Julia McMorrow

Administrative positions

EBL Fellow , Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning (CEEBL)

Professional positions

2007- : Member of NERC Field Spectoscopy Facility steering committee.

2004-07: Member of NERC Airborne Research and Survey steering committee.

2005- : Member of Scientific Review Panel for European Fleet for Airborne Research (EUFAR) Transitional Access.

2007- : External Examiner for MSc in Applied GIS & Remote Sensing; University of Salford.

2003-06: External Examiner for BSc in Geograhy and GIS, Environmental Science and GIS, Geology and GIS; University of Greenwich.

1986-1992: Member of council of (then) Remote Sensing Society and Chair of Education and Training committee.

Awards

Teaching Excellence award, 2008-09, University of Manchester.

 

Keywords: Remote sensing, hyperspectral, peatlands, wildfire, upland vegetation, restoratioon ecology, tropical land cover, oil palm, enquiry-based learning (EBL), e-learning.

My field is terrestrial remote sensing, specialising in th euse of airborne hyperspectral data for peatland environments. I have also worked on remote sensing and GIS analysis of land cover change in Southeast Asia. Recent research focuses on wildfires and the management of moorland wildfire risk in the UK. I also work on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Peatland and wildfire work:

• Remote sensing of peatland restoration.
• Hyperspectral remote sensing of upland peat composition.
• Analysis of peat erosion pattern from airborne images and DEMs.
• Remote sensing and spatial analysis and management of moorland wildfire risk.

SE Asian work:

• Identification of rain forest disturbance and land use change by logging, agriculture and fire.
• Use of remote sensing for precision agriculture of oil palm and other tropical tree crop plantations.
• Dynamics and policy drivers land cover change in tropical forests.

Scholarship of teaching learning:

• Interdisciplinary enquiry-based learning
• online enquiry-based learning (e-EBL)
• virtual fieldwork.

Remote sensing of peatland restoration

A new project in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park with Aletta Bonn of Moors for the Future Partnership (MFF) and Natural England, supported by a NERC CASE studentship. 

Upland peatlands provide vital ecosystem services from carbon storage, biodiversity, water provision, flood protection, aesthetic/recreational value, to economic value derived from grouse shooting and grazing.  Historic and current atmospheric pollution, inappropriate land management and wildfires have left large areas of peatlands degraded.  Peatlands restoration is one of the main tools to address government Public Service Agreement targets for biodiversity, soil and water protection in uplands.  It is of crucial importance to protect UK soil carbon stores, as more than 50% of UK soil carbon is stored in peat and is rapidly lost from exposed peat surfaces. 

MFF is revegetating 5km² of bare peat within the Peak District. Monitoring at landscape scale is of pivotal importance to judge the success of the restoration, but traditional approaches with field-based permanent plots surveys are insufficient in terms of time and resource commitment.  Natural England wish to explore remote sensing as an alternative, so are funding a CASE element via MFF. 

Key issues are to what extent remote sensing can provide information on habitat condition (e.g. % cover, species composition) for reseeded peat soils, and how feasible is this in operational terms. The project addresses the key problem of upscaling from permanent plots to the landscape scale.  It will evaluate the ability of high spatial and spectral resolution remote sensing to distinguish between moorland restoration treatments and monitor changes over time using the case study of the Moors for the Future restoration programme in the Peak District National Park.  The special case of remote sensing of sparse vegetation growth on peat soils offers a stimulating PhD topic.

FIRES seminar series –Moorland wildfires, climate change and ecosystem srvices

Moorland wildfires are costly to fight, damage the ecosystem, harm water catchments, cause erosion scars and disrupt transport.  Severe fires occur in drought years. When they burn deep into the peat, they threaten the supporting ecosystem services of peatlands on which other ecosystem services depend (carbon storage, water catchment, recreation, etc.).  Such fires are likely to become more severe under climate change scenarios.

Research on wildfires in UK moorlands and heathlands is in its infancy and lacks co-ordination. FIRES – Fire Interdisciplinary Research on Ecosystem Services: fire and climate change in UK moorlands and heathlands – is a seminar series funded by ESRC and NERC under their transdisciplinary series on ecosystem service. Its aim is to contribute to effective management of wildfire risk by identifying policy implications and developing a joined-up research agenda for the UK.  It builds on our previous research on spatial modeling of wildfires and remote sensing of exposed peat surfaces.

Other projects

Climate Change and the Visitor Economy (CCVE): spatial modelling of wildfires

The CCVE project was funded by DEFRA, Northwest Regional Developmnt Agency and the Environment Agency.  It used the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) risk and decision making methodology to investigate the risks and benefits of climate change scenarios for the Northwest of England.

Moorland wildfires were one of the four CCVE case studies (PDF, 2860KB).  Looking at past fires, this work identified where the risk of fire was highest and when that risk is highest based on preceding weather. The increased temperatures and drier summer weather expected under climate change is likely to result in increased flammability of moorland vegetation and, coupled with increased visitor pressure, in a corresponding increase in fire risk.Moors for the Future and Peak District National Park Fire Operations Group funded further work to extend the fire risk map to all section 3 moorland in the Park.  The map has been used to locate potential sites for new fire ponds and fire watches at times of high risk.

SWIR remote sensing of peat composition in the Southern Pennines

This project investigated transferrability of remotely sensed indices originally developed for use with the HyMap sensor to estimate properties of eroding blanket peat in the southern Pennines. CASI and SWIR hyperspectral (narrow band) remotely sensed reflectance data were acquired by NERCin  September 2002.  AISA Eagle/Hawk, LiDAR and true colur aerial digital photographs were acquired in June 2006.  The project and associated field and laboratory spectra-radiometry generated several MSc dissertations.  The images will be re-evaluated for the peatland restoration project.

Synergy of HyMap and Digital Elevation Data For the Analysis of Upland Peat Erosion Patterns, SHAC project

The British National Space Centre (BNSC) and NERC provided the first set of HyMap hyperspectral airborne images over Bleaklow in 2000 as part of the SAR and Hyperspectral Airborne Campiagn (SHAC).  The data were used to examine the properties of eroding (exposed) peat surfaces. Spectral indices based on reflectance properties were developed to estimate peat surface moisture content and degree of decomosition (humification).  The project was a collaboration with UpERU colleague, Martin Evans, Amer Alroichdi (PhD student) and Mark Cutler (Dundee University). 

• SHAC website

INDFORSUS project

The INDFORSUS project on developing remotely sensed and ground indicators of forest sustainability was funded by the EU under the Scientific and Technical collaboration with developing countries programme. It brought together nine partners in the UK, Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to study the impacts on hydrology and sediment yield of forest disturbance at four sites; Danum Valley (Sabah, Malaysia), Khun Kong (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Upper Progo basin (Central Java, Indonesia) and Cat Tien (Southern Highlands, Vietnam). Data sources included Landsat Thematic Mapper, SPOT-HRV, digital elevation models and ground data from erosion bridges and hydrological monitoring.

Borneo project

The Borneo project, 'Global environmental change, tropical forests and human communities in Borneo', funded by the ESRC, was an interdisciplinary project which brought together anthropologists at the Centre for SE Asian Studies at Hull University with physical and human geographers at Manchester to examine the interrelationships between forest communities and environmental change in Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia. Local academic sponsors were Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd.

Sloping Land Improvement Project (SLIP)

The SLIP project was a research training project funded by the British Council. It developed a pilot GIS to estimate soil loss under different land management scenarios using land cover maps derived from remotely sensed images, terrain images and ground data on soil erodibility and loss.

• SLIP website

Scholarship of interdisciplinary learning and teaching

Awards from Manchester’s Curriculum Innovation Fund in 2003-04 and 2004-05 and Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-based Learning (CEEBL) in 2005-06 enabled the development and educational evaluation of undergraduate and postgraduate interdisciplinary team projects (PDF) with colleagues from Medicine, Education, Spanish and Biological Sciences. Both used enquiry-based learning (EBL), in which students are active learners, facilitated by the tutor but deciding for themselves how they would complete the task. The postgraduate project used two problem-based learning (PBL) scenarios on water quality, whereas the undergraduate teams negotiated their own topics of environmental or societal relevance. They presented posters at a symposium in week 5 and in week 6 took part in a plenary modelled on the TV and radio programme ‘Question Time’. To encourage deep learning, they had to brief team-mates to answer pre-circulated questions outside the comfort zone of their own discipline. A generic cross-faculty WebCT unit was developed to scaffold the process, providing a worked example of each stage of the process and online communication to ease timetabling problems. We have presented papers at the Higher Education Academy conference in 2004 and 2006 and the British Educational Research Association in 2004. I have recently given invited papers at Cambridge and MIT.

A CEEBL-funded project in 2008-09 with colleagues in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Planning is developing client-based interdisciplinary project work.

Team project and dissertation students will work on different aspects of local sustainable development projects for the Manchester City Council Green City Team and compare their learning process and outputs. The longer term aim is for intergenerational projects on sustainable development, and to build a community of practice in interdiscplinary working in this field.

The part-time post at CEEBL enables me to develop these interests in interdisciplinary EBL and e-EBL.

Pedagogy of Virtual Fieldwork

A virtual tour the Longdendale-Dark Peak area of the southern Pennnines was developed with Curriculum Innovation funding and in partnership with a Geography-Computation final year project student. It’s aim is to prepare Geography first year students for fieldwork in the area. It was the cornerstone of Geography’s first WebCT online learning module and is now used in the Blackboard virtual learning environment. The Dark Peak quiz is used to encourage active use of the website. Pre- and post online surveys are used evaluate the website and fieldwork.

Year 1

GEOG 11082 People and Tropical Forests.

GEOG 11092 Approaches to Research:
block 3, Fieldwork. Dark Peak,
block 4, Introduction to Remote Sensing and GIS.

Year 2

GEOG 20771 Communication Skills .

Dissertation tutorials.

Year 3

GE30010 Earth observation.

Postgraduate

MSc GE60941 Environmental remote sensing.

Staff development

Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning (CEEBL) role includes:

• New Academics course, module in Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL)
• Workshops in EBL for Manchester staff
• Workshops in EBL for Higher Education Subject Centres and visiting groups
• Coordination of CEEBL-funded small projects and major project in Humanities

Current and past postgraduate students

Beth Lowe. High resolution remote sensing for landscape-scale restoration of peatland (NERC/Natural England CASE studentship).

Gail Millin-Chelabi. Remote sensing of UK wildfire risk using image time series (part-time PhD). Evaluation of geospatial data to characterise upland water vole (Arvicola terrestris) habitat at Grains in the Water and Swains Greave in the Peak District, Derbyshire (MSc dissertation).

Laura Liddaman. Pattern analysis to assess connectivity of sediment systems and predict sediment flux in eroding blanket peat catchments (Ph.D.).

Amer Al-Roichdi. Hyperspectral remote sensing of upland blanket peat. (Ph.D. awarded 2007).

Mustapa Talip. Using GIS to analyse land use changes in eastern Sabah, Malaysia. (MSc by thesis).

Anita Karunasaagarar. Active fire detection using MODIS: cpmparisons to Fire and Rescue Services data within the moorland boundary, UK (MSc dissertation).

John Tate. Accuracy assessment of LiDAR-derived DEMs in eroding peatland (MSc dissertation).

Marta Podsiad. Effect of forest fragmentation on the abundance of Angola black-and-white colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis palliateus) in Shimoni forest, Kenya.

Yutian Gong, Moorland fire pattern research in Peak District National Park (MSc dissertation).

Anna Price. Assessing the potential of the River Birkett ditch network to support water voles: evaluation of a GIS habitat suitability approach (MSc dissertation).

Turkia Al Mustafa. The relationship between vegetation background, peat humification and reflectance (MSc dissertation)

Marie Kelly. An investigation into the impacts of lead pollution on peatlands and vegetation using reflectance spectroscopy (MSc dissertation).

Andrew Hardy. Estimation of soil moisture in bare peat using field spectroscopy (MSc dissertation).

Richard Karooni. Spatial modelling of moorland wildfire risk in the Dark Peak (MSc dissertation).

Samantha Goodwin. Habitat mapping of a moorland landscape using simulated Ikonos satellite data, (M.Sc. dissertation, Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Reconstruction).

Mark Critchley. The integration of Landsat TM imagery and topographic data for classification and mapping of Southern Pennine upland vegetation. (M.Sc. dissertation, Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Reconstruction).

Potential PhD projects

• Remote sensing of peat: Transferability of hyperspectral indices of peat physico- chemical properties.
• Modelling Moorland wildfire risk in response to climate change.

Moorland wildfire

Lindley, S., McMorrow. J. and Bonn, A. (in press) Moorland Wildfires in the UK Peak District, In Settele, J., Penev, L., Georgiev, T., Grabaum, R., Grobelnik, V., Hammen, V., Klotz, S. and Kühn I (Eds).Atlas of Biodiversity Risk. Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 300 pp. print and e-book. pensoftonline.net/alarm-atlas-info/ [FP6 Project ALARM, Assessing LArge scale environmental Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods, www.alarmproject.ne].

McMorrow, J.M, Lindley, S.J., Aylen, J., Cavan, G., Albertson, K. and Boys, D. (2009) ‘Moorland wildfire risk, visitors and climate change: patterns, prevention and policy’ In Bonn, A. Allott, T., Hubacek, K., and Stewart, J.(Eds) et al. Drivers of change in Upland Environments, Routledge, Ch 23, 404-431.

Albertson, K., Aylen, J., Cavan, G. and McMorrow, J.(in press) ‘Forecasting the outbreak of moorland wild fires in the English Peak District’ International Journal of Environmental Management (doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.02.011, available online ).

McEvoy, D., Cavan, G., Handley, J., McMorrow, J. and Lindley. S. (2008) ‘Changes to Climate and Visitor Behaviour: Implications for Vulnerable Landscapes in the North West Region of England’. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16 (2) 101–121.

McMorrow, J.M. and Lindley, S. (2007) Modelling the spatial risk of moorland wildfires. Report for Moors for the Future.

McEvoy, D., Handley, J. F., Cavan, G., Aylen, J., Lindley, S., McMorrow, J. and Glynn, S. (2006a). Climate Change and the Visitor Economy: the challenges and opportunities for England's Northwest, (pdf, 2.7MB), Sustainability Northwest (Manchester) and UKCIP (Oxford).

McMorrow, J.M., Aylen, J., Albertson, K., Cavan, G. Lindley, S., Handley, J. and Karooni, R. (2006) Moorland Wildfires in the Peak District National Park. Technical Report 3, Climate Change and the Visitor Economy (CCVE), 88pp. (pdf, 5.7MB).

Cavan, G., Handley, J.F. Aylen, J., Albertson, K., McMorrow, J., Lindley, S. and McEvoy, D. (2006) Climate change and the visitor economy in the uplands. International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, 2, 170-173.

CCVE (2005) Risk Workshop: Moorland Wildfires in the Peak District. Technical Report, Climate Change and the Visitor Economy, (PDF, 317KB), CCVE, 28th January 2005 at Sustainability Northwest, Manchester, and Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology (CURE), University of Manchester.

Remote sensing of peatland

McMorrow, J.M., Lindsay, J.B. and Liddaman, L.C. (2006) Mapping and encoding the spatial pattern of peat erosion. Final report, Moors for the Future for Small Project Grant No. A79419_spg_Man_McMorrow, July 2006.

McMorrow, J.M., Alroichdi, A., Evans, M.G. and Cutler, M.E. (2005) Hyperspectral remote sensing of peat humification. In, B. Zagajewski And M. Sobczak, Imaging Spectroscopy: New Quality In Environmental Studies, Proceedings EARSeL 4th Workshop on Imaging Spectroscopy, Warsaw, Poland, 27-29 April 2005.. Warsaw University and European Association of Rekote Sensing Laboratories, Paris. pp 193-204.

McMorrow, J.M., Cutler, M.E., Evans, M. and Al-Roichdi, A., (2004) Hyperspectral indices for characterising upland peat composition, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25 (2): 313 - 325.

Cutler, M., McMorrow, J.M. and Evans, M. (2002) Remote sensing and upland peat erosion in the Southern Pennines, North West Geography. On-line journal.

McMorrow, J.M., Cutler, M.E., Evans, M. (2002) Synergy of HyMap and digital elevation data for the analysis of upland peat erosion patterns and composition. Final report to BNSC and NERC,

Tropical land cover change

Nguyen, V.D., Douglas, I., McMorrow, J., Lindley, S., Dao, K.N.T.B., Tran,. T.V., Le, H.T. and Nguyen, T. (2008) ‘Erosion and nutrient loss on sloping land under intense cultivation in southern Vietnam’. Geographical Research, 46 (1): 4-16.

Dao K.N.T.B, Le T.V.P, Douglas. I , Nguyen V.D, McMorrow J, Lindley. S, Tran T.V, Le H.T, and Nguyen. T (2008) Local knowledge and economic realities affecting soil erosion in the Rach Rat Catchment, Vietnam. Geographical Research, 46 (1): 17-26.

McMorrow, J.M. (2001) Linear regression modelling for estimation of oil palm age using Landsat TM International Journal of Remote Sensing, 22 (12): 2243-2264.

McMorrow, J.M. and Mustapa Adb. Talip (2001) Decline of forest area in Sabah, Malaysia: relationship to state policies, land code and land capability, Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy Dimensions, 11 (3): 217-230.

Foody, G.M., Cutler, M.E., McMorrow, J.M., Pelz, D., Tangki, H., Boyd, D. and Douglas, I. (2001) Mapping the biomass of Bornean rain forest from remotely sensed data, Global Ecology and Biogeography, 10 (4): 379-388.

McMorrow, J.M. and Tey, S.H. (2000) ‘The potential of Landsat TM remote sensing images for oil palm estate management’.  In Pushparajah, E. (Ed.), Plantation Tree Crops in the New Millennium: the way ahead (Vol. 1), Incorporated Society of Planters, Kuala Lumpur, pp 769-791.  [ISBN 967-9949-39-7].

Sutton, K. & McMorrow, J.M. (1998) 'Land use change in Eastern Sabah'. In King, V.T. (Ed.), Environmental Challenges in South East Asia, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Man & Nature Series in Asia, No. 2, Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, pp 259-281, ISBN 0-7007-0615-1.

McMorrow, J.M., Mustapa Adb. Talip and Lawes, H. (1996) 'Monitoring tropical rain forest conversion to estate agriculture in Sabah Malaysia using Landsat images and GIS'.  In H.A. Hassan, Y.M. Chin and N. Rahman (Eds.), Multiple Resource Inventory and Monitoring of Tropical Forests, Proceedings of AIFM international conference on Multiple Resource Inventory and Monitoring of Tropical Forests, Nov 1994, Kuala Lumpur: ASEAN Institute of Forest Management (AIFM), pp 228-244.

McGregor, D., McMorrow, J.M., Wills, J., Lawes, H. and Lloyd, M. (1996) 'Mapping the environment in South East Asia: the use of remote sensing and geographical information systems'. In Parnwell, M.J.G. and Bryant, R.L. (Eds.), Environmental Change in South East Asia; people, politics and sustainable development, London and New York: Routledge, Ch. 9, pp 190-224, ISBN 0-415-12932-X, 0-415-12933-8.

McMorrow, J.M. (1995) 'Relation of oil palm spectral response to stand age'. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 16: 3203-3209.

Scholarship of teaching and learning

McMorrow, J.M. (2008) ‘PCL in the Larger Curriculum: Enquiry-Based Learning in Humanities at Manchester’ (MS Powerpoint), Project-Centred Learning Symposium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, 17-19 March. Invited paper. Podcast.

McMorrow, J.M. (2007), ‘Experiences in developing an interdisciplinary EBL module’ Integrating Interdisciplinarity, HEA Interdisciplinary conference, Clare College, Cambridge, 10-11 September 2007. Invited paper. (Abstract).

McMorrow (2006), J. 'Using a web-based resource to prepare students for fieldwork: evaluating the Dark Peak Virtual Tour'. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. 29 (2): 223-240

Conference presentations

Moorland wildfire

McMorrow. J. and Lindley, S. (2009) ‘Wildfire risk mapping in the Peak District National Park using multi-criteria evaluation’ (PDF). Poster presented at FIRES3, Forecasting and Modelling Wildfire risk for UK moorlands and heathlands, 31 Mar- 1 Apr 2009, University of Manchester. Seminar 3, ESRC/NERC transdisciplinary seminar series, Fire Interdisciplinary Research in Ecosystem Services; fire and climate change in UK moorlands and heaths (FIRES).

McMorrow, J.M, Lindley, S.J., Aylen, J., Albertson, K. and Cavan, G. (2007) ‘Wildfire risk and Climate change in the Peak District National Park’ (PDF, 140KB). Poster paper at Adapting upland ecosystems services to climate change: planning for the future at community level. International Centre for the Uplands– University of Cumbria, Newton Rigg campus, Penrith, 4-5 Sep 2007.

Walker, J., Aylen, J., McMorrow, J. Lindley, S (2007) ‘Increasing Water Supplies for Moorland Fire Fighting’ (PDF) Wildfire 2007, 5-6 June 2007, Dalby Forest, Yorkshire. Organised by Rural Development Initiatives: Port Elphinestone, Aberdeenshire.

Lindley, S.J. and McMorrow, J.M. ‘Maps as tools for moorland wildfire management – how much information is too much information? Special session Environmental Engineering education and presentation of environmental information to non scientists International Symposium on Environmental Software Systems, ISESS 2007, Prague. May 22 – 25.

McMorrow, J.M. and Lindley, S. (2007) ‘Modelling the spatial risk of moorland wildfires’, Moors for the Future (MFF) Research Day, Bakewell, 17 Feb 07.

McMorrow, J.M. and Lindley, S. (2007) ‘Modelling the spatial risk of moorland wildfires; risk mapping for the Increasing Water Supplies for Moorland Fire Fighting project, Moors for the Future, Edale, 8 Jan 07.

McMorrow, J.M. Aylen, J., Lindley, S. Cavan, G., Albertson,, K. 2006. Wildfire, visitors and climate change: patterns, policies and prevention. Invited paper, Moors for the Future Symposium on Moorland Ecosystem Services, Castleton 9-10 Nov 2006

McMorrow, J., Cavan, G., Aylen, J., Albertson, K. and Handley, J. (2005) Fire and climate change in the Peak District’. Invited paper, MFF Symposium, Castleton 20-21 Sep 2005.

Aylen, J., McMorrow, J., Cavan, G. and Albertson, K. (2005) ‘Forecasting the outbreak of moorland wild fires’ Paper presented at the International Symposium on Forecasting, San Antonio, Texas, 12-15 June 2005.

Peatland remote sensing

Alroichdi, A., McMorrow, J.M. and Evans, M.G (2007) Laboratory spectro-radiometric prediction of peat decomposition: comparison of transmission, lignin-cellulose and other biochemical indices. RSPSoc07, Newcastle Sept 07, Poster paper. Merit award.

Al-Roichdi, A., McMorrow, J.M. and Evans, M.G (2007) ‘A decision tree approach to predict humification of organic soils’ EARSeL 5th Workshop on Imaging Spectroscopy, Bruges, Belgium, 23-25 April 2007.

McMorrow, J.M., Alroichdi, A., Evans, M. and Cutler, M, (2005) Modelling the humification of exposed blanket peat with HyMap data. Poster presented at Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) annual conference,Measuring, Mapping and Managing a Hazardous World, Portsmouth, 6-9 September 2005

Alroichdi, A., McMorrow, J.M. and Evans, M.G (2005) Estimating peat moisture content using simulated HyMap reflectance. (PowerPoint) Poster presented at Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy Workshop, Bruges, 6 October 2005.

Liddaman L, McMorrow J, Evans M, Lindsay J. (2005). Pattern metrics as a tool for classifying the erosion status of blanket peat. Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers Annual Meeting, London, UK, August 31 to September 2.

McMorrow, J.M., Alroichdi, A., Evans, M.G. and Cutler, (2004) M.E. Hyperspectral remote sensing of peat humification. Poster presented at Drivers of Change, Moors for the Future Symposium, Loose Hill Hall, Castleton, Derbyshire.

Alroichdi, A., McMorrow, J.M., Evans, M. (2004) Hyperspectral remote sensing of peat composition: ASD contact probe and HyMap scales. Proc. GORS 14th inthernational Symposium; Remote Sensing and Development. Damscus. Syria.

McMorrow, J., Alroichdi, A, Evans, M.G. and Cutler, M.E. (2004) Estimation of physico-chemical properties of exposed upland peat from HyMap spectra. Paper presented at Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy Workshop, Bruges, 8 October 2004.

McMorrow, J., Alroichdi, A, Evans, M.G. and Cutler, M.E. (2004) ‘Variations in upland peat properties: analysis of hyperspectral data.  Paper presented at the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) annual conference, Aberdeen, 7-10 September 2004.

Liddaman, L.C.  J. McMorrow, J.M. and Evans, M.G. (2004) Eroding blanket peat: utilising pattern analysis to assess areal and scale dependence of upland landscape structures. Poster paper presented at Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) annual conference, Aberdeen, 7-10 September 2004.  Merit award.

McMorrow, J.M., Alroichdi, A., Evans, M. and Cutler, M.E. (2003) The effect of moisture content and humification on the hyperspectral reflectance of peat’  Scales and Dynamics in Observing the Environment, Proc. Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) Conference, Nottingham, 10-12 Sept 2003, CDROM, Nottingham: RSPSoc.

Alroichdi, A. McMorrow, J.M. and Evans, M.G. (2003) The effect of moisture content on peat reflectance: drying experiments using the ASD contact probe. Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) Student meeting, Nottingham, 25 March 2003

Tropical land cover change

Cheesman, J.E. Cutler, M.E., Douglas, I, McMorrow, J.M., Foody, G.M. and Walsh, R.P. (2001) ‘Spatially Modelling the Soil Erosion Risk of Tropical Forest Exploitation Systems in South East Asia’, Proc. Canadian Conf. on Environmental Modelling, Sept 2000, Banff. CD-ROM.

Foody, G.M., Cutler, M.E., McMorrow, J.M. and Tangki, H. (2001) ‘Fuzzy classification for the mapping of disturbance in tropical forests.’ Proc. RSS 2000. Adding Value to Remotely Sensed Data, Remote Sensing Society, Nottingham, 2000, CD-ROM.

Lewis, P., Saich, P., McMorrow, J.M., Sinun, W. and Tey, S.H. (2001) ‘Monitoring regenerating rain forest and plantation crops in Sabah, Malaysia using ALOS PALSAR, AVNIR-2 and PRISM data’.  Paper presented at 1st Symposium for ALOS data application users, Tokyo, 27 March 2001, organised by NASDA

Foody, G.M., Cutler, M.E., McMorrow, J.M., Pelz, D., Tangki, H. and Boyd, D. (2000) ‘Mapping biomass and forest disturbance in Bornean tropical rainforest’, 28th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, Cape Town, 27-31 March 2000, 3: 9-12.

Cutler, M.E., Cheesman, J., McMorrow, J.M., Douglas, I. And Walsh, R.P.D. (2000) ‘Developing ground and remotely sensed indicators of the sustainability of tropical rainforest exploitation systems in South East Asia’, 28th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, Cape Town, 27-31 March 2000, 3: 95-98.

McMorrow, J.M. Empirical and theoretical relationships between oil palm plantation age, density and radiance’. Earth Observation; From Data to Information, Proceedings 25th Annual Remote Sensing Society Conference, Cardiff, 8-10 Sept 1999, Remote Sensing Society: Nottingham, pp 145-150 and CD-ROM.

McMorrow, J.M. (1995) ‘The effect of oil palm age on Landsat TM spectral response', RSS'95 Remote Sensing in Action, Proc. 21st annual conference of Remote Sensing Society, pp 960-967.

Scholarship of teaching and learning

McMorrow, J.M. (2008) PCL in the Larger Curriculum: Enquiry-Based Learning in Humanities at Manchester. Project-Centred Learning Symposium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, 17-19 March. Invited paper [Podcast], [The Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning (CEEBL)].

McMorrow, J.M. (2008) Enquiry-Based Learning in Humanities. Workshop for German-Malaysian Institute, Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning, University of Manchester, 11 April.

McMorrow, J.M. (2007), Experiences in developing an Interdisciplinary EBL module Higher EducationAcademy Interdisciplinary conference, Clare College, Cambridge, 10-11 September 2007. Invited paper.

Hick, P., McMorrow, J.M., Prince, R., and Theaker, E. (2007) EBL in the faculties. Opening address, CEEBL 2nd Annual Symposium: Projects 2006 – 07, Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre, University of Manchester.

McMorrow, J.M. (2007) Enquiry-Based Learning. Module for Humanities New Academics course, 22 May 2007, CEEBL, University of Manchester.

McMorrow, J.M. (2007) Inspiring Learning; enquiry-based learning. Workshop for History, Classics and Archaeology HEA Subject Centre, Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning, University of Manchester, 25 May.

Woods, C., McMorrow, J., Braidman, I., Lorenzo-Zamorano, S.  and Bowsher, C. (2006) Embedding interdisciplinarity; the evolution on an undergraduate EBL module (PDF)   In: Hutchings, W., O-Rourke, K. and Powell, N. Case studies: CEEBL-Supported Projects, 2005-06, Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-based Learning (CEEBL), University of Manchester, pp 101-124, ISBN -13: 978-0-9554815-0-5, ISBN-10: 09554815-0-3.

McMorrow, J. Woods, C., Braidman, I., Lorenzo, S. and Bowsher, C., 2006. Embedding Interdisciplinarity: Developing a generic undergraduate EBL team project module (PDF) Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning First Annual Symposium, 30 June 2006 University of Manchester. Available online:

Woods, C., McMorrow, J. and Braidman, I (2006) Interdisciplinary Learning in the UK HE Sector: Challenges & Possibilities. Higher Education Academy annual conference, Nottingham, July 2006

Woods, C., Bowsher, C., Braidman, I. Lorenzo, S. and McMorrow, J. (2005) lnterdisciplinary learning with societal responsibility: two case studies.  British Educational Research Association conference, University of Glamorgan, 21-22 September 2005

McMorrow, J.M., Lorenzo, S., Woods, C., Braidman, I. and Bowsher, C. (2005) Delivering an undergraduate interdisciplinary EBL module: the role of WebCT. How can learning technologies support Enquiry-Based Learning? University of Manchester, 27 May 2005.

Woods, C., McMorrow, J. and Braidman, I. (2004) Interdisciplinarity in the undergraduate curriculum: an inter-departmental teaching experience. British Educational Research Association conference, UMIST, 15-17 Sept 2004.

Woods, C., Fox, S., McMorrow, J.M. and Braidman, P (2004) Interdisciplinarity in the undergraduate curriculum. Workshop at the Learning and Teaching Conference 2004  Delivering Excellence, Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) / HE Academy., University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, 29 June 2004.

Woods, C., Fox, S., McMorrow, J.M. and Braidman, P (2004) Piloting interdisciplinarity in the undergraduate curriculum. Poster presentation, Snapshots of Innovation 2004, Proc 5th Symposium of University of Manchester and UMIST Teaching Research Development Network, University of Manchester, 18 May 2004, pp 9-12.

McMorrow, J.M., Woods, C., Braidman, P. and Fox, S. (2004) Interdisciplinarity in the Undergraduate Curriculum: pilot project. Presentation to University of Manchester and UMIST Teaching Research development Network, University of Manchester, 23 Feb 2004.

McMorrow, J.M. (2003) VLEs for fieldwork preparation, assessment and evaluation: the Dark Peak website, WebCT quizzes and surveys. Virtual Learning Environments in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, LTSN-GEES conference: Nov 18th 2003,University of Birmingham.

McMorrow, J.M. (2003) Using WebCT quizzes and surveys for course assessment and evaluation. Innovations in Assessment, Proceedings of 4th Symposium, University of Manchester and UMIST Teaching Research Development Network, 20 May 2003, pp 46-50.

Academic websites of interest

• Upland Environments Research Unit.
• Fire Interdisciplnary Research on Ecosystem Setvices (FIRES); fire and climate change in UK moorlands and heaths.
• Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning.