Prof D A Sear

Prof D A Sear

University of Southampton
University Road
Southampton
SO17 1BJ

Position: Professor In Physical Geography
Research group: Earth Surface Dynamics
Location: 44/2023
Extension: 24614
Telephone: (023) 8059 4614
Fax: (023) 8059 3295
Email Prof D A Sear

Research projects

  • Restoration of forested floodplains (EU-LIFE funded research project 2003-2006)
  • Assessing the geomorphological impact of the "Millennial floods" of 2001/2 using River Habitat Survey (Environment Agency funded Research Project, 2001-2002).
  • Development of protocols for monitoring physical habitat in cSAC rivers (English Nature funded Research Project 2001 - 2002).
  • Handbook of Applied Geomorphology for river management (DEFRA funded Research Project, 2001 - 2002).
  • The hydraulic performance of the River Cole restoration scheme: vegetation and morphological roughness impacts (Environment Agency funded Research Project, 2002).
  • Monitoring and modelling fine sediment accumulation, dissolved oxygen and salmon egg survival in spawning gravels (DEFRA Funded Research Project 2000 - 2003).
  • Geomorphology, fine sediment and fluid flow over Forested floodplains (Forest Research Agency funded Research Project 1998 - 2002).
  • Coarse Sediment transport measurement in rivers and coasts using advanced particle tracing technologies (EPSRC Funded Research Project, 1998 - 2001).
  • Processes controlling the effectiveness of river restoration as a means of enhancing lotic biodiversity (NERC funded Research Project, 1998 - 2001).

Biographical notes

David Sear is currently Professor in Physical Geography. He was appointed in 1994 after 2 years post-doc at Newcastle University, where he worked with Prof. Malcolm Newson on the application of geomorphology to river channel management.

Qualifications

  • B.Sc. Surrey
  • Ph.D. Newcastle

Details

  • 1994 - to date School of Geography, University of Southampton
Teaching responsibilities for Prof D A Sear
Module title Module code Discipline Role
Arolla Fieldcourse: Geographical Research in Alpine Environments GEOG3011 Geography Course leader
Geomorphological Processes GEOG1002 Geography Course leader
Physical Geography in Environmental Management GEOG2001 Geography Course leader
Physical Geography in Environmental Management (EM) GEOG6023 Geography Course leader
River Basin Management GEOG3023 Geography Course leader
River Basin Management GEOG6009 Geography Course leader
Geographical Skills GEOG1007 Geography Tutor

Publications

Wheaton, Joseph, Brasington, James, Darby, S.E. and Sear, David (2010) Accounting for uncertainty in DEMs from repeat topographic surveys: improved sediment budgets. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35, (2), 135-156. (doi:10.1002/esp.1886)
Sear, David, Newson, Malcolm, Hill, Christopher, Old, Jo and Branson, Julia (2009) A method for applying fluvial geomorphology in support of catchment-scale river restoration planning. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 19, (5), 506-519. (doi:10.1002/aqc.1022)
Vaughn, I.P., Diamond, M., Gurnell, A.M., Hall, K.A., Jenkins, A., Milner, N.J., Naylor, L.A., Sear, D.A., Woodward, G. and Ormerod, S.J. (2009) Integrating ecology with hydromorphology: a priority for river science and management. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 19, (1), 113-125. (doi:10.1002/aqc.895)
Sear, David A. and DeVries, Paul (eds.) (2008) Salmonid spawning habitat in rivers: physical controls, biological responses, and approaches to remediation, Bethesda, USA, American Fisheries Society, 376pp. (Symposium, 65)
Sear, David A., DeVries, Paul and Greig, Stuart M. (2008) Science and practice of salmonid spawning habitat remediation. In, Sear, David A. and DeVries, Paul (eds.) Salmonid Spawning Habitat in Rivers: Physical Controls, Biological Responses, and Approaches to Remediation. Bethesda, USA, American Fisheries Society, 1-13. (Symposium 65).
Sear, David A., Frostick, Lynn B., Rollinson, Gavin and Lisle, Thomas E. (2008) The significance and mechanics of fine-sediment infiltration and accumulation in gravel spawning beds. In, Sear, David A. and DeVries, Paul (eds.) Salmonid Spawning Habitat in Rivers: Physical Controls, Biological Responses, and Approaches to Remediation. Bethesda, USA, American Fisheries Society, 149-174. (Symposium 65).
pdf Anandakumar, R., Milton, E.J. and Sear, D.A. (2008) River habitat mapping using Airborne Imaging Spectrometry (CASI-3). In, Proceedings of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Conference: “Measuring Change in the Earth System”. University of Exeter, 15-17 September 2008. Nottingham, UK, Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Society, 1-4.
Davies, Bella, Biggs, Jeremy, Williams, Penny, Whitfield, Mericia, Nicolet, Pascale, Sear, David, Bray, Simon and Maund, Steve (2008) Comparative biodiversity of aquatic habitats in the european agricultural landscape. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 125, (1-4), 1-8. (doi:10.1016/j.agee.2007.10.006)
Davies, Bella, Biggs, Jeremy, Williams, Penny, Whitfield, Mericia, Nicolet, Pascale, Sear, David, Bray, Simon and Maund, Steve (2008) Comparative biodiversity of aquatic habitats in the European agricultural landscape. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 125, (1-4), 1-8. (doi:10.1016/j.agee.2007.10.006)
Davies, Bella, Biggs, Jeremy, Williams, Penny, Whitfield, Mericia, Nicolet, Pascale, Sear, David, Bray, Simon and Maund, Steve (2008) Comparative biodiversity of aquatic habitats in the European agricultural landscape. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 125, (1-4), 1-8. (doi:10.1016/j.agee.2007.10.006)
Darby, Stephen and Sear, David (eds.) (2008) River restoration: managing the uncertainty in restoring physical habitat, Chichester, UK, Wiley-Blackwell, 328pp.
Wheaton, J.M., Darby, S.E. and Sear, D.A (2008) The scope of uncertainties in river restoration. In, Darby, Stephen and Sear, David (eds.) River Restoration: Managing the Uncertainty in Restoring Physical Habitat. Chichester, UK, Wiley, 21-39.
Wheaton, J.M., Darby, S.E. and Sear, D.A. (2007) Uncertain restoration of gravel-bed rivers and the role of geomorphology. In, Habersack, H., Piegay, H. and Rinaldi, M. (eds.) Gravel-Bed Rivers IV: from Process Understanding to River Restoration. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Elsevier, 739-761. (Developments in Earth Surface Processes 11).
Millington, C.E. and Sear, D.A. (2007) Impacts of river restoration on small-wood dynamics in a low-gradient headwater stream (in Special Issue: Wood In World Rivers). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32, (8), 1204-1218. (doi:10.1002/esp.1552)
Greig, S.M., Sear, D.A. and Carling, P.A. (2007) A field-based assessment of oxygen supply to incubating Atlantic salmon(salmon salar) embryos. Hydrological Processes, 21, (22), 3087-3100. (doi:10.1002/hyp.6635)
Greig, S.M., Sear, D.A. and Carling, P.A. (2007) A review of factors influencing the availability of dissolved oxygen to incubating salmonid embryos. Hydrological Processes, 21, (3), 323-334. (doi:10.1002/hyp.6188)
Sear, David A., Wheaton, Joseph M. and Darby, Stephen E. (2007) Uncertain restoration of gravel-bed rivers and the role of geomorphology. Developments in Earth Surface Processes, Gravel-Bed Rivers VI: From Process Understanding to River Restoration, 11, 739-760. (doi:10.1016/S0928-2025(07)11162-7)
Watkinson, A.R., Nicholls, R.J., Sear, D.A. and Ledoux, L. (2007) Environmental impacts of future flood risk. In, Thorne, C., Evans, E. and Penning-Rowsell, E. (eds.) Future Flooding and Coastal Erosion Risks. London, UK, Thomas Telford, 29-44.
Wheaton, Joseph M., Darby, Stephen E., Sear, David A. and Milne, Jim A. (2006) Does scientific conjecture accurately describe restoration practice? Insight from an international river restoration survey. Area, 38, (2), 128-142. (doi:10.1111/j.1475-4762.2006.00685.x)
Sear, D.A. and Arnell, N.W. (2006) The application of palaeohydrology in river management. CATENA, 66, (1-2), 169-183. (doi:10.1016/j.catena.2005.11.009)
Carling, P.A., Sear, D.A., Greig, S.M. and Whitcombe, L.J. (2005) Modelling fine sediment accumulation in salmonid spawning gravels. In, DEFRA: final project report. London, UK, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Greig, S.M., Carling, P.A. and Sear, D.A. (2005) Refinement and re-calibration of a conductiometric standpipe method of assessing interstitial flow velocities. Hydrobiologia, 545, (1), 249-256. (doi:10.1007/s10750-005-3316-1)
Greig, S.M., Sear, D., Smallman, D.J. and Carling, P. (2005) Impact of clay particles on the cutaneous exchange of oxygen across the chorion of Atlantic salmon eggs. Journal of Fish Biology, 66, (6), 1681-1691. (doi:10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00715.x)
Greig, S.M., Sear, D.A. and Carling, P.A. (2005) The impact of fine sediment accumulation on the survival of incubating salmon progeny: Implications for sediment management. Science of The Total Environment, 344, (1-3), 241-258. (doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.02.010)
Sear, D.A. and Newson, M.D. (2004) The hydraulic impact and performance of a lowland rehabilitation scheme based on pool-riffle installation: the River Waveney, Scole, Suffolk, UK. River Research and Applications, 20, (7), 847-863. (doi:10.1002/rra.791)
Williams, P., Whitfield, M., Biggs, J., Bray, S., Fox, G., Nicolet, P. and Sear, D.A. (2004) Comparative biodiversity of rivers, streams, ditches and ponds in an agricultural landscape in Southern England. Biological Conservation, 115, (2), 329-341. (doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00153-8)
Sear, D.A. and Newson, M.D. (2003) Environmental change in river channels: a neglected element. Towards geomorphological typologies, standards and monitoring. The Science of the Total Environment, 310, (1), 17-23. (doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00619-8)
Jeffries, Richard, Darby, Stephen E. and Sear, David A. (2003) The influence of vegetation and organic debris on flood-plain sediment dynamics: case study of a low-order stream in the New Forest, England. Geomorphology, 51, (1-3), 61-80. (doi:10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00325-2)
pdf Atkinson, Peter M., German, Sally E., Sear, David A. and Clark, Michael J. (2003) Exploring the relations between river bank erosion and geomorphological controls using geographically weighted logistic regression. Geographical Analysis, 35, (1), 58-82.
German, S.E., Sear, D.A. and Jeffries, R.J. (2003) Geomorphological baseline assessment of the Highland Water and Blackwater catchments in the New Forest. In, Final Report to LIFE 3 Project. Bristol, UK, Environment Agency.
Kondolf, G.M., Piegay, H. and Sear, D.A. (2003) Integrating geomorphological tools in ecological and management studies. In, Kondolf, G.M. and Piegay, H. (eds.) Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology. Chichester, UK, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 633-660.
Sear, D.A., Lee, M.W.E., Carling, P.A., Oakey, R.J. and Collins, M.B. (2003) An assessment of the accuracy of the Spatial Integration Method (SIM) for estimating coarse bedload transport in gravel-bedded streams using tracers. In, Bogen, J. and et al, . (eds.) Erosion and Sediment Transport Measurements in Rivers. Wallingford, UK, IAHS Press, 164-171. (IAHS Publication 283).
Sear, D.A., Lee, M.W.E., Oakley, R.J., Carling, P.A. and Collins, M.B. (2002) Coarse sediment tracing technology in littoral and fluvial environments a review. In, Foster, I. (ed.) Tracers in the Environment. Special Issue, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Chichester, UK, Wiley, 21-55.
Booker, D.J., Sear, D.A. and Payne, A.J. (2001) Modelling three dimensional flow structures and patterns of boundary shear stress in a natural pool-riffle sequence. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 26, (5), 533-576. (doi:10.1002/esp.210)
Biggs, J., Sear, D.A. and Brookes, A. (2001) Final report to NERC on processes controlling the effectiveness of river restoration as a means of enhancing lotic biodiversity. Southampton, UK, University of Southampton, School of Geography, 5pp.
Sear, D.A., Collins, M.B., Carling, P.A. and Lee, M.W.E. (2001) Course sediment transport measurement in rivers and on coasts using advanced particle tracing technologies: [final report to EPSRC]. Swindon, UK, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Email Prof D A Sear