Cannot take Scotland out of the boy…

… even if you take the boy out of Scotland. Scotland is a river geomorphologist’s playground. From the steep streams of the Highlands to the flood plains of Dumfries and to the large catchments of the Central belt and the north, Scottish rivers are diverse, active and of great ecological and socio-economic importance. Dr Georgios Maniatis was supported by a CAE Research Activities fund, to visit several Scottish riverine environments that are actively studied. Georgios was joined by Dr Luca Mao (University of Lincoln) throughout this trip, as the main scope was to discuss on new and extend existing research collaborations. The first visit was to river Feshie (Cairngorms National Park); a beautiful braided river that is been monitored intensively for the last five years by the University of Glasgow (research led by Dr Richard Williams). Dr Williams also accommodated Georgios’ and Luca’s visit, giving them the chance to explore the areas around Aviemore and Kingussie (and the Spey catchment in general).

From Feshie, Georgios and Lucas drove south stopping at different sites along A9, including the impressive bedrock outcrop of River Garry and the very diverse and River Tay. There, Luca identified sites where he can establish his advanced sediment transport sensors towards a cross comparison with the smart pebble sensors studied and developed by Georgios. The end of the trip found Georgios and Lucas in the flat floodplains of Moffatt. Georgios collaborates with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency for the monitoring of a reach (River Moffat) that has bridged and is scheduled to be managed in the coming months. The Moffatt project is also supported by a Rising Stars fund, awarded to Georgios this year.

Figure 1 The mighty Feshie

Figure 2 Dr Mao (Feshie)

Figure 3 The amazing outcrops of River Garry

Figure 4 Dr Maniatis (left) with Dr Roberto Martinez (SEPA, middle) and his family (little Noa and Miriam). Moffat