Petts, Geoff

Photograph

Dates

Professor Geoffrey Eric Petts : 28 March 1953 – 11 August 2018 (London)

Biography

Geoff graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1974 with a joint honours degree in Geography and Geology. In 1974, he commenced doctoral research in fluvial geomorphology at the University of Exeter under the supervision of Ken Gregory, transferring to the University of Southampton in 1976 when his supervisor was appointed to a chair. In 1978 he was awarded a PhD when he was already employed as a lecturer at the Dorset Institute of Higher Education (1978-1979).

He was appointed Lecturer in Geography at Loughborough University in 1979 and was awarded a chair in 1989. After three years as Head of the Geography Department he moved to the University of Birmingham in 1994 as Professor of Physical Geography. He became Director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Training in 1996 and Head of the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences in 1999. He was Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham from 2001 until becoming Vice- Chancellor and Rector of the University of Westminster in August 2007. Geoff retired from this post and received an Honorary degree in 2018.

In addition to his research activities, Geoff founded the international journal River Research and Applications (previously Regulated Rivers), which reflects Geoff’s multidisciplinary and applied interests in river research and management. He served as Editor in Chief from 1985-2016, overseeing 32 volumes. He also held many influential appointments related to river science including: Director of the International Water Resources Association; Council Member of the Freshwater Biological Association; Member of the NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Programme Development Group; Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the UNESCO IHP Eco-Hydrology Programme and the International Council for Science (ICSU) Scientific Committee on Water Research. He was elected President of the International Society for River Science (2011-13) and President of the British Hydrological Society (2015-17).

Among many awards, he received the Busk Medal from the Royal Geographical Society (2007) and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for River Science (2009).

Geoff had numerous interests beyond academia including a lifetime passion for sport. He played hockey, cricket, and golf through most of his life. In recent years, he contributed more to the promotion and management of amateur sport but he continued to be an active fisherman. It was particularly fitting that as Chair of the Board of Podium (2010-2013), he took responsibility for engaging and coordinating support from universities and further education colleges across the UK for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Hydrological Achievements

Geoff’s doctoral research focussed on the geomorphological response of river channels to flow impoundment and regulation by dams. Unusually for the time, but typical of Geoff’s interests throughout his academic career, this research tackled an important applied problem as well as delivering an excellent piece of fundamental science. Although starting as a geomorphologist, he soon recognised that river science needed to address the intimate linkages between geomorphology, hydrology and ecology. He was one of the first to recognise that multidisciplinary understanding was the key to developing sustainable solutions to river management problems. Geoff published on numerous aspects of river science from physical to chemical and biological, from patch to catchment scales, and always with the aim of developing practical applications of the results. In adopting this holistic approach, he was adhering to the truly geographical (integrative, multi-scale) tradition to which he subscribed.

Geoff authored and edited 22 books of which the most cited is the seminal work on Impounded Rivers published in 1984. He also contributed 47 book chapters. His publications are numerous, varied and all the more remarkable considering that such a large part of his career was devoted to university management. As well as publishing prolifically, Geoff supervised 22 research students.

Reference Material

Text taken from the RGS Obituary written by Angela Gurnell [1] also used by the International Association for Hydraulic Research [2]

Major Publications

Books

Geoff's early research on dams and geomorphology resulted in the publication in 1984 of his best known and scientifically revolutionary book ‘Impounded Rivers’, which, according to Google Scholar, has achieved over 1500 citations.

His other books include Rivers and Landscape (1984 with I.D.L. Foster), Alternatives in River Regulation (1989 with J. Gore), Historical Analysis of Large Alluvial Rivers in Western Europe (1989 with A.L. Roux and H. Möller), Water, Engineering and Landscape (1990 with D. Cosgrove), River Conservation and Management (1992 with P. Boon and P. Calow), and The Rivers Handbook (2 volumes, 1992, 1994 with P. Calow).

Papers

The Web of Science lists 129 papers covering his interests in flow regulation, flow regimes and prescriptions for environmental flows, river channel adjustments to natural processes and human actions, river bed sediments and landforms, hyporheic flows, water temperatures, interactions between wood, vegetation and fluvial processes, and the history of river engineering. The most highly cited include:

Petts, G., Armitage, P. and Castella, E., 1993. Physical habitat changes and macroinvertebrate response to river regulation: the River Rede, UK. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management, 8(1‐2), pp.167-178.

Minler, A M and Petts, G E, 1994, GLACIAL RIVERS - PHYSICAL HABITAT AND ECOLOGY, FRESHWATER BIOLOGY Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Pages: 295-307 Published: OCT 1994

GURNELL, AM; GREGORY, KJ; PETTS, GE, 1995, THE ROLE OF COARSE WOODY DEBRIS IN FOREST AQUATIC HABITATS - IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT, AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Pages: 143-166

Petts, GE, 1996, Water allocation to protect river ecosystems, REGULATED RIVERS-RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT Volume: 12 Issue: 4-5 Pages: 353-365

Stanford, J.A., Ward, J.V., Liss, W.J., Frissell, C.A., Williams, R.N., Lichatowich, J.A. and Coutant, C.C., 1996. A general protocol for restoration of regulated rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management, 12(4‐5), pp.391-413.

Petts, G., 1997. Scientific basis for conserving diversity along river margins. Man and the Biosphere Series, 18, pp.249-268.

Evans, EC; McGregor, GR; Petts, GE, 1998, River energy budgets with special reference to river bed processes, HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Pages: 575-595

Ward, JV; Tockner, K; Edwards, PJ; et al., 1999, A reference river system for the Alps: The 'Fiume Tagliamento', REGULATED RIVERS-RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT Volume: 15 Issue: 1-3 Pages: 63-75

Harris, N.M., Gurnell, A.M., Hannah, D.M. and Petts, G.E., 2000. Classification of river regimes: a context for hydroecology. Hydrological Processes, 14(16‐17), pp.2831-2848.

Gurnell, AM; Petts, GE; Hannah, DM; et al. 2001 Riparian vegetation and island formation along the gravel-bed Fiume Tagliamento, Italy EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Pages: 31-62

Milner, AM; Brittain, JE; Castella, E; et al., 2001, Trends of macroinvertebrate community structure in glacier-fed rivers in relation to environmental conditions: a synthesis, FRESHWATER BIOLOGY Volume: 46 Issue: 12 Pages: 1833-1847 Published: DEC 2001

Smith, B.P., Hannah, D.M., Gurnell, A.M. and Petts, G.E., 2001. A hydrogeomorphological context for ecological research on alpine glacial rivers. Freshwater Biology, 46(12), pp.1579-1596.

Naiman, R.J., Bunn, S.E., Nilsson, C., Petts, G.E., Pinay, G. and Thompson, L.C., 2002. Legitimizing fluvial ecosystems as users of water: an overview. Environmental management, 30(4), pp.455-467

Gurnell, AM; Petts, GE, 2002, Island-dominated landscapes of large floodplain rivers, a European perspective, FRESHWATER BIOLOGY Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Pages: 581-600

Tockner, K; Ward, JV; Arscott, DB; et al. 2003, The Tagliamento River: a model ecosystem of European importance, AQUATIC SCIENCES Volume: 65 Issue: 3 Pages: 239-253

Petts, GE; Gurnell, AM, 2005, Dams and geomorphology: Research progress and future directions, GEOMORPHOLOGY Volume: 71 Issue: 1-2 Pages: 27-47

Gurnell, Angela; Petts, Geoffrey, 2006, Trees as riparian engineers: The Tagliamento River, Italy, EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS Volume: 31 Issue: 12 Pages: 1558-1574

Lawler, D. M.; Petts, G. E.; Foster, I. D. L.; et al., 2006, Turbidity dynamics during spring storm events in an urban headwater river system: The Upper Tame, West Midlands, UK, SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT Volume: 360 Issue: 1-3 Pages: 109-126

Hannah, D.M., Brown, L.E., Milner, A.M., Gurnell, A.M., McGregor, G.R., Petts, G.E., Smith, B.P. and Snook, D.L., 2007. Integrating climate–hydrology–ecology for alpine river systems. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17(6), pp.636-656.

Francis, R.A., Petts, G.E. and Gurnell, A.M., 2008. Wood as a driver of past landscape change along river corridors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms: The Journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group, 33(10), pp.1622-1626.

Petts, Geoffrey E. , 2009, Instream Flow Science For Sustainable River Management, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION Volume: 45 Issue: 5 Pages: 1071-1086

Links

Some memories of his work as Chair of Podium can be found at https://www.londonhigher.ac.uk/ceo-blog/london-higher-the-geoff-years/

An appreciation by the University of Westminster Students Union may be found at https://www.uwsu.com/news/article/6013/In-Response-to-the-passing-of-Professor-Geoff-Petts/

An obituary in the Times Higher Supplement can be found at https://www.timeshighereducation.com/people/geoffrey-petts-1953-2018

An obituary in River Research and Applications written by Angela Gurnell, Ian Foster Ken Gregory, and Paul wood can be found at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rra.3540?casa_token=nz-FzAUBbvQAAAAA%3AIoaHtHj0pU76rW6AfOcWscbXaY-eIJhf-q-qcBLurCFasI10JQD1XD2qLRDz52-aoHj1SgU_GuJxxg