Stephen Darby

Position: Professor
Institution: Geography (FSHS)
Webpage: http://www.soton.ac.uk/geography/staff_profiles/academic/sed.html
E-mail: sed@soton.ac.uk
Contact: Complete this online contact form to contact Stephen.

Steve is currently head of the Earth Surface Dynamics research group in the School of Geography at the University of Southampton. After spells working at the [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Florence, Italy] (http://www.dicea.unifi.it/) and the [US Department of Agriculture National Sedimentation Laboratory] (http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/site_main.htm?modecode=64-08-05-00) in Oxford, Mississippi, Steve was appointed as a Lecturer in Geography at Southampton in 1997. He was promoted to Professor in 2009.

Steve is a geomorphologist with active research interests in the following topics:

Numerical simulation of river channel dynamics, in particular for meandering rivers. Together with colleagues ([Dr Jeff Peakall] (http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~earjp/)and [Dr Dan Parsons] (http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~eardpa/)at the School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds; and Dr Russell Wynnat NOCS), I am currently working on a major NERC grant that is seeking to develop numerical models of the fluid flow and sediment transport processes within the turbidity currents that create meandering channels on the deep ocean floor.
Landscape evolution modelling. This research has primarily involved the development and application of models to explore how sea-level and climate changes interact to control the evolution of gullies that incise through sea cliffs. Work with Dr Julian Leyland has explored the influence of Holocene (roughly last 12000 years) environmental changes on the SW coast of the Isle of Wight, while ongoing research with PhD student Chris Hackney is now linking Regional Climate and Landscape Evolution models to explore how future climate change might influence these sensitive ecosystems.
Large River Dynamics. In particular modelling the influence of climate variability and change on bank erosion processes on the Lower Mekong River.
Floodplain processes. NERC funded work has focused primarily on understanding the nature of coherent fow structures within turbulent floodplain flows affected by living and dead vegetation.