Arthur Wickham
2024 recipient of the Dr Eileen Fair Earth Science Master’s ScholarshipResearch topic: Mechanisms and characteristics of pore-pressure dissipation in cohesive and non-cohesive sediment-water mixtures
Arthur’s research addresses one of the major fundamental gaps in understanding and being able to mitigate the hazards of sediment-rich mudflows in New Zealand and elsewhere.
The destructive and lethal mudflow disasters associated with Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 are recent examples of these dangerous natural events.
Arthur’s work investigates how pore pressure in mudflows is influenced by variations in grain size and sediment-to-water ratio. Pore pressure is a critical factor affecting the mobility and hazard potential of mudflows, but its behaviour under different sedimentological conditions has not been repeatedly measurable, meaning many mudflow models lack this important characteristic.
To address this, Arthur is conducting a series of controlled laboratory experiments, beginning with small-scale models and progressively scaling up to larger models using multiple barrels of mud to simulate natural mudflows.
By systematically altering grain size and sediment concentration, the experiments aim to quantify their respective impacts on pore pressure evolution during flow.
Arthur’s findings are expected to improve our understanding of mudflow dynamics and inform risk assessments in sediment-prone landscapes.
