Staff Profile

Background

I use geodetic observations to study the active deformation of the Earth’s crust, focusing on how the solid Earth responds to a range of surface loading processes. By analysing three-dimensional crustal movements, my research explores various mechanisms of solid Earth deformation, including Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA), tectonic activity, and hydrologic loading. Using GNSS measurements, I track present-day crustal deformation over time scales ranging from decades to millennia, providing valuable insights into the interactions between surface loads and the Earth’s deeper dynamics, and advancing our understanding of long-term geophysical processes and their implications for global and regional geodynamics.

See also my Personal webpage and Google Scholar profile for more information.

Areas of expertise

• Earth observations- Geodesy
• Crustal deformation
• Geophysics
• Remote sensing
• Statistical tools to extract information from observational data

Research topics

Publications

• Google Scholar

Supervision (PhD)

• Grace Jones-Cooke
• Daniel BASIL (Co-supervisor)
• David Gregg (Co-supervisor)
• Rinrada Srikwanma (Co-supervisor)
• Sophie Snowball (Co-supervisor)

Modules

• CEG3707: Geohazards and Deformation of the Earth. This module introduces a range of active research areas in geoscience, which benefit from the application of geodetic deformation monitoring techniques.
• CEG1717: Mapping the Earth: Location and Space. This module introduces fundamental methods and techniques of representing locations and spatial information in scientific studies.
• CEG3005: The data-centric urban environment. This module introduces key concepts and practical skills for handling data within a civil engineering context, with a focus on data science and spatial data, including applications within GIS and digital environments. 

• Articles

  • Nield GA, Bentley MJ, Koulali A, Clarke PJ, King MA, Wilson T, Whitehouse PL. Surface Mass Balance Variability Causes Viscoelastic Solid Earth Deformation in the Antarctic Peninsula. Geophysical Research Letters 2025, 52(12), e2025GL114595.
  • Koulali A, King MA, Clarke PJ, Nield GA, Bentley MJ. Geodetic Observations Reveal Near-Zero Uplift Rates in the Transantarctic Mountains: Implications of Surface Mass Loading Deformation. Geophysical Research Letters 2025, 52(23), e2025GL119082.
  • Buchta E, Scheinert M, King MA, Wilson T, Koulali A, Clarke PJ, Gomez D, Kendrick E, Knofel C, Busch P. Advancing geodynamic research in Antarctica: reprocessing GNSS data to infer consistent coordinate time series (GIANT-REGAIN). Earth System Science Data 2025, 17(5), 1761-1780.
  • Koulali A, Whitehouse PL, Clarke PJ, van den Broeke MR, Nield GA, King MA, Bentley MJ, Wouters B, Wilson T. GPS-Observed Elastic Deformation Due to Surface Mass Balance Variability in the Southern Antarctic Peninsula. Geophysical Research Letters 2022, 49(4), e2021GL097109.
  • Koulali A, Clarke PJ. Modelling quasi-periodic signals in geodetic time series using Gaussian Processes. Geophysical Journal International 2021, 226(3), 1705-1714.
  • Koulali A, Clarke PJ. Effect of antenna snow intrusion on vertical GPS position time series in Antarctica. Journal of Geodesy 2020, 94(10), 101.

• Research Datasets/Databases

  • Koulali A, King MA, Clarke PJ, Nield GA, Bentley MJ. Data accompanying "Geodetic observations reveal near-zero uplift rates in the Transantarctic Mountains: implications of surface mass loading deformation" [Koulali et al., (2025)] [Data set]. 2025. Geneva: Zenodo, 702.1 kB.
  • Buchta E, Scheinert M, King M, Wilson T, Clarke PJ, Gómez D, Kendrick E, Knöfel Ch, Koulali A. Daily coordinate time series for GPS stations on bedrock for Antarctica and the sub Antarctic sector, 1995-2021, reprocessed by the GIANT-REGAIN project [dataset bundled publication]. 2025. Bremerhaven: PANGAEA.