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James Leonard Best

Professor

Biography

Jim Best’s current research concerns the mechanics of sediment transport, the investigation of modern sedimentary environments, and the interpretation of ancient alluvium. Current areas of ongoing research include: interactions between turbulent flows and sediment movement, turbulence modulation in sedimentological flows, bedform dynamics, braided river dynamics and deposits, the morphodynamics of river channel confluences, the sedimentology of large rivers, the application of multibeam imaging within sedimentary environments, basin evolution, paleoenvironments, and sedimentology of the Western Irish Namurian Basin.

Education

  • Ph.D., Birkbeck College, University of London
  • B.S., University of Leeds

Courses Taught

Recent Publications

Almeida, R. P., Galeazzi, C. P., Best, J., Ianniruberto, M., Do Prado, A. H., Janikian, L., Mazoca, C. E. M., Tamura, L. N., & Nicholas, A. (2024). Morphodynamics and depositional architecture of mid-channel bars in large Amazonian rivers. Sedimentology, 71(5), 1591-1614. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13188

Best, J., Wilson, C. A., Darby, S., & Esteves, L. (2024). The World Atlas of Rivers, Estuaries, and Deltas. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691244846

Cisneros, J., & Best, J. (2024). Controls on the Leeside Angle of Dunes in Shallow Unidirectional Flows. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 129(3), Article e2023JF007520. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JF007520

Kang, S., Best, J. L., & Chamorro, L. P. (2024). On the dynamics of aligned inertial particles settling in a quiescent, stratified two-layer medium. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 988, Article A26. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2024.462

McGowan, D., Salian, A., Baas, J. H., Peakall, J., & Best, J. (2024). On the origin of chevron marks and striated grooves, and their use in predicting mud bed rheology. Sedimentology, 71(2), 687-708. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13148

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