Staff profile

• I'm a mathematically-minded physical geographer interested in how rivers work. My publications include work on channel pattern, hydraulic geometry, sediment loads, meltwater hydrology, gravel transport, downstream fining, flow resistance, and bedrock rivers.
• Type 'Rob Ferguson' into GoogleScholar for a full up to date list of publications and citations.

Chapter in book

• Ferguson, R. (2013). Reach-scale flow resistance. In J. Shroder, & E. Wohl (Eds.), Treatise on Geomorphology (50-68). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-374739-6.00230-x
• Ferguson, R., & Hoey, T. (2008). Effects of tributaries on main-channel geomorphology. In S. Rice, A. Roy, & B. Rhoads (Eds.), River confluences, tributaries and the fluvial network (183-208). John Wiley and Sons
• Ferguson, R. (2008). Gravel-bed rivers at the reach scale. In H. Habersack, H. Piegay, & M. Rinaldi (Eds.), Gravel-Bed Rivers VI: From Process Understanding to River Restoration (33-53). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0928-2025%2807%2911112-3
• Lane, S., Hardy, R., Ferguson, R., & Parsons, D. (2005). A framework for model verification and validation of CFD schemes in natural open channel flows. In M. Bates, & S. Lane (Eds.), Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications in Environmental Hydraulics (329-355). John Wiley and Sons
• Lane, S., & Ferguson, R. (2005). Modelling reach-scale fluvial flows. In Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications in Environmental Hydraulics (217-269). Wiley
• Ferguson, R., & Parsons, D. (2004). Flow structures in natural meander bends with recirculation. In G. Jirka, & W. Uijttewaal (Eds.), Shallow flows (325-331). Balkema
• Parsons, D., Ferguson, R., Lane, S., & Hardy, R. (2004). Flow structures in meander bends with recirculation zones: implications for bend movements. In M. Greco, A. Carravetta, & R. Della Morte (Eds.), River Flow 2004 (49-59)
• Hoey, T., Bishop, P., & Ferguson, R. (2003). Testing numerical models in geomorphology: how can we ensure critical use of model predictions?. In P. Wilcock, & R. Iverson (Eds.), Prediction in Geomorphology, Geophysical Monograph 135 (241-255). American Geophysical Union
• Lane, S., Hardy, R., Keylock, C., Ferguson, R., & Parsons, D. (2003). Coherent flow structures in shallow gravel-bed rivers: an experiemental and numerical study. In W. Uijttewaal (Ed.), Shallow flows (259-266)

Edited book

• Bates, P., Lane, S., & Ferguson, R. (Eds.). (2005). Computational Fluid Dynamics: Applications in Environmental Hydraulics. Wiley

Journal Article

• Ferguson, R., Church, M., Rennie, C., & Venditti, J. (in press). Reconstructing a sediment pulse: Modeling the effect of placer mining on Fraser River, Canada. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 120(7), https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jf003491
• Ferguson, R. I., Hardy, R. J., Hodge, R. A., Houseago, R. C., Yager, E. M., & Yamasaki, T. N. (online). Predicting flow resistance in rough‐bed rivers from topographic roughness: Review and open questions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.6016
• Ferguson, R., & Recking, A. (2025). Flow Resistance and Hydraulic Geometry in Gravel‐And Boulder‐Bed Rivers. Water Resources Research, 61(3), Article e2024WR038852. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024wr038852
• Ferguson, R. I., Lewin, J., & Hardy, R. J. (2022). Fluvial processes and landforms. Memoirs, 58(1), 257-270. https://doi.org/10.1144/m58-2021-18
• Ferguson, R. I. (2021). Roughness Calibration to Improve Flow Predictions in Coarse‐Bed Streams. Water Resources Research, 57(6), Article e2021WR029979. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021wr029979
• Ferguson, R. (2021). Limits to scale invariance in alluvial rivers. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 46(1), 173-187. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5006
• Ferguson, R., Hardy, R., & Hodge, R. (2019). Flow resistance and hydraulic geometry in bedrock rivers with multiple roughness length scales. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(12), 2437-2449. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4673
• Blom, A., Chavarrías, V., Ferguson, R. I., & Viparelli, E. (2017). Advance, Retreat, and Halt of Abrupt Gravel-Sand Transitions in Alluvial Rivers. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(19), 9751-9760. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl074231
• Ferguson, R., Sharma, B., Hodge, R., Hardy, R., & Warburton, J. (2017). Bed load tracer mobility in a mixed bedrock/alluvial channel. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 122(4), 807-822. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016jf003946
• Ferguson, R., Sharma, B., Hardy, R., Hodge, R., & Warburton, J. (2017). Flow resistance and hydraulic geometry in contrasting reaches of a bedrock channel. Water Resources Research, 53(3), 2278-2293. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016wr020233
• Clark, K., Hilton, R., West, A., Robles Caceres, A., Grocke, D., Marthews, T., Ferguson, R., Asner, G., New, M., & Malhi, Y. (2017). Erosion of organic carbon from the Andes and its affects on ecosystem carbon dioxide balance. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 122(3), 449-469. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016jg003615
• Pelosi, A., Schumer, R., Parker, G., & Ferguson, R. (2016). The cause of advective slowdown of tracer pebbles in rivers: Implementation of Exner-Based Master Equation for coevolving streamwise and vertical dispersion. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 121(3), 623-637. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jf003497
• Church, M., & Ferguson, R. (2015). Morphodynamics: Rivers beyond steady state. Water Resources Research, 51(4), 1883-1897. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014wr016862
• Kleinhans, M., Ferguson, R., Lane, S., & Hardy, R. (2013). Splitting rivers at their seams: bifurcations and avulsion. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 38, 47-61. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3268
• Ferguson, R. (2012). River channel slope, flow resistance, and gravel entrainment thresholds. Water Resources Research, 48(5), Article W05517. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011wr010850
• Raven, E., Ferguson, R., & Lane, S. (2011). A coupled sediment routing and lateral migration model for gravel-bed rivers. Hydrological Processes, 25(12), 1887-1898. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7945
• Verhaar, P., Biron, P., Ferguson, R., & Hoey, T. (2011). Implications of climate change in the twenty-first century for simulated magnitude and frequency of bed-material transport in tributaries of the Saint-Lawrence River. Hydrological Processes, 25(10), 1558-1573. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7918
• Ferguson, R., Bloomer, D., & Church, M. (2011). Evolution of an advancing gravel front: observations from Vedder Canal, British Columbia. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 36(9), 1172-1182. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2142
• Ferguson, R. (2010). Time to abandon the Manning equation?. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35(15), 1873-1876. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2091
• Verhaar, P., Biron, P., Ferguson, R., & Hoey, T. (2010). Numerical modelling of climate change impacts on Saint-Lawrence River tributaries. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35(10), 1184-1198. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1953
• Raven, E., Lane, S., & Ferguson, R. (2010). Using sediment impact sensors to improve the morphological sediment budget approach for estimating bedload transport rates. Geomorphology, 119(1-2), 125-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.03.012
• Ferguson, R., & Church, M. (2009). A critical perspective on 1-D modeling of river processes: Gravel load and aggradation in lower Fraser River. Water Resources Research, 45(11), https://doi.org/10.1029/2009wr007740
• Raven, E., Lane, S., Ferguson, R., & Bracken, L. (2009). The spatial and temporal patterns of aggradation in a temperate, upland, gravel-bed river. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 34(9), 1181-1197. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1783
• Verhaar, P., Biron, P. M., Ferguson, R., & Hoey, T. (2008). A modified morphodynamic model for investigating the response of rivers to short-term climate change. Geomorphology, 101(4), 674-682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.03.010
• Ferguson, R. (2007). Flow resistance equations for gravel-and boulder-bed streams. Water Resources Research, 43(5), Article W05427. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006wr005422
• Hardy, R., Lane, S., Ferguson, R., & Parsons, D. (2007). Emergence of coherent flow structures over a gravel surface: A numerical experiment. Water Resources Research, 43(3), Article W03422. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006wr004936
• Sime, L., Ferguson, R., & Church, M. (2007). Estimating shear stress from moving boat acoustic Doppler velocity measurements in a large gravel bed river. Water Resources Research, 43, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006wr005069
• Ferguson, R., Cudden, J., Hoey, T., & Rice, S. (2006). River system discontinuities due to lateral inputs: generic styles and controls. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 31(9), 1149-1166. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1309
• Rice, S., Ferguson, R., & Hoey, T. (2006). Tributary control of physical heterogeneity and biological diversity at river confluences. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 63, 2553-2566. https://doi.org/10.1139/f06-145
• Ferguson, R. (2005). Estimating critical stream power for bedload transport calculations in gravel-bed rivers. Geomorphology, 70(1), 33-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.03.009
• Keylock, C., Hardy, R., Parsons, D., Ferguson, R., Lane, S., & Richards, K. (2005). The theoretical foundations and potential for large-eddy simulation (LES) in fluvial geomorphic and sedimentological research. Earth-Science Reviews, 71(4), 271-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.03.001
• Parsons, D., Wiggs, G., Walker, I., Ferguson, R., & Garvey, B. (2004). Numerical modelling of airflow over an idealised transverse dune. Environmental Modelling and Software, 19, 153-162
• Ferguson, R., & Church, M. (2004). A simple universal equation for grain settling velocity. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 74(6), 933-937
• Ferguson, R., Parsons, D., Lane, S., & Hardy, R. (2003). Flow in meander bends with recirculation at the inner bank. Water Resources Research, 39(11), Article 1322. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003wr001965
• Ferguson, R. (2003). The missing dimension: effects of lateral variation on 1-D calculations of fluvial bedload transport. Geomorphology, 56(1-2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0169-555x%2803%2900042-4
• Hardy, R., Lane, S., Ferguson, R., & Parsons, D. (2003). Assessing the credibility of a series of computational fluid dynamic simulations of open channel flow. Hydrological Processes, 17(8), 1539-1560. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.1198
• Ferguson, R. (2003). Emergence of abrupt gravel to sand transitions along rivers through sorting processes. Geology, 31(2), 159-162. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613%282003%29031%3C0159%3Aeoagts%3E2.0.co%3B2
• Sime, L., & Ferguson, R. (2003). Gravel-bed river grain size information by automated image analysis. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 73(4), 630-636
• Ferguson, R. (2003). Publication practices in physical and human geography: a comment on Thrift's 'The future of geography'. Geoforum, 34, 9-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-7185%2802%2900082-9
• Lee, A., & Ferguson, R. (2002). Velocity and flow resistance in step-pool streams. Geomorphology, 46(1), 59-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0169-555x%2802%2900054-5
• Ferguson, R., Bloomer, D., Hoey, T., & Werritty, A. (2002). Mobility of river tracer pebbles over different timescales. Water Resources Research, 38(5), Article 1045. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001wr000254
• Ferguson, R., & Hoey, T. (2002). Long-term slowdown of river tracer pebbles: Generic models and implications for interpreting short-term tracer studies. Water Resources Research, 38(8), Article 1142. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001wr000637
• Ferguson, R., Church, M., & Weatherly, H. (2001). Fluvial aggradation in Vedder River: Testing a one dimensional sedimentation model. Water Resources Research, 37(12), 3331-3347