News

River expert to lead geomorphology society

Published 3 July 2012

A University of Brighton expert in river dynamics is to lead the UK's foremost organisation for specialists in how our landscapes are shaped.

Phil Ashworth, Professor of Physical Geography in the School of Environment and Technology, has been elected designate chair of the British Society for Geomorphology (BSG).

Professor Phil Ashworth

He will serve as deputy for a year from June 2012 and will take the chair for the following two years from June 2013.

The BSG is the professional organisation that is responsible for developing excellence in geomorphological research (the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them), influencing policy agendas on landscape use and development, and developing the next generation of geomorphologists.

It was formed in 1960, has over 500 members and its journal, ‘Earth Surface Processes and Landforms’, is published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Phil previously served for three years as chair of the BSG Research Committee. He is the Director of Research and Development (Life and Physical Sciences) at the University of Brighton and serves as a National Environment Research Council Panel chair, has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers and currently holds grants worth over £1.5m from Research Council and industrial sources.

His current research includes a three-year project studying the tidally-influenced fluvial zone where the river meets the sea on the Columbia River Estuary in the US and a three-year study of river bed sedimentation in the Mississippi River. He has just completed a large-scale project investigating the interaction between flow, sediment transport, morphology and sedimentology in the Rio Paraná in Argentina, one of the world's largest braided (multi-channel) rivers. Phil is also a consultant to the oil industry and is advising on projects related to hydrocarbons trapped in ancient river-tidal deposits.