Thomas Ashley

Background

About Thomas Ashley

All life on Earth exists near the interface between its solid surface and a thin layer of flowing fluids. Sediment transport processes mediate the evolution of this interface, giving rise to dynamic landscapes that shape society and stratigraphic architectures that record Earth’s history. The aim of my research is to promote effective stewardship of our physical environment by enhancing scientific understanding of fluid-driven sediment transport systems. I am interested in processes that span a wide range of scales, from the motion of individual sediment particles to the continent-scale organization of river systems driven by climate, tectonics, and lithology. My work is focused on unifying descriptions of transport and morphology using insight gained from laboratory experiments, field work, and mathematical modeling.