Welcome to this page! I’m a sedimentologist / geologist with an enthusiasm for geologically-related travel and adventures. I am at my best in the field, and have a passion for both research and teaching in the great outdoors- from mountains to deserts and to the windswept corners of the world. Feel free to get in touch if you want to discuss any of the research we are doing or wish to explore any collaborative opportunities with us!

Current research Interests:

• Glacial sedimentology - past deep time glacial records around the world.  Both “pure” and “applied” research into these topics. Palaeoglaciological reconstructions.
• Soft-sediment deformation structures
• Aspects of Precambrian carbonates (e.g. post-glacial cap carbonates, Microbialites)

External responsibilities:

• Associate Editor, Journal of Sedimentary Research
• Associate Editor, Indian Journal of Sedimentologists
• Associate Editor, Sedimentology (2016)

Recently completed and Current Projects:

• The Cryogenian diamictites of Death Valley, California, and their palaeogeographic significance (in collaboration with Tom Vandyk, Dr Marie Busfield, and Saeed Tofaif)
• The Late Ordovician glacial record in the Tabuk area, Saudi Arabia (MPhil project of Saeed Tofaif, with Saudi Aramco)
• The Ediacaran / Cambrian glacial deposits and the striated pavements of the Luoquan Formation and equivalents, central China. PhD project of Tom Vandyk (currently at Royal Holloway, University of London)
• Soft-sediment deformation structures and striated pavements associated with the Late Paleozoic glaciations

PhD project opportunities:

I always welcome approaches from interested, field-oriented individuals to design new projects and work together! Feel free to drop me a line at daniel.le-heron@univie.ac.at

Short CV:

Born 1978 in Guernsey, Channel Islands (between England and France)

1997-2000: Bachelor’s degree in Geology at Aberystwyth University, Wales, United Kingdom

2000-2003: PhD degree in Geology specialising in Sedimentology also at Aberystwyth University. My studies were spent entirely in the offices of ENI-Lasmo, the former British/Italian oil company that was based in London. Thesis topic: “Development of the Murzuq Basin, SW Libya, during the Late Ordovician. During this I undertook the first 3 of 12 field seasons I have been lucky enough to undertake in the Sahara.

2004-2005: Postdoc, sponsored by TOTAL, in Strasbourg University, France. Field seasons in Morocco.

2006-2006: Geologist at CASP, a geological research organisation in Cambridge, UK, with further fieldwork in Libya and Siberia

2006-2007: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, University of Hanover, Germany.

2008-2017: Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, then Reader at Royal Holloway University of London. Conducted and directed field-based geological research in Brazil, Indonesia, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, USA, Australia and China.

2018: Joined University of Vienna in the Geodynamics and Sedimentology team.