James Brasington

PhD University of Cambridge
BSc University of Bristol

My interests lie at the intersection of geomorphology, hydrology and remote sensing and focus on understanding how rivers respond to environmental change.

My current research projects address three central questions:

1. How and why do rivers adjust and evolve in response to environmental change?

2. How can remote sensing offer new perspectives on the character, condition and evolution of rivers?

3. How does sediment transport drive flood risk and changing river values?

Selected Recent Publications

Glassic, H. C., R. Al-Chokhachy, J. Wheaton, et al. 2025. “ Principles of Riverscape Health.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 12, no. 4: e70028.

Rogers, J.M., Brasington, J. & Hoyle, J. (2025) Bed material facies mapping at braided river scale and evidence for trends in fine sediment. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 50(2), e70012.

Nguyen, M., Wilson, M. D., Lane, E. M., Brasington, J., & Pearson, R. A. (2025). Quantifying uncertainty in flood predictions in fixed Cartesian flood model due to arbitrary conventions in grid alignment. Water Resources Research, 61, e2024WR038919.

Brierley, G. J., Hikuroa, D., Fuller, I. C., Tunnicliffe, J., Allen, K., Brasington, J., Friedrich, H., Hoyle, J., & Measures, R. (2023). Reanimating the strangled rivers of Aotearoa New Zealand. WIREs Water, 10(2), e1624.

Westerhoff, R. et al., 2023. Towards implementation of robust monitoring technologies alongside freshwater improvement policy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Environmental Science and Policy, 132, 1-12.

Abell, J.M., Pingram, M.A., Özkundakci, D. et al. Large floodplain river restoration in New Zealand: synthesis and critical evaluation to inform restoration planning and research. Reg Environ Change 23, 18 (2023).

External Links

Google Scholar
LinkedIn
ResearchGate
University of Canterbury

My research is at the forefront of developments to understand the links between river form, process and ecology. This research integrates theoretical and applied themes and focuses specifically on landscape dynamics over timescales of events-to-decades and spatial scales from bars-to-catchments. Key themes and recent publications include:

Geospatial modelling of river processes (Rogers et al., 2025; Westerhoff et al., 2022; Belletti et al., 2022; Walley et al., 2020; Victoriano et al., 2018; Brasington, 2017; Ridolfi et al., 2016; Javernick, et al., 2014; Williams et al., 2015; Brasington et al., 2012; Westoby et al., 2012).

River response to environmental change (Biggs et al., 2025; Glassic et al., 2025; Brierley, et al., 2022; Batalla et al., 2021; Harvey et al., 2020; Brasington and Wheaton, 2019; Vericat et al., 2017; Vericat et al., 2014; Wheaton et al., 2013; 2010; Rychkov et al., 2012; Brasington et al., 2003);

Multiscale fluvial simulation modelling (Nguyen et al., 2025; Rogers et al., 2024; Reesink et al., 2020; Kasprak et al., 2019; Connor-Streich et al., 2018; Williams et al., 2016; 2014; 2013; Javernick et al., 2015; Westoby et al., 2015).

Current and Recent Research Projects

Bathymetric modelling of shallow freshwater bodies with short-wave small footprint aerial lidar. MBIE NZ Endeavour Smart Idea, 2022-2025.

Modelling the river response to climate and anthropogenic forcing. Fish Futures, MBIE NZ Endeavour Research Programme, 2021-2026.

Te Rerenga Kareare: Modelling the geomorphic impacts of extreme rainfall events, MBIE NZ, Regional Hazard Tools, 2024-2026

Novel Geospatial Models of Braided River Width, Ministry for the Environment NZ, 2024-2025.

SWOT Calibration/Validation in Complex Multithread Rivers, NASA-JPL, 2023-2024

Publication Record

Google Scholar Profile
UC Research Profile

I have taught broadly across hydrology, geomorphology and remote sensing for over 20 years. My approach to teaching aims to engage students by exploring theory from first principles and experimentation and embedding knowledge through practical experience. I have taught in a wide range of institutions in the UK and NZ, and led short professional courses across the world. At the Waterways Centre I currently coordinate and/or contribute to the following courses:

ENVR 201 Hydrological Processes

ENVR 203 Field methods in Freshwater Science

WATR 410 Hydrology in a Warming World

WATR 412 Hydrological Extremes

WATR 691 Water Science and Management Project

Externally, I also teach professional development courses on geomorphic change detection and modelling remotely sensing of river environments – see: gcd.riverscapes.xyz.

I have supervised 17 doctoral students to the successful conclusion of their thesis at universities in NZ, the UK and USA. I often have grant-funded positions available for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and am looking to recruit candidates with strong academic backgrounds in the Earth, environmental and physical sciences or engineering who enjoy complex problems and thinking creatively.

My current lab group is working across a wide range of river science projects at the forefront of developments in remote sensing, geomorphology and environmental change.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Justin Stout: Fluvial Geomorphology and geomatics.

Rodrigo Gomez-Fell: Geospatial modelling and remote sensing.

Justin Rogers: Geomorphological modelling and machine learning

Research Assistants:

Alison Spera: geomatics and geospatial modelling

Alaina Baker: geomatics and geospatial modelling

Ella Ferrugia: geomatics and geospatial modelling

PhD Students

Martin Nguyen: Uncertainty estimation in flood inundation modelling.

Marissa Dudek: Estimating longitudinal streamflow losses and gains with SWOT satellite observations.

Ivan Pang: Assessing the impacts of sea level rise and sediment delivery on New Zealand’s estuaries.

Lovisa Ekelund: Exploring β-diversity Patterns in Headwaters: Do They Exist, and What Drives Them?

Sunil Tamang: Machine Learning Approaches for Regional Scale Rock Glaciers Mapping