Evaluating the potential for natural ecosystem recoverya in cut-and-fill wetlands: case study of Pietersielieskloof palmiet wetland, South Africa. Grenfell SE, Mamphoka MF, Grenfell MC, Job N. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment. Morphodynamic modelling of dryland non-perennial riverscapes, with implications for environmental water allocation. This global ‘field experience’ has shaped my scientific curiosity, my understanding of global environmental processes, my skills base, and my ability to impart knowledge, understanding and inspiration to my students. During my academic career, I have walked in and/or worked on rivers and wetlands across South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the UK, the Swiss Alps, Austria, and Italy. I favour research approaches that combine insights from a variety of techniques that make independent simplifying assumptions about the nature and dynamics of ecosystems, such as spatial analysis (GIS and remote sensing), fieldwork and geochronology, and numerical morphodynamic modelling, and I endeavour always to develop and teach system-level understanding that I believe has great value in ecosystems management. Through both research and vocational practice, I have considered the role, value and challenges of applying such understanding to the management and restoration of wetlands in particular, where geomorphological insight into processes and rates of morphological change is a critical but often neglected component of restoration planning. Through my research I have applied and integrated analyses of hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology to understand physical and biophysical drivers of ecosystem formation and development. My research focuses on the morphodynamics of rivers and wetlands in warm humid, sub-humid and semi-arid environments. This passion was born out of numerous camping trips to the KZN Drakensberg Mountains, of days spent swimming in the muddy rivers of the KZN South Coast, and of the long drives through the Karoo on our annual family holiday to visit my grandmother in Cape Town. Position: Associate Professor and Departmental Chairpersonįax: +27 (021) 959 career is an extension of a lifelong passion for river and wetland environments, and the landscapes that shape and are shaped by earth surface processes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |