Staff

Dr Ben Jackson
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Amory c255
Amory Building, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ , UK
Overview
I am a postdoctoral researcher under Prof Richard Brazier. My main role is as an impact fellow within the SWEEP program (www.sweep.ac.uk), under the “Whole Catchment” project.
I completed my PhD at Lancaster University in Environmental Science, which was funded by Unilever. My thesis was entitled “The GREAT-ER model as a tool for chemical risk assessment and management for Chinese river catchments”. The thesis focused upon modelling organic pollutants in river catchments in China for the purpose of chemical risk assessment and catchment management. My focus was to develop a pragmatic methodology that overcame data availability restrictions in China; for this I used the Geo-referenced Regional Exposure Assessment Tool for European Rivers (GREAT-ER) model.
The GREAT-ER model was applied to the East River catchment in South China, to estimate the risk from the chemicals: triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC), estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2).
Overall, my experience in catchment science is quite varied, exploring various different issues during my education and employment. This includes: river and sewer flooding, evaluating the effects of land-cover change upon hillslope hydrology, low-flow hydrology and issues relating to water quality.
Broad research specialisms:
River catchment management, environmental modelling and GIS.
Qualifications
BSc Geography
MSc Catchment management and dynamics
PhD Environmental Science
Research
Research interests
My research focuses on the use of environmental models for the purpose of river catchment management.
Research projects
My current research focuses on whether catchment management can be used to improve water quality, and whether this will have significant financial benefits for downstream users, such as drinking water providers and aquaculture.
Research networks
British Hydrological Society