

1995-1999 Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, University of Ulster

1993-1995 Lecturer in Environmental Science, University of Ulster

Mar - Nov 1993 Research Officer Environmental Science, University of Ulster

1990-1993 Tutor with Open University

1983 -1993 Teacher of Physics, Dept. Education for NI

Community Service

Member of the NERC Geophysical Equipment Pool Steering Committee

Member of the National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics

Member of University of Ulster Research Foresight Group

Reviewer for NERC, Phys. Rev. Lett., J. Geophys. Res., Geophys. J. Int., Geophys. Res. Lett., and EPSL.

Awards

European Geophysical Society 'Young Scientist's Publication Award' 1994 for paper 'A Hierarchical Model for Earthquake Generation on Coupled Segments of a Transform Fault.' Geophysical Journal International 115, 538-551

Publications

McCloskey, J., Antonioli A , Piatanesi, A., Sieh , K., Steacy, S., Nalbant, S., Cocco, M, Guinchi, C., Huang, J., and Dunlop, P., Tsunami risk in the Indian Ocean from threatened megathrust earthquake west of Sumatra, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 265, 61-81, 2008. ( pdf )

McCloskey, J., Antonioli A , Piatanesi, A., Sieh , K., Steacy, S., Nalbant, S., Cocco, M, Guinchi, C., Huang, J., and Dunlop, P., Near-field Propagation of Tsunamis from Megathrust Earthquakes, Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L14316, doi:10.1029/2007GL030494, 2007. ( pdf )

Nalbant, S.S., S. Steacy, and J. McCloskey, Stress Transfer Relations Among the Earthquakes that Occurred in Kerman Province, Southern Iran Since 1981, Geophysical Journal International, in press, 2006. ( pdf )

Cassidy, R., P.J. Morrow and J. McCloskey, A machine vision system for quantifying velocity fields in complex rock models, Machine Vision and Applications 16(6): 343–355, 2006. ( pdf )

McCloskey, J., S.S. Nalbant, and S. Steacy, Earthquake risk from co-seismic stress,Nature, 434, 291, 2005.(pdf)

Cassidy, R., McCloskey, J., and P. Morrow, Fluid velocity fields in 2D heterogeneous porous media: empirical measurement and validation of numerical prediction, Understanding the Micro to Macro Behavior of Rock-Fluid Systems, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 249, 115-130, 2005. ( pdf )

Steacy, S., S.S. Nalbant, J. McCloskey, C. Nostro, O. Scotti, and D. Baumont, Onto what planes should Coulomb stress perturbations be resolved?, Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, B05S15, doi:10.1029/2004JB003356, 2005. (pdf)

Steacy, S., J. Gomberg, and M. Cocco, Introduction to Special Section: Stress transfer, earthquake triggering, and time-dependent seismic hazard, Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, B05S01, doi:10.1029/2005JB003692, 2005. (pdf)

Nalbant, S.S., Steacy, S., Sieh, K., Natawidjaja, D., and J. McCloskey, Updated earthquake hazard in Sumatra, Nature, 435, 756-757, 2005.(pdf)

Nalbant, S.S., J. McCloskey, and S. Steacy, Lessons on the calculation of static stress loading from the 2003 Bingol, Turkey earthquake, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 235, 632-640, 2005. (pdf)

Steacy, S., J. McCloskey, D. Marsan, and S.S. Nalbant, The dependence of static stress calculations on the details of the earthquake slip distribution, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, B04303, doi:10.1029/2002JB002365, 2004. (pdf)

Utkucu, M., S. Nalbant, J. McCloskey, S. Steacy, and O. Alptchin, Slip Distribution and stress changes associated with the November 12, 1999, Düzce (Turkey) Earthquake (Mw=7.1), Geophysical Journal International, 153, 229-241, 2003. (pdf)

McCloskey, J., S.S. Nalbant, S. Steacy, O. Scotti, C. Nostro, and D. Baumont, Structural constraints on the spatial distribution of aftershocks, Geophysical Research Letters, 30 (12), 1610-1614, 2003. (pdf)

McMenamin, R., Cassidy, R., and McCloskey, J., Self-organised criticality at the onset of aeolian sediment transport, Journal of Coastal Research, SI36, 498-505, 2002.

Nalbant, S.S., J. McCloskey, S. Steacy, and A.A. Barka, Stress accumulation and increased seismic risk in Eastern Turkey, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 195, 291-298, 2002. (pdf)

Cassidy, R., J. McCloskey and P.J. Morrow, Estimating fluid flow velocities: an image analysis approach, Proc. IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP2001), Vol. I, 285-288, 2001.

Marsan, D., C. Bean, S. Steacy, and J. McCloskey, Observation of diffusion processes in earthquake populations and implications for the predictability of seismicity systems, Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 28081-28094, 2000. (pdf)

Marsan, D., C. Bean, S. Steacy, and J. McCloskey, Spatio-temporal analysis of stress diffusion in a mining-induced seismicity system, Geophysical Research Letters, 26, 24, 3697-3700, 1999. (pdf)

Steacy, S., and J. McCloskey, Heterogeneity and the earthquake magnitude-frequency distribution, Geophysical Research Letters, 26, 7, 899-902, 1999. (pdf)

Dardis, O. and McCloskey, J., Permeability-Porosity Relationships from Numerical Simulations of Fluid Flow, Geophysical Research Letters, <>25, 9, 1471-1474, 1998.

Hamilton, A. and McCloskey, J., The predictability of large earthquakes: evidence from an analogue model of earthquake rupture, Pure and Applied Geophys.,

Steacy, S., and J. McCloskey, What controls an earthquake's size? Results from a heterogeneous cellular automaton, Geophysical Journal International, 133, F11-F14, 1998.

Hamilton, A. and McCloskey, J., Breakdown in power-law scaling in an analogue model of rupture and stick slip, Geophysical Research Letters,, 4, 465-468, 1997.

Jackson, D.W.T. and McCloskey, J., Preliminary results from a field investigation of aeolian sand transport using high resolution wind and transport measurements, Geophysical Research Letters,24, 2, 163-166, 1997.

O'Doherty, K.B., Bean, C.J. and McCloskey, J., Coda wave imaging of the Long Valley caldera using a spatial stacking technique, Geophy Res Lett,>24, 13, 1547-155, 1997.

Dardis, O. and McCloskey, J., A modified lattice Boltzmann scheme for the calculation of permeability in complex geological media in The proceedings of the second International Conference on Fluid Evolution, Migration and Interaction in Sedimentary Basins and Orogenic Belt,. Hendry, J, Carey, P Parnell, J. Ruffell A. and Worden, R. (eds) Anthony Rowe, Wiltshire, 1997.

Dardis, O. and McCloskey, J., A lattice Boltzmann scheme with real numbered solid density for the simulation of flow in porous media, Phys. Rev. E,4, 4837-4837, 1997.

Steacy, S., J. McCloskey, C. Bean, and J. Ren, Simulating seismicity in Creighton Mine: A 3-D self-organized critical model, in Gibowicz, S.J., and S. Lasocki, eds., Rockbursts and Seismicity in Mines, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 201-206, 1997.

Steacy, S., J. McCloskey, C. Bean, and J. Ren, Heterogeneity in a self-organized critical earthquake model, Geophysical Research Letters, 23, 4, 383-386, 1996. (pdf)

Cook, S and McCloskey, J., Comment on the predictive equation published by Spanton (1983), Atmospheric Environment, 29, 22, 3381-3383, 1995.

Bean, C.J. and McCloskey, J., Constraints on Statistical Models for Upper Crustal Heterogeneity, First Break, 13, 3, 105-110, 1995.

Sherman, D.J., Carter, R.W.G., Jackson, D.W.T., McCloskey, J., Davidson-Arnott, R.G.D., Gares, P.A., Jackson, N.L., Nordstrom, K.F., The Aeolus Project: Measuring Coastal Wind and Sediment System,. Proceedings of Coastal Dynamics '94, Feb. 21-25 Barcelona, Spain. pp. 476-487, 1994.

Gomes, N., Andradre, C., Nevin, G.H., McCloskey, J. and Jackson, D.W.T., Aeolian sediment transport in the Culatra Barrier, Ria Formosa, (Algarve-Portugal). Proceedings of International Symposium Littoral '94, Lisboa, Sept. 26-29, pp. 509-516, 1994.

McCloskey, J. and Bean, C.J., Temporally Unstable Recurrence Behaviour in Large Earthquakes Due to Breaks in Fractal Scaling, Science, V266, 410, 1994.

McCloskey, J., A Hierarchical Model for Earthquake Generation on Coupled Segments of a Transform Fault, Geophysical Journal International, 115, 538-551, 1993.

Bean, C.J. and McCloskey, J., Power-law Random Behaviour of Seismic Reflectivity in Boreholes: Implications for Chaotic Crustal Deformation Models, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, V117, 423-429, 1993.

McCloskey, J., Bean, C.J. and O'Reilly, B., An Earthquake Model with Magnitude Sensitive Dynamics, Geophysical Research Letters, V20, 13, 1403, 1993.

McCloskey, J. and Bean, C.J., Time and Magnitude Predictions in Shocks due to Chaotic Fault Interactions, Geophysical Research Letters 19, 2, 119-122, 1992.

McCloskey, J., Bean, C.J. and Jacob, B., Evidence for Chaotic Behaviour in Seismic Wave Scattering, Geophysical Research Letters, 18, 10, 1901-1904, 1991.

Research Grants

Leverhulme Trust. Personal research fellowship: "Modelling Seismicity in a fractally fractured crust"

European Social Fund. "Preferred porosity directions and azimuthal variations of the fractal statistics of the upper lithosphere"

INCO Mines Ltd. with Dr. C.J. Bean, University College "Modelling rockbursts and mining induced seismicity in Creighton mine, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada using customised, self-organised critical cellular automata with long range deterministic coupling"

EC/Fobairt. "The Formulation of a Coastal Sensitivity Index Based on Wave Sediment Interaction"

EC. with Prof. Julian Orford, and Prof. R.W.G. Carter, "Variation in coastal forcing and its response along the European Atlantic shoreline"

Esme Fairbairn Trust. with Dr. Derek Jackson, Department of Environmental Studies: "Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Littoral Aeolian Sediment Transport and its Importance in Coastal Management."

INCO mines Canada. Stage II of Seismic Simulation Project

Natural Environment Research Council "A Search for Repeating Microearthquakes in the G.Corinth, Greece"

NERC Geophysical Equipment Pool

Natural Environment Research Council with Sandy Steacy. An Investigation of the Relation Between Coulomb Stress Perturbations, Large Aftershocks, and Fault Structure.

European Commission Framework V with Sandy Steacy. Towards Practical, Real-Time Estimation of Spatial Aftershock Probabilities: a Feasibility Study in Earthquake Hazard (PRESAP).

INTEREG "An integrated geophysical approach to the preliminary assessment of potential waste disposal sites"

NERC "Fully determined fluid velocity fields for complex 2D media with multi-scaled heterogeneity

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council with Sandy Steacy and Philip Morrow.An Investigation of the Origin and Nature of the Gutenberg-Richter Relation.

Natural Environment Research Council with Sandy Steacy and Suleyman Nalbant. Urgent assessment of the location and orientation of the Bingöl rupture by mapping surface breaks, J. McCloskey.

European Commission Framework VI Marie Curie with Sandy Steacy and Andrea Antonioli, Constrained heterogeneous loading of complex fault networks (CONSTRAIN).

Natural Environment Research Council with Tony Bjourson and Rachel Cassidy. An investigation of the time dependency of concentration of naked and armoured DNA tracers under environmental conditions.

Natural Environment Research Council with Suleyman Nalbant and Sandy Steacy. The influence of viscoelastic relaxation on the effective duration of Coulomb stress perturbations.

Natural Environment Research Council with Sandy Steacy and Suleyman Nalbant. Tsunami Risk in the Indian Ocean from Threatened M>8 Event Under Mentawai Islands.

Royal Society with Sandy Steacy. Summer Science Exhibition.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council with Sandy Steacy. Assessing tsunami hazard in Sumatra: A Royal Society summer science exhibit.

Griffith Geoscience Research Award: Capability building for the enhanced geophysical interpretation of the dynamics of CO2 sequestration, J. McCloskey, C. Bean (UCD) and R. Cassidy, 2007-2012.

Natural Environment Research Council: Urgent assessment of the earthquake and tsunami hazard in western Sumatra following the 09/07 Mentawai Islands earthquake sequence, J. McCloskey, S. Steacy, and S. S. Nalbant, 2007 – 2008.

Natural Environment Research Council: Evaluation of historical earthquake interaction and seismic risk to western Sumatra, J. McCloskey, S. Steacy, and S. S. Nalbant, 2008 – 2009.