Research

2025 ©craigbrinkerhoff

Drainage networks are the arteries of the continents, an interconnected network of rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and more that drain the land surface and transport water, sediments, and nutrients downstream. Rivers are the landscape’s integrators, and exert a powerful influence on the ecosystems and communities through which they flow.

My work is guided by two research questions: (1) how does fundamental river science improve our understanding of global Earth system cycling? And (2) how might that inform efforts to sustainably manage freshwater resources? To answer these questions, I believe river science must draw on a broad, multi-disciplinary body of work and study transport phenomena across scales.

I develop geospatial machine learning and remote sensing methods while working directly with field and policy researchers throughout the pipeline. I have particular interests in fluvial transport phenomena, hydrological connectivity, hydraulic geometry, headwater systems, and global observational monitoring. By taking a broad, integrative approach that draws on multiple traditions while remaining strongly “data-driven”, we develop a more clear understanding of how river basins contribute to the Earth system under ongoing global environmental change.