Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is one of the UK's leading research-focused HEIs. The School of Geography is an international centre for excellence in teaching and research, ranked: (i) joint 1st of UK Geography Depts. in 2008 Research Assessment Exercise; (ii) ‘excellent’ for teaching programmes in the teaching quality assessment exercise; (iii) joint 4th of UK Geography Depts. for student satisfaction in the 2009 National Survey.  The School has also been ranked in the top ten of UK geography and environmental science programmes in the 2012 Times Good University Guide. The School’s Hydrogeomorphological and Biogeochemical Processes Group (7 researchers) participates in this proposal. The group teaches a MSc Integrated Management of Freshwater Environments. 2000-present the group has (i) published > 100 refereed papers of which 30 relate to this proposal’s field research sites (13 written in collaboration with researchers from the 2 HEI partners) (ii) supported 20 doctoral students, (iii) attracted research grants from the UK Natural Environment Research Council, Environment Agency, HR Wallingford, Natural England.

QMUL is a full partner providing (i) members of the Programme Supervisory Board, (ii) organisation of the one week induction course and one week annual workshop every third year and contributing to these events in all other years, (iii) providing a series of specialist training modules, particularly in the areas of hydrology, hydrochemistry and biogeochemistry, hydrogeomorphology and river management and data analysis, (iv) providing liaison with several associate partners, and (v) supervising and co-supervising doctoral students.

Contact person

 Professor Geraldene Wharton: academic lead for the QMUL component.

Professor of Physical Geography and a Chartered Geographer (Geomorphology) with over 20 years’  research experience in hydrogeomorphology and hydroecology. Research on rivers focuses on:

•  interactions between water, plants and sediments;
•  entrainment and transport of fine cohesive sediments;
•  river restoration and natural flood management.

After completing a BSc Honours degree in Geography at the University of Sheffield and a PhD at Southampton University, she held a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship before joining the School of Geography at Queen Mary, University of London.

She is currently a member of the NERC Peer Review College, a Subject Editor for the Journal of Soils and Sediments, and a Director of the International Association for Water Sediment Science. Past appointments have included: Chair of the Board of Directors of the UK River Restoration Centre; Honorary Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society with Institute of British Geographers; and Secretary of the Geography Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

E-mail: g.wharton [at] qmul.ac.uk

Scientists involved:

Angela Gurnell, Professor of Physical Geography

Alex Henshaw, Lecturer in Physical Geography

David Horne, Professor of Micropalaeontology 

Gemma Harvey, Lecturer in Physical Geography

Kate Heppel, Reader in Physical Geography

Kate Spencer, Senior lecturer in Physical Geography

James Brasington, Professor of Geography