Geography

Geography

Professor James Brasington

Position

Professor of Physical Geography

Qualifications

James was educated at the Universities of Bristol (BSc) and Cambridge
(PhD) in the UK and was awarded his doctorate for research into hydrological modelling in the Nepal Himalaya in 1998. He has held lectureships at the Universities of Hull, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, and was Reader in Physical Geography at the University of Wales Aberystwyth before taking up his position at Queen Mary University of London in late 2011.

Contact Details

Email: james.brasington@canterbury.ac.nz
Web: http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/staff/brasingtonj.html

Research

James is a river basin scientist who works on two complementary research themes: (a) new approaches for characterising and monitoring change in hydrological systems; and (b) numerical methods for simulating hydrological and geomorphological dynamics across a range of time and space scales. Geographically his research spans a diverse range of environments from the hot and dry (Iraq) to the warm and wet (Nepal) and the cool and humid (Scotland and New Zealand).  He also enjoys playing with sand and water in the laboratory which he passes off as physical modelling.

When he isn't working, he enjoys mountain walking and running, and occasionally drowning himself in the swimming pool!

Selected Publications

  • Williams, R.D., Brasington, J., Vericat, D., Hicks, D.M., Labrosse, F., Neal, M.N. 2011. Monitoring braided river change using terrestrial laser scanning and optical bathymetric mapping.  In, Smith, M., Paron, P. and Griffiths, J. 2011. Geomorphological Mapping. Elsevier.
  • Brasington, J. 2010. From grain to floodplain: hyperscale models of braided rivers.  Journal of Hydraulic Research,  48 (4): 52-53 Suppl. 4 2010.
  • Brasington, J. and Vericat, D. 2010.  Geomatics and Geomorphology: shining new light on riverscapes.  Trabajos Geomorfología en España, 2008-2010. SEG, 167-187.
  • Wheaton, J., Brasington, J., Darby, S.E., Sear, D. 2010. Accounting for uncertainty in DEMs from repeated topographic survey: improved sediment budgets.  Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35, 136-156.
  • Wheaton, J., Brasington, J., Darby, S.E., Mertz, J., Pasternack, G.B., Sear, D., Vericat, D. 2010.  Linking geomorphic changes to salmonid habitat and a scale relevant to fish.  River Research and Applications, 26, 469-486.
  • Antonarakis, A.S., Richards, K.S., Brasington, J., Bithell, M. and Muller, E. 2010.  Determining LAI and leafy tree roughness using terrestrial lidar. Water Resources Research, 46, W606510.
  • Antonarakis, A.S., Richards, K.S., Brasington, J., Bithell, M. and Muller, E. 2009. Leafless roughness of complex tree morphology using terrestrial lidar. Water Resources Research, 45, W10401.
  • Vericat, D., Brasington, J., Cowie, M. and Wheaton, J. 2009.  Accuracy assessment of aerial photographs acquired using lighter-than-air blimps: low-cost tools for mapping river corridors. River Research and Applications, 15, 985-1000.
  • Bithell, M. and Brasington, J. 2009. Integrating agent-based models of subsistence farming with individual-based forest models and dynamic models of water distribution.  Environmental Modelling and Software, 24, 173-190.
  • Hodge RA, Brasington J, Richards KS. 2009. Characterisation of grain-scale fluvial morphology using TLS. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 34, 954-968.
  • Hodge RA, Brasington J, Richards KS. 2009. Analysing laser-scanned digital terrain models of gravel bed surfaces: linking morphology to sediment transport processes and hydraulics.  Sedimentology, 56, 2024-2043.
  • Rumsby, B.T., Brasington, J., Langham, J.A., McLelland, S.J., Middleton, R., Rollinson, G., 2008. Monitoring and modelling particle and reach-scale morphological change in gravel bed rivers: applications and challenges, Geomorphology, 93, 40-54.
  • Vericat, D., Brasington, J., Wheaton, J., Rychkov, I. 2008. Determinación de la rugosidad de lechos de gravamediante láser terrestre de alta resolución.  Trabajos Geomorfología en España, 2006-2008. SEG, 167-170.
  • Antonarakis A.S, Richards K.S, Brasington J. 2008. Retrieval of vegetative fluid resistance using airborne lidar. Journal Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 113, G02S07.
  • Antonarakis A.S, Richards K.S, Brasington J. 2008. Object-based land cover classification using airborne LiDAR. Remote Sensing of Environment, 112, 2988-2998.
  • Bithell, M., Brasington, J. and Richards, K.S. 2008. Discrete-element, individual-based and agent-based models: Tools for interdisciplinary geography? Geoforum, 39, 625-642.
  • McMillan, H.K. and Brasington, J. 2008.  End-to-end flood forecasting under uncertainty.  Water Resources Research, 44, W03419.
  • McMillan, H.K. and Brasington, J. 2007. Reduced Complexity Strategies for Modelling Urban Floodplain Inundation, Geomorphology, 90, 226-243.
  • Brasington, J. and Richards, K. 2007. Reduced-complexity, physically-based geomorphological modelling for catchment and river management, Geomorphology, 90, 171-177.
  • Hodge, R., Richards, K.S. and Brasington, J. 2007. A physically-based bedload transport model developed for 3D reach-scale cellular modelling, Geomorphology, 90, 244-262.