Dr James King
- Researcher
- Member of the Landscape Dynamics research cluster
- Email: james.king@ouce.ox.ac.uk
Academic Profile
James King is a geomorphologist interested in exploring the processes that govern sediment transport and deposition of soils, the influence of geomorphic processes on nutrient cycling, and the use of physically based models to predict landscape evolution and soil genesis in arid environments. His research combines empirical and theoretical approaches to studying the interactions between erodible surfaces and vegetation investigating nutrient pathways in semi-arid ecosystems, sediment transport dynamics, and landscape development. Utilizing a large variety of instrumentation to record and observe sediment transport dynamics, nutrient cycling, and climatological processes, in addition to designing specific instrumentation for research applications provides new insights into complex processes. Specific interests include modeling sediment transport and dust emissions in a variety of environments producing regional-scale and local-scale climate prediction, utilization of sediment transport dynamics to model sparsely vegetated ecosystems, and instrument development for improving measurements of sediment transport dynamics.
Research projects sites have included Africa, Mongolia, Canada, and United States. These projects have been funded with international teams through Natural Environment Research Council (UK), National Science Foundation (USA), National Science and Engineering Council (Canada), United States Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management (USA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA).
Dr King earned his BSc and PhD degrees at University of Guelph, Canada. He has previously held a research position at Desert Research Institute, USA and a teaching position at York University, Canada, and now is a post-doctoral research associate at the School of Geography and the Environment.
Current Research
- DO4 Models: A NERC funded project with Professor Richard Washington, Dr Giles Wiggs, and Professor David Thomas, its main aim is to collect the first dust source-area process data tailored to climate model grid-box resolution from targeted remote sensing and fieldwork in order to develop a new generation of model dust emission schemes. Based in southern Africa, this targeted fieldwork includes monitoring climatological, sediment transport, aerosol concentration, radiative properties, and soil physical properties. Currently in its 2nd year, the project is currently focusing on the re-tooling of current dust production models based on the high frequency temporal and spatial data collected during the first field campaign in 2011.
- Landscape dynamics of wet and dry playas: This ongoing work has involved fieldwork in Mojave Desert, USA linking hydrology, geochemistry, and physical properties with potential sediment transport and dust emission fluxes. This work is in combination with USGS scientists including Dr Reynolds and from the University of Conneticut, Dr Ballantine, looking into land degradation from soil deflation and genesis within these basins from anthropogenic and natural effects.
- Instrument development for applications to drylands research: As predominately a field researcher, the methodologies used to measure and record processes are ultimately a function of instrumentation. Through his career James has had the pleasure to have studied under some great aeolian field researchers that have led this development and he has tried to continue this ongoing work. Applications that he has been involved in include: field wind tunnel technology, shear stress partition measurements, and sediment transport/concentration instrumentation.
Selected Publications
- King, J., Etyemezian, V., Sweeney, M., Buck, B. and Nikolich, G. (2011) Dust emission variability at the Salton Sea, California, USA. Aeolian Research, 3(1): 67-79.
- Buck, B.J., King, J. and Etyemezian, V. (2011) Effects of salt mineralogy on dust emissions, Salton Sea, California. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 75(5): 1958-1972.
- Gillies, J.A., Nickling, W.G., King, J. and Lancaster, N. (2010) Modeling aeolian sediment transport thresholds on physically rough martian surfaces: A shear stress partitioning approach. Geomorphology, 121(1-2): 15-21.
- King, J., Nickling, W.G. and Gillies, J.A. (2008) Investigations of the law-of-the-wall over sparse roughness elements. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113: F02S07.
- Gillies, J.A., Nickling, W.G. and King, J. (2007) Shear stress partitioning in the atmospheric inertial sublayer. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 122(2): 367-396.
- King, J., Nickling, W.G. and Gillies, J.A. (2006) Shear stress ratio measurements within mesquite dominated landscapes of the Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA. Geomorphology, 82(3-4): 229-244.
- King, J., Nickling, W.G. and Gillies, J.A. (2005) Representation of vegetation and other non-erodible elements in aeolian shear stress partitioning models for predicting transport threshold. Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, F04015.