Staff Profile

I am a field-based Physical Geographer with over 30 years’ experience in interdisciplinary river science.  This has been underpinned by more than £18 million of UKRI funding (primarily NERC) since 2008.

My research strengths lie across a number of interlinked areas: 

(a) cutting-edge and novel approaches to quantifying river hydromorphology

(b) research on social and physical effects of flooding 

(c) developing the science base to better quantify how rivers benefit society though provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services.

(d) working with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards more climate change resilient mega-deltas in South and SE Asia.  This is largely in my role as Principal Investigator and Director of the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub (£15.3m: 2019-2024 www.livingdeltas.org)

My UKRI-funded science advances our understanding of the processes behind flooding from intense rainfall and catchment geomorphological response to this, so that we are better equipped to manage societal vulnerability, risk and resilience, response and recovery.

I mentor the next generation of scientists, supervising 21 postgraduate students: 18 PhD (8 current, 10 completed) and 4 MPhil.  All completed PhDs are in high profile careers in areas of national policy (e.g. UK flood risk management) to academia (lecturer to Deputy Vice-Chancellor level).  I have acted as PhD Examiner to 10 UK and overseas Universities.

I am Secretary to the International Society for River Science.

I have strong connections with local and national industrial, commercial and public sectors.  Examples include PhD studentships funded by the Tyne Rivers Trust, Scottish National Heritage and United Utilities with the EA via STREAM (the Industrial Doctoral Centre for the Water Industry).

UKRI GCRF LIVING DELTAS RESEARCH HUB    

www.livingdeltas.org

Now more than ever the world is facing challenges that need a collective response. We are living in a globally inter-connected world where everything from climate change, pandemics and employment to conflict, water security and mass migration are linked and impact us all. The UK Government’s answer to some of the world’s most pressing challenges is 12 new Global Interdisciplinary Research Hubs which seek to develop creative and sustainable solutions to make the world, and the UK, safer, healthier and more prosperous. At Newcastle University I am Principal Investigator on, and Director of, the £15.3 million UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Research Hub (www.livingdeltas.org).

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) forms part of the UK Government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment, and is a £1.5 billion fund to address the global issues faced by developing countries. GCRF harnesses expertise of the UK’s world-leading researchers working in tandem with their global research partner networks, focusing on: challenge-led, disciplinary and interdisciplinary research; strengthening capability for research, innovation and knowledge exchange; providing agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research need.

Together, the Hubs are among the most ambitious investment the UK has to date made in international development research. They aim to position the UK as a leader in development research and promote the dignity and prosperity for some of the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach people on our planet. Their sheer scale and ambition is what makes them so exciting with researchers working in partnership with governments, NGOs, community groups and international agencies across 85 countries. Each Hub has the potential to transform the quality of life for many people throughout the world and help safeguard our planet for future generations. Their research activities will be vital for global development, helping us to understand where we are today, what we could achieve in the future and providing innovative tools, strategies and policies to achieve these goals.

Focusing on three major deltas in Asia, the Red River, Mekong and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna, the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub operates on a model of equitable partnership with delta-dwellers and the research community working together to develop new knowledge and policies to safeguard delta futures through more resilient communities and sustainable development.

ANTHROPOCENE RESEARCH GROUP      

https://research.ncl.ac.uk/anthropocene/  

The Anthropocene was formally proposed in 2000 as Earth's newest epoch - a period in which humanity's impact on the planet rivals that of the great geological forces. Humans are changing the Earth's biophysical system: atmospheric and ocean climatology, the extent of snow cover, permafrost, ice sheet and ocean volume and indeed the entire hydrological cycle.  But in the past few years, this concept has escaped its geological confines to emerge as a new paradigm that embodies and altered human-environment relationships, and natural and social scientists, humanists, artists, educators and journalists are beginning to examine this concept from a variety of perspectives. From 2015 onwards, I have convened the HASS Faculty-funded Anthropocene Research Group at Newcastle University .  This Group seeks to facilitate discussion and funding applications around fundamental questions pertaining to the rapidly emerging and evolving paradigm of the Anthropocene.  In 2015 I was appointed leader of an Anthropocene Rivers working group in the International Society for River Science.  

Undergraduate Teaching 2019-2020

GEO2037 Ireland Field course (Stage 2)

• Pearson CJ, Reaney SM, Perks MT, Hortobagyi B, Rosser NJ, Large ARG. Identification of floodwater source areas in Nepal using SCIMAP-Flood. Journal of Flood Risk Management 2022, Epub ahead of print.
• Hughes D, Parkin G, Amezaga J, Large A, Liney K, Senior A, Goddard A. The influence of 4D landscape visualisation on attitudes to reservoir renaturalisation. Landscape and Urban Planning 2022, 221, 104372.
• Mayes WM, Perks MT, Large ARG, Davis JE, Gandy CJ, Orme PAH, Jarvis AP. Effect of an extreme flood event on solute transport and resilience of a mine water treatment system in a mineralised catchment. Science of the Total Environment 2021, 750, 141693.
• Moorhouse HL, Roberts LR, McGowan S, Panizzo V, Barker P, Salehin S, Nga D, Salgardo Bonnet J, Rahman FMF, Ghosh T, Das S, Roy M, Opel A, Henderson A, Large A, Nguyen Thanh P, Hackney CR. Tropical Asian mega-delta ponds: Important and threatened socio-ecological systems. Geo: Geography and Environment 2021, 8(2), e00103.
• Blauvelt DJ, Russell AJ, Large ARG, Tweed FS, Hiemstra JF, Kulessa B, Evans DJA, Waller RI. Controls on jökulhlaup-transported buried ice melt-out at Skeiðarársandur, Iceland: implications for the evolution of ice-marginal environments. Geomorphology 2020, 360, 107164.
• Udmale P, Pal I, Szabo S, Pramanik M, Large A. Global food security in the context of COVID-19: A scenario-based exploratory analysis. Progress in Disaster Science 2020, 7, 100120.
• Keele V, Gilvear D, Large A, Tree A, Boon P. A new method for assessing river ecosystem services and its application to rivers in Scotland with and without nature conservation designations. River Research and Applications 2019, 35(8), 1338-1358.
• Snell MA, Barker PA, Surridge BWJ, Benskin CMWH, Barber N, Reaney SM, Tych W, Mindham D, Large ARG, Burke S, Haygarth PM. Strong and recurring seasonality revealed within stream diatom assemblages. Scientific Reports 2019, 9(1), 3313.
• Rollason E, Bracken LJ, Hardy RJ, Large ARG. Evaluating the success of public participation in integrated catchment management. Journal of Environmental Management 2018, 228, 267-278.
• Rollason E, Bracken LJ, Hardy RJ, Large ARG. Rethinking flood risk communication. Natural Hazards 2018, 92(3), 1665-1686.
• Joyce HM, Hardy RJ, Warburton J, Large ARG. Sediment continuity through the upland sediment cascade: geomorphic response of an upland river to an extreme flood event. Geomorphology 2018, 317, 45-61.
• Rollason E, Bracken LJ, Hardy RJ, Large ARG. The importance of volunteered geographic information for the validation of flood inundation models. Journal of Hydrology 2018, 562, 267-280.
• Starkey E, Parkin G, Birkinshaw S, Large A, Quinn P, Gibson C. Demonstrating the value of community-based (‘citizen science’) observations for catchment modelling and characterisation. Journal of Hydrology 2017, 548, 801–817.
• Large A, Gilvear D, Starkey E. Ecosystem Service-Based Approaches for Status Assessment of Anthropocene Riverscapes. In: Kelly JM; Scarpino PV; Berry H; Syvitski J; Meybeck M, ed. Rivers of the Anthropocene. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2017, pp.23-42.
• Starkey E, Barnes M, Quinn P, Large A. Insightful monitoring of natural flood risk management features using a low-cost and participatory approach. In: EGU General Assembly 2016. 2016, Vienna: European Geosciences Union.
• Perks MT, Russell AJ, Large ARG. Technical Note: Advances in flash flood monitoring using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 2016, 20(10), 4005-4015.
• Large ARG, Gilvear DJ. Using Google Earth, a virtual-globe imaging platform for ecosystem services-based river assessment. River Research and Applications 2015, 31(4), 406-421.
• Snell M, Barker P, Surridge B, Large A, Jonczyk J, Benskin C, Reaney S, Perks MT, Owen G, Cleasby W, Deasey C, Burke S, Haygarth P. High frequency variability of environmental drivers determining benthic community dynamics in headwater streams. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts 2014, 16(7), 1629-1636.
• Milan DJ, Large ARG. Magnetic tracing of fine-sediment over pool-riffle morphology. CATENA 2014, 115, 134-149.
• Large ARG. Current and future challenges in managing natural system variability for river conservation in European river basins. In: Boon, P.J., Raven, P.J, ed. River Conservation and Management. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2012, pp.381-399.
• Milan DJ, Heritage GL, Large ARG, Fuller IC. Filtering spatial error from DEMs: Implications for morphological change estimation. Geomorphology 2011, 125(1), 160-171.
• Milan DJ, Heritage GL, Large ARG, Entwistle NS. Mapping hydraulic biotopes using terrestrial laser scan data of water surface properties. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2010, 35(8), 918-931.
• Heritage GL, Milan DJ, Large ARG, Fuller IC. Influence of survey strategy and interpolation model on DEM quality. Geomorphology 2009, 112(3-4), 334-344.
• Orr H, Large ARG, Newson M, Walsh CL. A predictive typology for characterising hydromorphology. Geomorphology 2008, 100(1-2), 32-40.
• Gilvear D, Willby N, Kemp P, Large ARG. Riverine hydroecology: Advances in research and applications. River Research and Applications 2008, 24(5), 473-475.
• Mayes WM, Younger PL, Batty LC, Large ARG. Caustic / vitriolic: wetland treatment at extremes of pH. In: 2nd International Symposium on Wetland Pollutant Dynamics and Control, WETPOL 2007. 2007, Tartu, Estonia: Publicationes Institute Geographici Universitatis Tartuensis.
• Russell AJ, Gregory AG, Large ARG, Fleisher PJ, Harris T. Tunnel channel formation during the November 1996 jökulhlaup, Skeiðarárjökull, Iceland. Annals of Glaciology 2007, 45(1), 95-103.
• Large ARG, Mayes W, Newson M, Parkin G. Using long-term monitoring of fen hydrology and vegetation to underpin wetland restoration strategies. Applied Vegetation Science 2007, 10(3), 417-428.
• Clément F, Amezaga JM, Orange D, DucToan T, Large ARG, Calder IR. An institutional approach for understanding farmers strategies and land management. In: Survival of the Commons: Mounting challenges and new realities. 2006, Bali, Indonesia: IASCP.
• Newson M, Large ARG. 'Natural' rivers, 'hydromorphological quality' and river restoration: A challenging new agenda for applied fluvial geomorphology. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2006, 31(13), 1606-1624.
• Fuller IC, Large ARG, Heritage GL, Milan DJ, Charlton ME. Derivation of annual reach-scale sediment transfers in the River Coquet, Northumberland, UK. In: Blum MD; Marriott SB; Leclair SF, ed. Fluvial Sedimentology VII. 2005, pp.61-74.
• Large ARG, Newson M. Hydromorphological Quality - a policy template for channel design in river restoration. In: Anderson M, ed. Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences. Chichester: John Wiley, 2005.
• Mayes W, Large A, Younger P. The impact of pumped water from a de-watered Magnesian limestone quarry on an adjacent wetland: Thrislington, County Durham, UK. Environmental Pollution 2005, 138(3), 444-455.
• Heritage G, Large ARG, Moon B, Jewitt GPW. Channel hydraulics and geomorphic effects of an extreme flood event on the Sabie River, South Africa. Catena 2004, 58(2), 151-181.
• Calder IR, Batchelor C, Quibell G, Gosain A, Jewitt GPW, Bosch J, Large ARG, Amezaga JM, Hope RA, James PM, Simpson E, Garratt J, Bailey RA, Kirby C. Global Governance of Water and the Blue Revolution - Can we achieve better outcomes from land and water policies?. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium: Global Governance of Water: Water and Human Security. 2004, UN House, Tokyo, Japan.
• Charlton ME, Large ARG, Fuller IC. Application of airborne lidar in river environments: The River Coquet, Northumberland, UK. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2003, 28(3), 299-306.
• Heritage G, Large ARG, Moon B, Birkhead A. Estimating extreme flood magnitude in bedrock-influenced channels using representative reach-based channel resistance data. Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography 2003, 85(1), 1-11.
• Chappell A, Heritage G, Fuller I, Large ARG, Milan D. Geostatistical analysis of ground-survey elevation data to elucidate spatial and temporal river channel change. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2003, 28(4), 349-370.
• Fuller I, Large ARG, Milan D. Quantifying channel development and sediment transfer following chute cutoff in a wandering gravel-bed river. Geomorphology 2003, 54(3-4), 307-323.
• Fuller IC, Large ARG, Charlton ME, Heritage GL, Milan DJ. Reach-scale sediment transfers: An evaluation of two morphological budgeting approaches. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2003, 28(8), 889-903.
• Fuller IC, Passmore DG, Heritage GL, Large ARG, Milan DJ, Brewer PA. Annual sediment budgets in an unstable gravel-bed river: the River Coquet, northern England. In: Jones SJ; Frostick LE, ed. Geological Society Special Publication. 2002, pp.115-132.
• Fuller IC, Passmore DG, Heritage GL, Large ARG, Milan DJ, Brewer PA. Annual sediment budgets in an unstable gravel-bed river: the River Coquet, northern England. In: Sediment Flux to Basins: Causes, Controls and Consequences. 2002, Southampton, UK: Geological Society.
• Milan DJ, Heritage GL, Large ARG. Tracer pebble entrainment and deposition loci: influence of flow character and implications for riffle-pool maintenance. In: Jones, S.J. and Frostick, L.E, ed. Geological Society Special Publication. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 2002, pp.133-148.
• Fuller IC, Passmore DG, Large ARG, Heritage GL, Charlton ME, Brewer PA. Annual sediment budgets in an unstable gravel bed river; the River Coquet, northern England. In: Millennium Flux: Sediment Supply to Basins. 2001, University of Southampton: Southampton Oceanography Centre School of Ocean and Earth Sciences.
• Milan DJ, Heritage GL, Large ARG. Influence of flow magnitude and duration upon tracer movement through pool-riffle-bar topography. In: Fifth International Gravel-Bed Rivers 2000 Workshop. 2001, Christchurch, New Zealand: New Zealand Hydrological Society.
• Large ARG. Reversing spontaneous succession to protect high-value vegetation: Assessment of two Scottish mires using rapid survey techniques. Applied Vegetation Science 2001, 4(1), 103-110.
• Large ARG. Reversing Spontaneous Succession to Protect High-Value Vegetation: Assessment of Two Scottish Mires Using Rapid Survey Techniques. Journal of Vegetation Science 2001, 4(1), 103-110.
• Milan DJ, Heritage GL, Large ARG, Charlton ME. Stage dependent variability in tractive force distribution through a riffle-pool sequence. Catena 2001, 44(2), 85-109.
• Heritage GL, Moon BP, Large ARG, Rowntree M. The February 2000 floods on the Sabie River, South Africa: an examination of their magnitude and frequency. Koedoe 2001, (44), 37-44.
• Milan DJ, Heritage GL, Large ARG. Magnetic tracing of sand through a riffle-pool sequence. In: Fifth International Gravel-Bed Rivers Workshop. 2000, Christchurch: New Zealand Hydrological Society.
• Heritage GL, Milan DJ, Large ARG, Fuller IC. Reach-scale sediment and barform dynamics of the wandering gravel-bed river Nent, Cumbria, UK. In: 5th International Gravel-Bed Rivers Workshop. 2000, Christchurch, New Zealand: New Zealand Hydrological Society.
• Large ARG, Cotton JA, Heritage GL, Passmore DG. Biotic response to late Holocene floodplain evolution in the River Irthing catchment, Cumbria. 1999.
• Cotton JC, Heritage G, Large ARG, Passmore DG. Biotic response to late Holocene floodplain evolution in the River Irthing catchment, Cumbria. In: Floodplains: interdisciplinary approaches. 1999, East Anglia: Geological Society.
• Milan D, Heritage G, Large ARG, Brunsdon C. Influence of particle shape and sorting upon sample size estimates for a coarse-grained upland stream. Sedimentary Geology 1999, 129(1-2), 85-100.
• Large ARG, Prach K. Plants and water in streams and rivers. In: Baird, A; Wilby, RL, ed. Eco-hydrology: Plants and Water in Terrestrial and Aquatic Environments. London: Routledge, 1999, pp.237-268.
• Large ARG, Prach K. Ecology of the floodplain of the regulated River Trent: implications for rehabilitation. In: Bailey RL; Jose P;Sherwood B, ed. United Kingdom Floodplains. Ottley: Smith Settle, 1998, pp.409-422.
• Pygott JR, Large ARG. Problems associated with the degradation of rivers in the Northumbria and Yorkshire Region and initiatives to achieve rehabilitation. In: de Waal LC; Large ARG; Wade PM, ed. Rehabilitation of rivers: Principles and Practice. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1998, pp.159-170.
• Wade PM, Large ARG, de Waal LC. Rehabilitation of degraded river habitat: an introduction. In: de Waal LC; Large ARG; Wade PM, ed. Rehabilitation of Rivers Principles and Implementation. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1998, pp.1-10.
• de Waal LC, Large ARG, Wade PM. Rehabilitation of rivers: Principles and Practice. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1998.
• Large ARG. Environmental science: The natural environment and human impact by Andrew Jackson and Julie Jackson. Area 1997, 29(3), 279-280.
• Large ARG. Floodplain Rivers: Hydrological Processes and Ecological Significance. Wallingford, Oxfordshire: British Hydrological Society, 1997.
• Prach K, Jeník J, Large ARG. Floodplain Ecology and Management: The Luznice River in the Trebon Biosphere Reserve, central Europe. Amsterdam: SPB-Academic Publishing, 1996.
• Large A, Petts G. Historical channel - Floodplain dynamics along the River Trent: Implications for river rehabilitation. Applied Geography 1996, 16(3), 191-209.
• Bornette G, Large ARG. Groundwater surface water ecotones at the upstream part of confluences in former river channels. Hydrobiologia: the international journal on limnology and marine sciences 1995, 310(2), 123-137.
• de Waal LC, Large ARG, Gippel CJ, Wade PM. River and floodplain rehabilitation in Western Europe: opportunities and constraints. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 1995, 101, 679-693.
• Large ARG, Prach K, Bickerton MA, Wade PM. Alteration of patch boundaries on the floodplain of the regulated River Trent, UK. River Research and Applications: an international journal devoted to river research and management 1994, 9(1), 71-78.
• Large ARG, Petts GE, Wilby RL, Greenwood MT. Restoration of floodplains: a UK perspective. European Water Pollution Control 1993, 3, 44-53.
• Large ARG, Hamilton AC. The distribution, extent and causes of peat loss in central and north-west Ireland. Applied Geography 1991, 11(4), 309-326.