Research

My research integrates surface process modeling with quantitative geomorphology to build our understanding of landscape change.

I focus on deltaic environments, which possess an abundance of natural resources that are critical for societal wellbeing. Delta sustainability is uncertain though, due to a multitude of natural and anthropogenic factors including sea-level rise, sediment supply reduction, land subsidence, and river avulsion. These challenges to delta sustainability are surmountable, but understanding deltaic system complexity is prerequisite to sustainable management.

Specifically, I partition my research into three key themes

1. Sustainable landscape management: what is the process of natural river, delta, and coastal evolution and how is human activity affecting this?
2. Water and ground-fluid resources: what processes lead to emergent organization of the stratigraphic record and how can we leverage this to constrain subsurface fluid pathways?
3. People and landscapes under changing climate: how will changing climate affect connections between landscape processes, and in turn modulate human activity?

Featured projects:

Optimized deltaic diversion scenarios

Diversions can save delta land, but have high costs. We examined how the natural function of delta avulsion leads to an optimal location for diversions within a delta.

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Subsurface uncertainty quantification

A limited understanding of subsurface flow patterns inhibits our ability to sustainably manage water resources and mitigate health risks in river-delta environments.

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All research projects:

High-concentration flow dynamics – sediment diversion efficiency

Vertical sediment concentration distribution is altered in high-concentration flows, and therefore impacts the efficacy of sediment-extraction infrastructure.

Predicting deltaic avulsion timing and location

Deltaic avulsion causes flooding and channel relocation. Predicting when and where avulsions occur will improve landscape stability for society living on a d...

Optimized deltaic diversion scenarios

Diversions can save delta land, but have high costs. We examined how the natural function of delta avulsion leads to an optimal location for diversions withi...

Drainage divide migration – long-wavelength topographic forcing

Over geologic time, sediment flux to coastlines may depend on large-scale drainage capture events.

Subsurface uncertainty quantification

A limited understanding of subsurface flow patterns inhibits our ability to sustainably manage water resources and mitigate health risks in river-delta envir...