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Identifying sediment transport pathways to assess the response of delta formation to changes in fluvial inputs.

People Involved

Professor Daniel Parsons

Project Description

My research focuses on understanding the controls and processes which transfer sediment and water through fluvial systems. I have approached this through a combination of both high-resolution process observation and numerical modelling. My research has investigated the processes and rates of bank erosion on large rivers (Hackney et al., 2015, Geophysical Research Letters; Leyland, Hackney et al., 2016, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms), revealing new insights into the processes operating on large river banks and the role of bank erosion in generating suspended sediment load. Furthermore, my research has used high-resolution acoustic Doppler current profilers (aDcps) to quantify sediment loads in the Mekong river and how this load has been declining as a result of shifting tropical cyclone tracks (Darby, Hackney et al., 2016, Nature). Recent work has investigated the splitting of water and sediment at river bifurcation nodes and the impacts of this distribution on rates and locations of subsequent bank erosion downstream (Hackney et al. in review, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms). Additionally, I am exploring the delivery of sediment to distributive systems (deltas and crevasse-splays) in order to understand the controls on their morphodynamics and the implications of autogenics on their longer-term stability.

Status Project Complete
Value £11,750.00
Project Dates Feb 28, 2018 - Nov 27, 2020

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