Publications and research outputs

We aim to make the outputs of all our research freely available and easily accessible.

Research outputs produced by JBA Trust are available in a wide range of different formats, including journal papers, posters, reports, data and code.

We have also developed specific learning resources to support our education and STEM activities in schools around four main themes: rivers, coasts, catchments and flood risk modelling and mapping.

Explore our publications and research outputs below
  • All
  • Code
  • Data and tools
  • Journal paper
  • Maps
  • MSc
  • PhD
  • Poster
  • Presentation
  • Report
  • Video

VedgeSat: An automated, open-source toolkit for coastal change monitoring using satellite-derived vegetation edges

Freya Muir publishes her research in ‘Earth Surface Processes and Landforms’ as well as an open-source tool for mapping coastal change, known as VedgeSat.

How effective are leaky dams at reducing the downstream flood peak?

Two papers published in the Journal of Hydrology explore how to quantify the impacts of natural flood management (NFM), specifically leaky dams in upland catchments, on the downstream flood peak magnitude. 

Supporting the next generation of hydrologists

This poster explores the impact of the Studentship Awards which support talented students to undertake a hydrology related masters course.

UK Flood Hydrology Roadmap

The flood hydrology roadmap sets out a vision to help scientists and practitioners across the UK better predict future flood events and improve flood resilience across the UK. 

British Chronology of Flash Floods

This page hosts a database listing flash flood events in the UK derived from historical reports dating back over more than 200 years.

Characteristics of ‘abrupt wave front’ floods

New research explores events in northern England where river water levels rise very rapidly and are extremely hazardous to river users.

Leaky barrier retention times for Natural Flood Management interventions

This tool provides a quick and accessible analysis that can support modelling of leaky barriers across different levels of detail, from simple site assessment through to intermediate or detailed models

Statistical techniques for estimating directional ocean waves

Published research by Jake Grainger explores statistical techniques that better utilise ocean buoy data to help characterise the ocean wavefield.

Improving forecast flood maps using earth observation data

In this article, we explore the importance of earth observation (EO) data for identifying flood extents and how a new method for validating flood maps enables a quantitative, location specific measure of flood map accuracy

The temporal clustering of storm surge, wave height and high sea level exceedances around the UK coastline

Luke Jenkins publishes research in ‘Natural Hazards’ that provides evidence for the prevalence of consecutive storms, big waves or high tide events occurring over a short period of time (known as clustering) around the UK.

Zora van Leeuwen's poster on leaky dam resilience

How resilient are Natural Flood Management systems?

Research outputs from a PhD to investigate the resilience of natural flood management (NFM) systems.

Exploring the origins of watercourses through sedimentary archives

Research outputs from a PhD to estimate flood frequency using documentary and floodplain sedimentary archives to extend flood series.

Estimating the parameters of ocean wave spectra

Understanding the characteristics of wind-generated waves is important for modelling structural responses in ocean engineering. This paper explores statistical techniques to improve the understanding of estimated parameters of wind-generated waves and help oceanographers gain insights into their behaviour.

Using a natural capital approach to assess the impact of rewilding on the provision of ecosystem services

MSc project poster – Luke Hussey assessed the impact of rewilding the Broughton Hall Estate using a natural capital approach.

Enhanced surface water flood forecasts: User-led development and testing

This study developed and trialled new surface water flood (SWF) forecast products in a flood incident workshop and makes recommendations for the application of future forecast information and processes.

A risk-based network analysis of distributed in-stream leaky barriers for flood risk management

This network model highlights the need for robust design of nature-based flood risk measures and allows rapid assessment of the whole-system performance of leaky barriers in real stream networks.

Journal Paper

A semantic approach to enable data integration for the domain of flood risk management

This paper explores how flood risk management can utilise the exponential increase in ‘big’data’ generated by a range of sources including satellites, mobile phones, ground-based sensors and citizen science. It proposes approaches to collate, integrate and query data from unstructured and disparate data sources.

Modelling eel movement to improve fish pass design

A summary of the PhD research carried out by Tom Padgett into how weirs, fish passes and hydro-electric plants can best be configured to avoid disruption to eel and fish migration.

Analysis of local authority areas where planting trees could help reduce flood risk

Analysis of local authority areas where different types of tree planting (floodplain, riparian, wider catchment) could help reduce flood risk

What data, evidence and modelling is needed to develop a catchment strategy?

This report aims to help identify the data and modelling needs, and the robustness of evidence, for developing Natural Flood Management strategies in the Skell catchment to reduce flood and sediment risks.

Achieving carbon neutral communities

MSc project poster – Emma Brook investigated the feasibility of community scale renewable energy for the Malhamdale community in North Yorkshire.

Rewilding in the English landscape: an appraisal of the benefits

MSc project poster – Anthony Royffe appraised the benefits of rewilding as a landscape-scale land management approach for upland and lowland areas of England.  

Partnerships in Working with Natural Processes schemes in the UK: Identifying factors that impact and shape success

A summary of the research carried out by Jenny Broomby for her MSc in Sustainability and Consultancy at the University of Leeds.

Improving Flood Estimates in Small Island Developing States

A summary of the research carried out Leanne Archer during her Masters by Research (MScR) at the University of Bristol and presented at the 2018 European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU).

Climate change impacts on flood risk

In this presentation Professor Rob Lamb explains how our recent research is demonstrating a plausible correlation between increased flood risk and anthropogenic climate change.

Geomorphological effectiveness of floods to rework gravel bars: insight from hyperscale topography and hydraulic modelling

A new study shows how the topographic and sediment data collected using terrestrial lidar surveys can be used to provide boundary conditions in a range of widely accessible flow models and could help add further insight to the hydromorpological analysis of a river reach.

Emergence of an ephemeral chalk stream in 2014 at Assendon, Oxfordshire

JBA Trust monitored and documented the rare emergence and flow of the Assendon Stream in 2014 to provide a resource for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding more about this type of groundwater flooding event.

Comparing sediment transport in hydraulic models

As part of Eleanor Pearson’s PhD placement with JBA Trust, she investigated whether the outputs from pre-existing flood risk hydraulic models can be used to evaluate the geomorphological impact of a flood. Results from her work are presented in this poster.

Bridge scour: Fragility and risk analysis

Professor Rob Lamb, Director of JBA Trust, provides an update on our collaborative research with the Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC) team at Oxford University.

Review of the responses to flooding in Cumbria following Storm Desmond, December 2015

Working in partnership with the Zurich Insurance Group we have released a report detailing first hand experiences of flooding in Cumbria following Storm Desmond in December 2015.

National analysis of bridge scour failure risks

We are collaborating with the Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC) team at Oxford University to research and analyse railway bridge failures.

Assessing the multiple benefits of SuDS

We supported the development of a new tool to identify and assess the potential multiple benefits of SuDS schemes.

Flood and scour related failure incidents at railway assets

We have published a consolidated chronology of railway asset failures relating to flooding for the period 1846 to 2013. The most common failure mechanism was found to be the undermining of abutments or piers by scour, resulting in their collapse.

Online catalogue of nature-based flood risk management projects in the UK

This page has been superseded by a new page about our interactive mapping of nature-based flood risk management projects across the UK. You can find the new page here: https://www.jbatrust.org/how-we-help/interactive-mapping/

Improving statistical models of large scale flood events

The JBA Trust is working with Lancaster University to develop improved models for extremes of localised and widespread flooding.

Modelling to support resilient integrated catchment management

Research outputs from a PhD investigating modelling approaches for catchment flood management.

How good are broad scale models of urban flooding? Implementation of the Urban Environment in 2D Hydrodynamic Models: CitiCat and JFlow+

MSc project poster – a summary of the research carried out by Robert Bertsch for his MSc in Hydroinformatics at Newcastle University.

International Case Studies of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)

A poster of the research carried out by Nicole Friedrich Neumann for her summer project in Environmental Sciences.

Real time 2D urban flood forecasting: a case study

MSc project poster – a summary of the research carried out by Marion Duprez for her MEng in Civil Engineering at Newcastle University.

Salmonid and macroinvertebrate responses to engineered large wooded debris structures in a low gradient UK upland stream

MSc project poster – a summary of the research carried out by Sarah Usher for her MSc in River Basin Dynamics and Management with GIS at the University of Leeds.

A Feasibility Study for the Wetherby Hydropower Project

MSc project poster – a summary of the research carried out by Jessica Scrimshaw for her MSc in Sustainability (Environmental Consultancy and Project Management) at the University of Leeds.

How well do flood defence models match reality? A Comparison of Actual Fluvial Embankment Flood Defence Performance to RASP Estimated Performance

MSc project poster – a summary of the research carried out by Janie Haven for her MSc in Water and Environmental Management at the University of Bristol.

Improving statistical models of large scale flood events: Project outputs

A poster, presentation and workshop resources from the research carried out by Ross Towe.

Integrating ecosystem services into decision making for implementing natural flood management

MSc project poster – a summary of the research carried out by Gary Chan for his MSc in Sustainability and Consultancy at the University of Leeds.

Flood Inundation Mapping with Data Assimilation

MSc project poster – Zhiqi Hu investigated if observations of floods from satellite images can help us improve the accuracy of forecast flood maps.

Risk based analysis of small scale, distributed, nature-based flood risk management measures deployed on river networks

The environmental community team up with mathematicians to tackle the challenge of understanding the risks associated with nature-based flood risk management measures deployed on river networks.

Delivering sustainable FCERM construction: Plastic wastes

MSc project poster – Alice Dear investigated where the construction industry (particularly flood risk management) can reduce single-use plastic (SUP) consumption and improve waste management sustainability

Identifying coherent weather features in 3D

The environmental community team up with mathematicians to tackle the challenge of ‘identifying coherent weather features in three dimensions’ and publish a Challenge Solutions Report.

Flood resilience in a changing environment: what do recent reviews tell us?

Flood risk and resilience have been under review in recent years, following severe flooding in 2013/14 and 2015/16, previous flood events and concerns over changes in physical and economic climates. This talk examines some important governmental and technical reviews, discussing scientific themes that run through them: The National Flood Resilience Review (September 2016) House of […]

A national perspective on the probability of extreme river flows

The Government’s 2016 National Flood Resilience Review[1] (NFFR) found that “while the probability of an extreme river flow that could result in a severe flood at any given location is very small, such flows are not unusual when considering the whole country”. This statement was one of the conclusions of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) [...]

River Restoration: Workshop outputs

In partnership with The University of Gloucester, we delivered four workshops on different aspects of river restoration

Multi-objective flood risk management demonstration project

The JBA Trust supported the Holnicote Project with a position paper on rural land management change.

Tools and guidance for covariate analysis of flood and wave threshold exceedances

This NERC funded project aimed to transfer advances in statistics to flood risk science.

Human influence on climate in the 2014 Southern England winter floods and their impacts

Computer model experiments allow us to investigate the influence of climate change on flood risk.

Physical complexity to model morphological changes at a natural channel bend

New research shows that a 2D, depth-averaged model can reconstruct hydrodynamic and morphological features at a channel bend

Urban flood modelling

Working with Newcastle University, we compared surface water flooding models with crowdsourced evidence of the 2012 ‘Toon Monsoon’.

The Journal of Flood Risk Management Outstanding Paper Award

We sponsor the JFRM Outstanding Paper Award to enable the winning paper to be made freely available on the Journal webpage.

Infrastructure network risk analysis: scour at railway bridges

New paper reports a probabilistic analysis of the risk to the British railway network from scour at bridges.

Vulnerability of bridges to scour: insights from an international expert elicitation workshop

An international expert elicitation workshop provides new insights into the vulnerability of UK bridges to scour

How well do flood defence models match reality?

The JBA Trust worked with MSc student Janie Haven to compare national flood risk assessment models with real flood events.

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