Heather Kerr
h.kerr.1@research.gla.ac.uk
East Quad Room 303
School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8QQ
Research title: Spatial variability in meander characteristics
Research Summary
Fluvial systems are important biogeochemical interfaces, habitats for wildlife, and conduits for delivering sediment and water to the world’s oceans. A large proportion of the world’s population live on and near fluvial environments, and in addition they form important political boundaries. Through time, rivers deposit sediment forming reservoirs that host a variety of resources that are critical to society (e.g. Uranium, copper, petroleum, and water). In addition, fluvial deposits have the potential to be geothermal sites and reservoirs for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Understanding lithological and geometric variations within subsurface formerly fluvial systems is critical when exploring and extracting important resources as these variations are primary influencers on how subsurface fluids flow, become trapped and convey pollutants.
Recent work indicates that the abundance of subsurface meander deposits has been significantly under-estimated in comparison with the prevalence of such deposits in modern sedimentary basins (Hartley et al., 2015). Considerable work has assessed internal heterogeneity in single point bar (meander) deposits, but there has been considerably less research into gross scale characteristics (e.g. size, migration type and rate) of fluvial point bars and how these vary spatially.
This study aims to rectify the above gaps in knowledge by characterising both modern and ancient meander deposits within a spatial context to answer the key question: To what extent do characteristics of meanders vary in space? Downstream changes in channel size are shown to be present on tributary and distributary systems. It is expected with these known downstream changes that there should be a systematic change in meander characteristics, resulting in a variation in meander characteristics within a predictive framework.
This project will answer the following key questions using modern and ancient datasets:
• How do gross-scale meander characteristics (e.g. size, amplitude, migration rate) vary in space from the source to termination of river systems within, and across, several different sedimentary basin types in a range of climate settings?
• To what extent do micro-scale characteristics (e.g. Porosity and permeability) vary within the spatial context?
This research will provide new quantification of the characteristics and spatial variability to be expected in subsurface deposits as well as shed important light on modern fluvial geomorphic processes.
Supervisors
Grants
University of Glasgow Conference Support Fund. £300. ICFS 2023: PhD Research (Spatial variability in modern meanders within the Wood River, Alaska Distributive Fluvial System (DFS)).
SAGES 11th call Small Grant Scheme (SSGS). £750. ICFS 2023: PhD Research (Spatial variability in modern meanders within the Wood River, Alaska Distributive Fluvial System (DFS)).
IAS Travel Grant. 200 Euros. ICFS 2023: PhD Research (Spatial variability in modern meanders within the Wood River, Alaska Distributive Fluvial System (DFS)).
Angus Mitchell PhD Scholarship Research Training Support Grant. £3,000. Spatial variability in meander characteristics (PhD).
JBA Consulting Graduate Scheme Research and Development Grant. £600. QGIS Flood Mapping Scoping Study.
Conference
Poster presentation upcoming at: International Conference of Fluvial Sedimentology (ICFS) 2023, Riva del Garda, Italy (2-7 June 2023)
Poster presentation at: British Society for Geomorphology (BSG) ASM 2022, Northumbria University, Newcastle (5-7 September 2022)
Poster presentation at: SAGES 2022 ASM - RSS Discovery and Malmaison, Dundee (3-5 May 2022)
CIWEM Scottish Branch Biennial Symposium, Apex Hotel Grassmarket, Edinburgh (24 October 2019)
Teaching
- Lab demonstrator for Geography 2 physical labs (Semester 2, 2022-2023)
- Tutor for Geography 2 physical tutorials (Semester 1, 2022-2023)
- Lab demonstrator for Earth Science 2A/2B workshops (Semester 1 and 2, 2022-2023)
- Tutor for Geography Summer School 2022
- Lab demonstrator for Topographic mapping and landscape monitoring (MSc level) - Lab Demonstrator - (Semester 2, 2021-2022)
- Lab demonstrator for Geography 2 GIS labs (Semester 1, 2021-2022)
See staff page here.
Additional Information
Academic and professional body membership:
- RET (Recognising Excellence in Teaching) Associate Fellow (2023)
- IAS (International Association for Sedimentology) Student Member (2023)
- SAGES Post Graduate Associate Member (2022)
- BSG (British Society for Geomorphology) Postgrad PhD Member (2022)
Conference contributions:
SNIFFER Conference for Flood Risk Management 2020: Assisted with production of presentation on the impacts of climate change on flood risk to properties, presented by a JBA Consulting director (30-31 January 2020)
MSc project material presented by MSc supervisor at: International Conference of Science and Applied Geography (ICoSAG) 2019 - Universitas Indonesia, Depok (24th August 2019)
Academic/ industry background:
- Assistance Analyst, JBA Consulting, 2019-2021. Successful completion of graduate scheme. Worked across two teams: Flood Risk Management and Environment teams.
- MSc Sustainable Water Environments, University of Glasgow, Distinction and Best Overall Degree Performance Award 2018-2019
- BSc Hons Geography, University of Glasgow (2:1), 2014-2018
