Dr Julie Durcan

I am a geomorphologist and geochronologist interested in how landscapes evolve over long-term timescales. My research focuses on understanding when landscapes changed, what drove those changes, and how they interacted with past human societies, particularly in mid- and low-latitude environments.

Luminescence dating is central to much of my research. I develop and apply luminescence methods to build chronologies of landscape change, with research ranging from fundamental questions about luminescence signals and environmental dose rates to applications in geomorphology, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and geoarchaeology.

My current research includes projects across the Indus Basin, the Arabian Peninsula and southern Africa. At Oxford, I am developing the research programme of the Oxford Luminescence Dating Laboratory and lead the School’s Landscape Dynamics research cluster. I am also an Associate Editor of Geochronology

I joined Oxford as Associate Professor of Physical Geography and Tutorial Fellow at Hertford College in 2026, after holding research and teaching positions in the School of Geography and the Environment and at St John’s and Brasenose Colleges.

I completed my PhD at Aberystwyth University in 2013, using luminescence dating to investigate the evolution of river systems in Pakistan and their relationship with the Indus Civilisation. Before that, I completed a master’s degree in Quaternary Science at Royal Holloway, University of London, and an undergraduate degree in Geography at the University of Sheffield.

Landscape evolution and environmental change

I am interested in understanding how landscapes respond to climatic and environmental change over timescales ranging from individual events to millennial-scale changes during the Quaternary. Much of my research focuses on mid- and low-latitude environments, where establishing robust chronologies allows us to investigate the timing, rates and drivers of landscape change.

My current work includes research in the Indus Basin, the Arabian Peninsula and the Namib, examining questions including fluvial and aeolian landscape evolution, landscape stability and reactivation, and geomorphic responses to climatic and environmental forcing.

Human–environment interactions

I work at the interface between geomorphology, environmental science and archaeology to investigate how past societies interacted with changing landscapes. A longstanding focus of this research is the Indus Basin, where I use geochronological and geomorphological evidence to explore relationships between river systems, environmental change and past settlement.

More broadly, I am interested in how chronologies of landscape change can help us understand the environmental contexts within which past societies developed and adapted.

Luminescence geochronology

A major strand of my research focuses on the development and application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. I am particularly interested in improving the accuracy, precision and range of information that can be obtained from luminescence measurements, and in developing approaches that allow luminescence to address new questions about landscape processes.

My methodological research includes work on quartz luminescence characteristics, single-grain measurements and environmental dose rate determination. I developed DRAC (Dose Rate and Age Calculator) for trapped-charge dating and contribute to the Luminescence R package.

I am developing the scientific programme of the Oxford Luminescence Dating Laboratory (OLD), where we use luminescence methods to establish chronologies for environmental and archaeological records.

My aim is to build on the laboratory’s strengths in both applied geochronology and methodological research, while developing collaborations across geography, earth sciences, archaeology and related disciplines.

I teach Physical Geography across the undergraduate Geography degree and am a Tutorial Fellow in Geography at Hertford College. My teaching interests include geomorphology, Quaternary environmental change, geochronology and Earth system processes.

I welcome enquiries from prospective graduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in landscape evolution, dryland geomorphology, Quaternary environmental change, geoarchaeology and luminescence geochronology.