Contact
Biography
I am currently Associate Professor and Director of Research in the School of Geography. I was awarded a BSc Geography from the University of Nottingham in 2005, MSc Environmental Monitoring for Management from Loughborough University in 2006, and a PhD from Loughborough University in 2011.
My research interest is in understanding the interlinkages between hydrological, geomorphological and ecological processes and systems in rivers to inform more successful, and more sustainable, management of freshwaters.
Teaching Summary
My teaching reflects my research experience, being focused on river processes and management. My modules include field trips and laboratory work, as well as engagement with management practitioners… read more
Research Summary
I am interested in how aquatic organisms occupy, utilise and modify environments, working at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology.
A list of my academic outputs is available at my Google.Scholar page.
I am currently working on:
1) The ability of living organisms to alter physical processes, such as sediment transport, in rivers.
Living organisms can alter environments through their presence and activity, with implications for geomorphic and biochemical processes. I am interested in how invertebrate animals alter the flow of material through river systems, including the destabilisation of river beds and banks by the invasive signal crayfish (e.g. Article Link), which can also increase the transport of sediment through rivers (e.g.link). Organisms can also stabilise river substrates (e.g. Article Link) and alter the dynamics of sediment grains (e.g. Article Link).
2) The impacts of water quality and pollution on aquatic ecosystems.
I research pollutants in rivers, including the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in freshwater organisms (e.g. Article link), the presence of microplastics in rivers (e.g. Article Link) and the complex role of anthropogenic waste to aquatic communities (e.g. Article Link). I am particularly concerned with the sub-lethal impacts of pollutants on invertebrate organisms across multiple life stages (e.g Article Link).
Rising water temperature also has significant impacts on water quality and aquatic communities in rivers (e.g. Article link). I am working on how to identify and increase resilience of rivers to future warming (e.g. Article Link).
3) Better incorporation of ecological processes into river management frameworks.
My work is applied and I work with many partners in government, industry and charitable organisations. I am working on projects in the USA (e.g. Article link), China (e.g. Article link), Brazil (e.g. Article link) and UK (e.g. Article link) on novel river management schemes, which aim to better account for ecological processes in river management (e.g. Article Link)
I supervise Research Masters and PhD students working on freshwater science and management. My current students are:
Zhenghang Chen (2024) Modelling flash flooding in mountainous regions for improved risk management. UNNC scholarship.
Xi He (2023) Restoring and rewilding rivers: social perceptions and ecological expectations. School of Geography Scholarship.
Jake Dimon (2023) Restoring oil palm rivers: assessing the effects of riparian re-vegetation and in-channel modifications on biodiversity and functionality. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Zilin Wang (2023) Understanding the Water-Carbon-Energy nexus in hydropower. UNNC scholarship.
Ed Dilks (2022) The impact of small impoundments and connectivity loss on fish distribution and abundance in river ecosystems: leveraging cutting edge geospatial modelling and eDNA approaches. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Katherine Hart (2022) A river catchment classification framework to optimise and inform future freshwater monitoring and policy in the UK. School of Geography scholarship
Melissa Mayer (2021) Detection, identification and quantification of microplastics in water. EPSRC scholarship; Molecular Imaging and Analysis DTP.
My graduated students are:
Tianyang Du (2019-2024) Monitoring and modelling thermal pollution in river systems. Vice Chancellors scholarship for research excellence.
Calum Ramage (2019-2024) Sources, pathways and ecological impacts of heavy metal and organic pollutants in Kruger National Par. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Isobel Evans (2023-2024) Microplastic ingestion and egestion by freshwater invertebrates. MRes.
Hannah Markham (2019-2024) Impact of elevated phosphorus and fine sediment on aquatic invertebrate egg development. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Cesar Rodrigues (2019-2024) Thermal ecology of invasive and native crayfish. Sir Francis Hill scholarship.
Yuyao Xu (2018-2022). Quantifying microplastics in freshwater environments in China. UNNC scholarship.
Amit Kumar (2018-2022) Investigation into transitions from meteorological to hydrological droughts. Vice Chancellors scholarship for research excellence.
Abdulaziz Alsalah (2018-2022) Hydrological consequences of rapid urban development in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. King Saud University scholarship.
Andrea Sartorius (2018-2022). Impacts of historic mine waste on ecosystem health. NERC ENVISION scholarship.
Alistair Delboyer (2017-2021) Modelling the impacts of heat pumps on thermal conditions in rivers. Leverhulme MASS scholarship.
Hazel Wilson (2017-2021). Reefs of rubbish: the ecological and geomorphological implications of litter in urban streams. EPSRC Engineering Water Resilience DTP.
Fernando Garzón (2017-2020). Modelling suitability of catchments to Natural Flood Management interventions. Ceiba Scholarship.
Emily Richardson (2019-2020) Public engagement with projection relief augmented models for flood risk education. MRes.
Richard Mason (2016-2020) The zoogeomorphology of case-building caddisfly. NERC CENTA scholarship.
Beth Dunstan (2019-2020) Response of caddisfly larvae to heavy metal pollution in former mining areas. MRes.
Mikaela D'Souza (2018-2019) Public perceptions of flood management schemes in the UK. MRes.
Samuel Valman (2018-2019) Developing a typology of streams in the anthropocene: Disconnections between controls on river characteristics. MRes.
Thomas Stanton (2016-2019). Sources and pathways of microplastics in freshwater environments. Sir Francis Hill scholarship.
Liberty Mgbanyi (2015-2019). Developing topographic models to predict gully formation in data sparse regions. Tetfund scholarship.
Thomas Stanton (2015-2016) Developing improved methodologies for the quantification of microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluent and sludge. MRes.
My teaching reflects my research experience, being focused on river processes and management. My modules include field trips and laboratory work, as well as engagement with management practitioners and projects.
Matt convenes Rivers in the Landscape (2nd year; GEOG2008) and contributes to Planet Earth (1st year; GEOG1037) and Freshwater Management (3rd year; GEOG3015). I also supervise undergraduate and Masters dissertation students researching river processes and management.
Past Research
I am interested in how aquatic organisms occupy, utilise and modify environments, working at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology.
A list of my academic outputs is available at my Google.Scholar page.
I am currently working on:
1) The ability of living organisms to alter physical processes, such as sediment transport, in rivers.
Living organisms can alter environments through their presence and activity, with implications for geomorphic and biochemical processes. I am interested in how invertebrate animals alter the flow of material through river systems, including the destabilisation of river beds and banks by the invasive signal crayfish (e.g. Article Link), which can also increase the transport of sediment through rivers (e.g.link). Organisms can also stabilise river substrates (e.g. Article Link) and alter the dynamics of sediment grains (e.g. Article Link).
2) The impacts of water quality and pollution on aquatic ecosystems.
I research pollutants in rivers, including the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in freshwater organisms (e.g. Article link), the presence of microplastics in rivers (e.g. Article Link) and the complex role of anthropogenic waste to aquatic communities (e.g. Article Link). I am particularly concerned with the sub-lethal impacts of pollutants on invertebrate organisms across multiple life stages (e.g Article Link).
Rising water temperature also has significant impacts on water quality and aquatic communities in rivers (e.g. Article link). I am working on how to identify and increase resilience of rivers to future warming (e.g. Article Link).
3) Better incorporation of ecological processes into river management frameworks.
My work is applied and I work with many partners in government, industry and charitable organisations. I am working on projects in the USA (e.g. Article link), China (e.g. Article link), Brazil (e.g. Article link) and UK (e.g. Article link) on novel river management schemes, which aim to better account for ecological processes in river management (e.g. Article Link)
Past Research
In addition to the list below, I have worked on river restoration design and monitoring with consultancies and industry partners in the UK and USA.
Societal driven research to improve environmental health in riparian zones. NERC green seeds award (2024; Co-I). A pump-priming grant to investigate the health of riparian zones, considering the social and environmental value of such areas.
Nottingham Urban Freshwater Observatory (NUFO). Regional Development Fund (2023; PI). Funding to instrument rivers in Nottingham city to monitor river water quality, water depth and weather in real-time, with data made openly accessible to publics and professional organisations for knowledge exchange, planning and academic activities.
Chemical pollution in the River Tone and River Wensum. Environment Agency (2022, PI). Collaboration with the British Geological Survey to quantify pesticide concentrations in the River Tone and Wensum and relate the results to novel bioindicators of chemical pressure.
Environmental Archives: Assessing degradation of the River Leen. NERC discipline hopping (2022, Co-I). An investigation into the past management of the River Leen, Nottingham, using contemporary monitored information, historic archival information and historic condition from sediment cores.
Transcendental values of the public and their concern for river management in the UK and Japan. Royal Society International Exchanges (2022, PI). A bi-lateral UK-Japan networking grant, with Tohoku University, to work on public interaction with river management activities.
Constructed Habitat in Urban Rivers. NERC discipline hopping (2022, PI). Collaborative research on the use of architectural structures in rivers to provide habitat in urban rivers, replacing habitat lost due to anthropogenic management and currently provided by litter such as car tyres, trolleys and traffic cones.
Beyond plastic: mapping public (mis)understanding of anthropogenic litter in the UK. NERC discipline hopping (2021, Co-I). An investigation into public knowledge of, and concern about, microplastics relative to other prominent pollutants in rivers.
River Aller Floodplain Reconnection and Restoration. JBA Consultancy and National Trust (2021, PI). Funding for contributions to the design and monitoring of the River Aller Stage Zero project prior and post-restoration. This is a highly novel restoration scheme where the river channel has been in-filled, and the water now spills across a re-graded floodplain as a river-wetland-floodplain system.
Synergistic fire-floodplain solutions. NERC Urgency Grant (2021, Co-I). Research into the ecological response to wildfire in the Pacific Northwest, comparing areas of unrestored and restored rivers. Those areas restored by reconnecting floodplains at low flow (ie Stage Zero restoration) suffered less severe burns than other restored and unrestored river sections.
Future Rivers in the UK Report. Environment Agency (2021, PI). Research that led to the provision of a State of Science report on the future of rivers in England in the context of climate warming.
Sensitivity of insect eggs to elevated nutrient loadings. Environment Agency, Wild Fish and Wildlife Trust (2020, PI). Research into the sensitivity of aquatic insect eggs to pollution, particularly elevated nutrient concentrations.
China-UK scholar workshop on urban river flood control and restoration. British Council (2019, PI). Funding for a research workshop in Wuhan, China with 50 delegates, including 10 from the UK, focused on early career researchers working on river science and management
Effects of future warming on the ecological functioning of an invasive crayfish in UK waters. British Ecological Society (2018, Co-I). Equipment funding to develop temperature sensors to investigate thermal performance of invasive crayfish in UK rivers
Phytoremediation of Cinderhill acid tar pits. Harworth PLC (2018, PI). Monitoring of the development of a phytoremediation trial of an acid tar pit in Cinderhill, Derbyshire, which was implemented by the Clean Rivers Trust with Harworth PLC.
Engineering Water Resilience CDT. EPSRC (2017, Co-director) Co-Director of the CDT, which funded PhD studentships working on water resilience. In addition to contributing to the running of the CDT, I developed and delivered training and cohort building materials and activities.
Smelling vortices: animal tracking of chemical scents in turbulent, unidirectional flows. EU access grant (2017, Co-I). Access grant to use flumes in The Deep, Hull, to perform a series of experiments focused on the sensory perception of aquatic animals in complex hydraulic conditions
The power of biology in river environments. British Society for Geomorphology (2016, PI). Funding to purchase laboratory equipment to undertake a study on how aquatic animals impart energy into geomorphic systems.