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Dr David Rothery

Dr David Rothery

Senior Lecturer

The Open University Faculty of Science Department of Physical Sciences


David's Personal Website

Profile

I have been a Senior Lecturer in the Open University Department of Earth Sciences since 1994 (transferring to the Planetary & Space Sciences Division of the new Dept of Physical Sciences in August 2011), and before that was a Lecturer here. During 1999-2004 I was Director of Teaching and Geosciences Programme Director. I have also been Leader of the IAVCEI Commission on Remote Sensing, and in 2005 I was appointed to the PPARC Solar System Advisory Panel and the BepiColombo Oversight Committee.

In May 2006 I was appointed UK Lead Scientist on MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer), which is the only UK Principal Investigator instrument on BepiColombo, the European Space Agency mission to Mercury to be launched in 2014. I chair ESA's Mercury Surface and Composition Working Group.

My research interests centre on the study of volcanic activity by means of remote sensing, and volcanology and geoscience in general on other planets.

Qualifications

BA, MA (Cantab)
PhD (Open)

Teaching Interests

Planetary science, volcanology, general geology

Research Interests

Characterizing planetary surfaces, remote sensing of volcanic activity

Current Research Projects

I am UK Lead Scientist on the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer, and co-chair of ESA's Mercury Surface & Composition working group.

Publications

Authored Book
Rothery, David A. (2010). Planets: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rothery, David (2010). Geology: the Key Ideas (4th ed.). Teach Yourself. Abingdon: Hodder Headline.
Coe, Angela; Argles, Thomas; Rothery, David and Spicer, Robert (2010). Geological Field Techniques. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell in association with the OU.
Rothery, David A. (2010). Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. Teach Yourself. London: Teach Yourself.
Rothery, D. A. (2007). Teach Yourself Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. Teach Yourself General. London, UK: Hodder Education.
Rothery, David A. (2003). Teach Yourself Geology. Teach Yourself. London, UK: Hodder Education.
Rothery, David A. (2003). Teach Yourself Planets. London, UK: Hodder Headline.
Book Chapter
van Manen, Saskia M.; Dehn, Jonathan; West, Michael E.; Blake, Stephen and Rothery, David A. (2010). The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano – combined analyses of thermal satellite data and reduced displacement. In: Power, John A.; Coombs, Michelle L. and Freymueller, Jeffrey T. eds. The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska. USGS Professional Paper (1769). Reston, VA, USA: US Geological Survey, pp. 553–567.
Conference Item
Balme, Matthew; Gallagher, Colman; Hartman, William and Rothery, David (2011). Morphologies associated with small impact crater clusters in the Western Elysium Planitia region of Mars. In: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2011, 3-8 April 2011, Vienna, Austria.
Bridges, J.; Seabrook, A. M.; Rothery, D. A.; Pillinger, C. T.; Sims, M. R. and Wright, I. P. (2003). Revised target co-ordinates for the Beagle 2 lander. In: 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 17-21 March 2003, Houston, Texas, USA.
Journal Article
Weider, S. Z.; Kellett, B. J.; Swinyard, B. M.; Crawford, I. A.; Joy, K. H.; Grande, M.; Howe, C. J.; Huovelin, J.; Narendranath, S.; Alha, L.; Anand, M.; Athiray, P. S.; Bhandari, N.; Carter, J. A.; Cook, A. C.; d’Uston, L. C.; Fernandes, V. A.; Gasnault, O.; Goswami, J. N.; Gow, J. P. D.; Holland, A. D.; Koschny, D.; Lawrence, D. J.; Maddison, B. J.; Maurice, S.; McKay, D. J.; Okada, T.; Pieters, C.; Rothery, D. A.; Russell, S. S.; Shrivastava, A. ; Smith, D. R. and Wieczorek, M. (2012). The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer: first results. Planetary and Space Science, 60(1), pp. 217–228.
Weider, S. Z.; Kellett, B. J.; Swinyard, B. M.; Crawford, I. A.; Joy, K. H.; Grande, M.; Howe, C. J.; Huovelin, J.; Narendranath, S.; Alha, L.; Anand, M.; Athiray, P. S.; Bhandari, N.; Carter, J. A.; Cook, A. C.; d'Uston, L. C.; Fernandes, V. A.; Gasnault, O.; Goswami, J. N.; Gow, J. P. D.; Holland, A. D.; Koschny, D.; Lawrence, D. J.; Maddison, B. J.; Maurice, S.; McKay, D. J.; Okada, T.; Pieters, C.; Rothery, D. A.; Russell, S.S.; Shrivastava, A.; Smith, D. R. and Wieczorek, M. (2012). The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer: First results. Planetary and Space Science, 60(1), pp. 217–228.
Narendranath, S. ; Athiray, P. S. ; Sreekumar, P. ; Kellett, B. J. ; Alha, L. ; Howe, C. J. ; Joy, K. H. ; Grande, M. ; Huovelin, J. ; Crawford, I. A. ; Unnikrishnan, U. ; Lalita, S. ; Subramaniam, S. ; Weider, S. Z. ; Nittler, L. R. ; Gasnault, O. ; Rothery, D.; Fernandes, V. A. ; Bhandari, N. ; Goswami, J. N. ; Wieczorek, M. A. ; C1XS Science Team, ; Anand, Mahesh; Holland, Andrew and Gow, Jason (2011). Lunar X-ray fluorescence observations by the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS): results from the nearside southern highlands. Icarus, 214(1), pp. 53–66.
Rothery, D. A. and Massironi, M. (2010). Beagle Rupes – evidence for a basal decollement of regional extent in Mercury's lithosphere. Icarus, 209(1), pp. 256–261.
Rothery, David; Marinangeli, Lucia; Anand, Mahesh; Carpenter, James; Christensen, Ulrich; Crawford, Ian A.; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Epifani, Elena Mazzotta; Erard, Stéphane; Frigeri, Alessandro; Fraser, George; Hauber, Ernst; Helbert, Jörn; Hiesinger, Harald; Joy, Katherine; Langevin, Yves; Massironi, Matteo; Milillo, Anna; Mitrofanov, Igor; Muinonen, Karri; Näränen, Jyri; Pauselli, Cristina; Potts, Phil; Warell, Johan and Wurz, Peter (2010). Mercury's surface and composition to be studied by BepiColombo. Planetary And Space Science, 58(1-2), pp. 21–39.
Fraser, G. W.; Carpenter, J. D.; Rothery, D. A.; Pearson, J. F.; Martindale, A.; Huovelin, J.; Treis, J.; Anand, M.; Anttila, M.; Ashcroft, M.; Benkoff, J.; Bland, P.; Bowyer, A.; Bradley, A.; Bridges, J.; Brown, C.; Bulloch, C.; Bunce, E. J.; Christensen, U.; Evans, M.; Fairbend, R.; Feasey, M.; Giannini, F.; Hermann, S.; Hesse, M.; Hilchenbach, M.; Jorden, T.; Joy, K.; Kaipiainen, M.; Kitchingman, I.; Lechner, P.; Lutz, G.; Malkki, A.; Muinonen, K.; Näränen, J.; Portin, P.; Prydderch, M.; San Juan, J.; Sclater, E.; Schyns, E.; Stevenson, T. J.; Strüder, L.; Syrjasuo, M.; Talboys, D.; Thomas, P.; Whitford, C. and Whitehead, S. (2010). The mercury imaging X-ray spectrometer (MIXS) on BepiColombo. Planetary and Space Science, 58(1-2), pp. 79–95.
van Manen, Saskia M.; Dehn, Jonathan; West, Michael E.; Blake, Stephen and Rothery, David A. (2010). The 2006 eruption of Augustine volcano: combined analyses of thermal satellite data and reduced displacement. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper(1769), pp. 553–567.
Grande, M.; Maddison, B. J.; Howe, C. J.; Kellett, B. J.; Sreekumar, P.; Huovelin, J.; Crawford, I. A.; Duston, C. L.; Smith, D.; Anand, M.; Bhandari, N.; Cook, A.; Fernandes, V.; Foing, B.; Gasnaut, O.; Goswami, J. N.; Holland, A.; Joy, K. H.; Kochney, D.; Lawrence, D.; Maurice, S.; Okada, T.; Narendranath, S.; Pieters, C.; Rothery, D.; Russell, S. S.; Shrivastava, A.; Swinyard, B.; Wilding, M. and Wieczorek, M. (2009). The C1XS X-Ray Spectrometer on Chandrayaan-1. Planetary and Space Science, 57(7), pp. 717–724.
Worms , Jean-Claude; Lammer , Helmut; Barucci , Antonella; Beebe , Reta; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Blamont , Jacques; Blanc , Michel; Bonnet , Roger; Brucato , John R.; Chassefière, Eric; Coradini , Angioletta; Crawford , Ian; Ehrenfreund , Pascale; Falcke, Heino; Gerzer , Rupert; Grady, Monica; Grande , Manuel; Haerendel , Gerhard; Horneck , Gerda; Koch , Bernhard; Lobanov , Andreï; Lopez-Moreno, José J.; Marco , Roberto; Norsk , Peter; Rothery, Dave; Swings , Jean-Pierre; Tropea , Cam; Ulamec , Stephan; Westall, Frances and Zarnecki, John (2009). ESSC-ESF position paper - science-driven scenario for space exploration: report from the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC). Astrobiology, 9(1), pp. 23–41.
Smith, A.; Crawford, I. A.; Gowen, R. A.; Ball, A. J.; Barber, S. J.; Church, P.; Coates, A. J.; Gao, Y.; Griffiths, A. D.; Hagermann, A.; Joy, K. H.; Phipps, A.; Pike, W. T.; Scott, R.; Sheridan, S.; Sweeting, M.; Talboys, D.; Tong, V.; Wells, N.; Biele, J.; Chela-Flores, J.; Dabrowski, B.; Flannagan, J.; Grande, M.; Grygorczuk, J.; Kargl, G.; Khavroshkin, O. B.; Klingelhoefer, G.; Knapmeyer, M.; Marczewski, W.; McKenna-Lawlor, S.; Richter, L.; Rothery, D. A.; Seweryn, K.; Ulamec, S.; Wawrzaszek, R.; Wieczorek, M.; Wright, I. P. and Sims, M. (2009). LunarEX: a proposal to cosmic vision. Experimental Astronomy, 23(3), pp. 711–740.
Crawford, I. A.; Joy, K. H.; Kellett, B. J.; Grande, M.; Anand, M.; Bhandari, N.; Cook, A. C.; d’Uston, L.; Fernandes, V. A.; Gasnault, O.; Goswami, J.; Howe, C. J.; Huovelin, J.; Koschny, D.; Lawrence, D. J.; Maddison, B. J.; Maurice, S.; Narendranath, S.; Pieters, C.; Okada, T.; Rothery, D. A.; Russell, S. S.; Sreekumar, P.; Swinyard, B.; Wieczorek, M. and Wilding, M. (2009). The scientific rationale for the C1XS X-ray spectrometer on India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission to the moon. Planetary and Space Science, 57(7), pp. 725–734.
Palma, José Luis; Calder, Eliza S.; Basualto, Daniel; Blake, Stephen and Rothery, David A. (2008). Correlations between SO2 flux, seismicity, and outgassing activity at the open vent of Villarrica volcano, Chile. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 113 B10201.
Sumner, J. M.; Rothery, D. A.; Spiler, O. and Dingwell, D. B. (2007). Impact vesiculation – a new trigger for volcanic bubble growth and degassing. eEarth, 2(4), pp. 151–167.
Patrick, Matthew R.; Harris, Andrew J. L.; Ripepe, Maurizio; Dehn, Jonathan; Rothery, David A. and Calvari, Sonia (2007). Strombolian explosive styles and source conditions: insights from thermal (FLIR) video. Bulletin of Volcanology, 69(7), pp. 769–784.
Patrick, Matthew R.; Harris, Andrew J. L.; Ripepe, Maurizio; Dehn, Jonathan; Rothery, David A. and Calvari, Sonia (2007). Strombolian explosive styles and source conditions: insights from thermal (FLIR) video. Bulletin of Volcanology, 69(7), pp. 769–784.
Rothery, Dave A.; Coppola, Diego and Saunders, Charlotte (2005). Analysis of volcanic activity patterns using MODIS thermal alerts. Bulletin of Volcanology, 67(6), pp. 539–556.
Bridges, J.C.; Seabrook, A.M.; Rothery, D.A.; Kim, J.R.; Pillinger, C.T.; Sims, M.R.; Golombek, M.P.; Duxbury, T.; Head, J.W.; Haldemann, A.F.C.; Mitchell, K.L.; Muller, J.-P.; Lewis, S.R.; Moncrieff, C.; Wright, I.P.; Grady, M.M. and Morley, J.G. (2003). Selection of the landing site in Isidis Planitia of Mars probe Beagle 2. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 108(E1), p. 5001.
Rothery, D.A.; Thorne, M.T. and Flynn, L. (2003). MODIS thermal alerts in Britain and the North Sea during the first half of 2001. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 24(4), pp. 817–826.
Williams-Jones, Glyn; Rymer, Hazel and Rothery, David A. (2003). Gravity changes and passive SO2 degassing at the Masaya caldera complex, Nicaragua. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 123(1-2), pp. 137–160.
Rothery, D.; Coltelli, M.; Pirie, D.; Wooster, M.J. and Wright, R. (2001). Documenting surface magmatic activity at Mount Etna using ATSR remote sensing. Bulletin of Volcanology, 63(6), pp. 387–397.

Other Interests

I have written various popular science books, as follows:

Rothery, D. A., 1992 (1st edition), 1999 (2nd edition), Satellites of the Outer Planets:- worlds in their own right, Oxford University Press, New York.
Rothery, D. A., 1997, 2003, 2008 Geology, Teach Yourself Series, Hodder & Stoughton Educational
Rothery, D. A., 2010, Geology: the Key Ideas (Teach Yourself) , Hodder Education
Rothery, D. A., 2000, 2003, Planets, Teach Yourself Series, Hodder & Stoughton Educational
Rothery, D. A., 2001, 2003, Volcanoes, Teach Yourself Series, Hodder & Stoughton Educational
Rothery, D. A., 2007, 2010 Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis, Teach Yourself Series, Hodder & Stoughton Educational
Rothery, D. A., 2010, Planets: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press

and also:
Coe, A. L., Argles, T. W., Rothery, D. A., and Spicer, R. A., 2010, Geological Field Techniques, Wiley-Blackwell
Rothery, D.A., McBride, N. and Gilmour, I., 2011, An Introduction to the Solar System, Revised edition, Cambridge University Press
Rothery, D.A., Gilmour, I. and Sephton, M., 2011, An Introduction to Astrobiology, Revised edition, Cambridge University Press

last updated 17-Feb-2012