PhD Topic/Title: How does river morphology respond to climate change? How will this influence future UK flood risk?
Supervisors: Dr Edwin Baynes, Prof Stephen Rice
Research:
River morphology is an important driver of flood risk, governing the channel’s capacity to transport excess flow during flood events. In a changing climate, UK rivers are expected to experience accelerated rates of morphological adjustment (erosion/deposition) in response to changes in sediment supply and flow regime. However, these adjustments are difficult to model; channel geometry is governed by a complex network of sedimentological, hydrological and biological processes and feedbacks. Due to our limited ability to predict future changes in river morphology, the geomorphic influence on future flood risk is often poorly represented in flood prediction models.
My project explores the linkages between sediment transport and channel morphology under future climatic settings and aims to apply this understanding towards improving current river evolution models and flood hazard mapping.
Memberships:
British Society for Geomorphology: Postgraduate Forum