Meet the people who make up STEM Faculty.
My research spans sedimentology and stratigraphy. I am particularly interested in deciphering and understanding palaeoclimate change, detecting past changes in sea-level and advancing our understanding of geological time. I have been at the forefront of developing new field and geochemical proxies for environmental change. A lot of my research has focussed on the Jurassic, but I have also worked on many other interevals in the Phanerozoic.
I have worked for the Open University for almost 30 years based at the main campus in Milton Keynes. Prior to this I was the Elf postdoctoral fellow at Durham University and studied for my D.Phil at Oxford University. In 2021 I was honoured to be awarded the John Phillips medal by the Yorkshire Geological Society for distinguished contributions to our knowledge of the stratigraphy and palaeontology of Yorkshire and the north of England.
I am passionate about helping undergraduates and postgraduates to learn and develop new skills. I have developed new methods for more effective education for over two decades. In 2015-2016 I led a project on innovative methods of bringing the educators and students closer together in distance education so that students are better supported and more engaged. This has initiated entirely new approaches to teaching across the University and several strategic University projects. In 2018 I was presented with an Open University Teaching Award for Excellence in Innovation and I joined the University Senior Team to contribute my expertise in teaching.
*If you are interested in proposing a volume for the Geoscience in Practice series please get in touch with me. More information on the series is in our Geoscientist article.
Coe, A.L. (ed) 2022. Deciphering Earth's History: the Practice of Stratigraphy, Geological Society, London, Geoscience in Practice, https://doi.org/10.1144/GIP1 (For more information see: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/GIP001)
Coe, A.L., Argles, T. W., Rothery, D. A. & Spice, R. A. 2010. Geological Field Techniques (edited by: Angela L. Coe), Wiley-Blackwell and The Open University, 323pp. (ISBN 9781444330625) (Website and link to other resources)
Coe, A.L., Bosence, D., Church, K. D., Flint, S.S., Howell, J. A. & Wilson, R.C.L. 2003. The Sedimentary Record of Sea-Level Change (edited by: Angela L. Coe). Cambridge University Press and The Open University, 288pp. (ISBN 978 0 521 53842 4) (Website and link to resources)
My research focuses on sea-level change, the development and application of sequence stratigraphy and palaeoclimate change including de-oxygenation of the oceans. I currently have research projects in the following areas:
I started the Palaeoenvironmental Change Research Group and oversee the running of a suite of laboratories for the preparation of sedimentary deposits for sedimentological, palaeontological and stable isotopic analyses.
I have a lot of experience of post-graduate supervision through my own students and setting up and then serving as the postgraduate tutor for the department for over 10 years.
My current research students are: Julie Harrald and Adam Losekoot. All of my research students have gone on to successful careers in academia, the oil industry, teaching or the charity sector.
Teaching interests
I teach a broad range of Earth Science disciplines including: sedimentology, stratigraphy, palaeoclimatology, palaeontology, field skills, earth system science, basin analysis, geophysics and general geology. I have also contributed towards pedagogy, science communication, project work and led 10 course teams.
Current and recent undergraduate modules
S309 Earth processes. I was academic lead and core author of this level 3, 60 credit course on Earth processes through production and the first nine years of presentation. Through my leadership this innivative flagship course has developed and tested a brand new way of producing and presenting online modules at the Open University. The KPIs from the student survey are 7-15% higher than the average for the univeristy at level 3. The module is presented every year starting in October.
S831 Environmental Science challenges I was academic lead and author of this innovative masters module. This module is core to the new integrated masters in Environmental Science M05.
Linked undergraduate qualifications: S309 contributes towards the Earth Science pathway of the BSc in Natural Sciences as well as the open STEM and open qualifications. More information on our qualifications for current OU students can be found on the Qualification website.
