The Peter Fleming Award is an award of up to £9,000 for a geographical research project that seeks to advance geographical science. It is one of the senior awards that the Society offers to support the development of geographical knowledge and understanding.
Applications can be made in any field of geography provided the project can demonstrate genuine advancement of current knowledge.
Deadline: 23 November 2012
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Peter Fleming Award guidelines (PDF) - guidelines for this years Award are currently being updated
Research Ethics and Code of Practice (PDF)
Peter Fleming Award recipients
2011: Dr Stephanie Mills (University of Kingston) and Dr Tim Barrows (University of Exeter). Ocean dynamics and terrestrial changes - Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa. Changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation systems have global implications for climate change. This research assessed the impact of changes in the Agulhas current to test how variations in ocean circulation affected terrestrial conditions, atmospheric circulation and ice age climates
2010: Dr David Rippin (University of Hull) and Dr Jonathan Carrivick (University of Leeds). Dynamical responses of small, cold arctic glaciers to climate change Kårsaglaciären is a small, cold glacier with a shallow mass balance gradient and low ice velocity using ground penetrating radar. This study assessed the dynamics of the glacier in response to climate change
2009: Dr Andy Hodson (University of Sheffield). Microbial enhancement of glacier melt. Some 10 trillion micro-organisms are liberated by glaciers melting every year. These cells attach themselves to other particles, grow and increase surface melt rates by darkening the surface absorbing solar radiation, in turn increasing melt further. This project studied the feedback mechanisms on three Spitsbergen glaciers at various stages of retreat
2008: Dr Andrew Thomas (Manchester Metropolitan University). Co2 and N2o emissions from soils along a Kalahari rainfall gradient. This study focussed on the relationship between soil gaseous emissions, climate and grazing. These data are needed to predict regional environmental and climatic changes, with implications for the livelihood of Kalahari pastoralists
2007: Dr Peter Langdon (University of Southampton). Testing the potential of temperature and precipitation proxies from recent lake archives in Patagonia. The project developed high-resolution reconstructions of climatic variability over the last 500 years for multiple lakes in Patagonia. The sensitivity of two proxies of climate change in the Rio Chacabuco region-chironomids and stable isotopes were tested
2006: Dr Charlie Bristow (Birkbeck College, University of London). Paleolake Megachad Shoreline Chronology: Evidence for humid periods in the Sahara. The project aimed to determine the age of palaeolake shorelines in the southern Sahara. The shorelines around the lake contain a record of late Pleistocene and Holocene climate change recording changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration
2006: Dr Jos Barlow (University of East Anglia). Biodiversity and ecosystem response to forest fires in Amazonian forests. The project studied current fire dynamics in tropical rainforests, providing information about biodiversity, climate change and the long-term sustainability of the world's tropical forests. Fieldwork was conducted in Para (representing core Amazonian forest) and Roraima (representing transitional forest)
2005: Dr Philip Hughes (University of Manchester). Quaternary glacial history of Montenegro. A study of Pleistocene glaciation in the Dinaric Alps in the Montenegro, involving the detailed mapping, sedimentological analysis and dating of glacial and periglacial landforms
2004: Dr Mike Searle (Oxford University). Makalu-Barun Expedition 2005. Part of a study of the entire Nepal-South Tibet Himalaya, this study mapping and collecting over 80 rock samples to determine metamorphism timing and erosional history around the Barun glacier
2004: Dr Heather Viles (Oxford University). Landscape evolution and hydroclimatic change in the Cunene Sand Sea, NW Namibia. The first integrated field survey of the hyperarid Cunene Sand Sea, in cooperation with the Republic of Namibia Directorate of Survey and the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia
For further information on the projects listed above, including a summary of the research and expedition reports, please browse the Society's Expeditions Database.
About the Award
Peter Fleming, born 1907, was educated at Eton and Oxford, went on to become literary editor of The Spectator and Special Correspondent for The Times, traveling widely.
In 1932, Fleming signed up to an expedition, advertised in The Times. The expedition travelled to Sao Paolo, to the rivers Aragauaia and Tapirapé, heading towards the likely last-known position of the Fawcett expedition. They continued up the Tapirapé to Sao Domingo to look for Fawcett, making slow progress. They admitted defeat after several days. Fleming’s book of the trip, Brazilian Adventure, was a bestseller, launching his writing career.
Peter Fleming died in 1979 with The Fleming Award offered in his honour. The grant has been awarded annually since 2004, for a research project that seeks to advance geographical science.