ProfessorJames Brasington

My research focuses on the links between the Earth’s surface morphology and the physical processes that shape it. This relationship is two way, as topography exerts a primary control on the distribution and intensity of geophysical flows which in turn, shape our landscapes through erosion and sedimentation. I am fortunate to be working on this theme now as the geosciences undergo a technological revolution that is transforming the measurement of topography. This step-change is driven by the emergence of new Earth observation platforms and sensors, in particular airborne and terrestrial laser scanners and methods to model landforms in three dimensions from ground-based, aerial and satellite imagery. Datasets which capture the geometry of integrated landscapes, built upwards from their particle scale building blocks, are fast becoming a reality.

This data revolution has far reaching consequences, offering insights into the scaling of topography, non-invasive methods to quantify landscape form across multiple spatial scales and a framework to measure 3D change and sediment budgets robustly. Perhaps more fundamentally, these data offer new opportunities to develop novel tools to parameterize and test numerical models in order to better predict the dynamics of the key geophysical flows which both supply and threaten our growing populations.