Waterways Centre

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.

Sophie is a hydrologist and coastal geomorphologist, integrating the conveyance of sediment and nutrients through the fluvial system into the coastal margin with the longer-term considerations of landscape trajectory through the lens of shore platforms and marine terrace sequences. Sophie’s research interests are in the contemporary processes that govern sediment transport and mobilisation primarily as the suspended and dissolved flux in rivers in high standing islands, and on hard rock coastlines in neo-tectonic settings. She is particularly interested in event-scale processes of denudation, weathering, and erosion in mountain environments and at the coast, framed around the concept of ki uta ki tai that recognises the intrinsic links between mountains and coastal systems. Within these environments Sophie also works on agricultural land use impacts on nitrate and bacterial contaminants and the mobilisation through surface and subsurface pathways. Methodologically, her work draws on geochemical techniques to trace sediment origins, field-based experiments measuring hydrodynamics and transport capacity, and investigation of how different wave spectra drive geomorphic work.

I am a coastal geomorphologist whose research interests lie at the interface of coastal physical processes, landform evolution, and management. My research aims to understand how interacting physical processes control the morphodynamics and evolution of coastal landforms, and how these processes and landforms are in turn impacted by human activities.

Principle scientific questions that drive my research include: Where is sediment eroded, transported, and stored across the coastal zone? How will coastal landforms respond to changing boundary conditions over tidal to geological timescale? And how does geologic setting influence natural and human processes? To answer these questions, I use a combination of field, lab, and modelling methods to collect empirical data. I then use this data to predict past, present-day, and future behaviour with an emphasis on producing information that is useful for managers and policy makers. My research interests and expertise can be summarised by three semi-overlapping research topics:

1.  estuary entrance processes
2.  the evolution of estuaries and barrier systems, and
3. shoreline change in response to ocean wave processes. 

I am passionate about undertaking research that can contribute to improving our understanding how coastal processes may change in future (e.g. under climate change and sea level rise) and that is useful in practice for coastal communities and managers.

I am interested in understanding how hydrologic systems function, specifically the groundwater component. My research areas include groundwater management, groundwater - surface water interaction and groundwater dynamics in coastal regions. I characterise field systems using various methods and parameters including pressure, conductivity and natural tracers. I test processes and perform sensitivity analyses using analytic, numeric and physical modelling.

I currently serve as Chair of the UC School of Earth and Environment Postgraduate Committee. I am also an expert witness for the Environmental Defence Society on the groundwater effects of the proposed Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024. Previously, I was Associate Editor for Hydrogeology Journal, the flagship journal of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (2019 to 2025), and served on the Marsden Earth Sciences and Astronomy panel (2022 to 2025).

My research is funded through the following MBIE Endeavour research programs:
* Subsurface processes in braided rivers - hyporheic exchange and leakage to groundwater (2019 - 2024, as a Principal Investigator)
* Transforming coastal lowland systems threatened by sea-level rise into prosperous communities (2021 - 2027, as a Principal Investigator)

* Derisking Carbon Dioxide Removal at Megatonne Scale in Aotearoa (2025 - 2030, as an Associate Investigator)