2025 - to date
2020 - 2025 Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University, United Kingdom
2020 - 2025
In this role, I focused on the combination of diffuse pollution and flood hazards in a wide range of environments. This work continued to develop the catchment modelling and SCIMAP toolkit to be applicable to a wider range of issues and environments. I taught on both the BSc Geography and MSc Risk within the Geography Department in Durham on catchment and flood simulation modelling and hydrological processes.
2012 - 2020
Within this role I worked on catchment hydrological processes including climate change, flood hazards and diffuse pollution. This work was largely focused on the UK and much work was structured around the Defra Eden DRC project, for which I was I Co-Investigator. This project looked at how to manage the landscape differently to reduce diffuse pollution whilst minimising impacts on farm business. I worked on the development of the SCIMAP diffuse pollution risk mapping toolkit. I also started to test the approaches developed in the UK on flood source mapping and simulation modelling to new sites including Nepal and Java, Indonesia.
2007 - 2012
Department of Geography, Durham University, United Kingdom
I held an RCUK postdoctoral research fellowship in the Institute of Hazard and Risk and Resilience and the Department of Geography at Durham University. The main theme of my research was hazards and risks related to water and I focused on the hazard that has the greatest capability to cause widespread impacts – climate change. These potential impacts were approached through better understanding of catchment hydrological processes and the use of simulation modelling techniques to determine how the system may change under projected futures. I investigated how projected climate change may alter the hydrological functioning of catchments and how these changes may affect flooding, drought and diffuse pollution delivery to water courses.
2005-2007
Department of Geography, Durham University, United Kingdom.
I worked on a NERC funded project to develop the SCIMAP diffuse pollution risk mapping toolset. This work involved terrain analysis development within open source GIS systems and the engagement with stakeholders, both within the catchments and Defra.
2002 - 2005
Cascade Consulting, Manchester, UK.
I worked on a UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) funded project on the potential impact of projected climate change on water quality for UK Rivers. This work involved the development of water quality models for nitrogen (NH4 and NO3) and dissolved oxygen.
1998-1999
I worked on an EU funded research project, MODULUS, to develop a hydrological simulation model for semi-arid environments. This model was applied to southern Spain and Greece.
M Kirkby, L Bracken, S Reaney, "The influence of land use, soils and topography on the delivery of hillslope runoff to channels in SE Spain." EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, 2002.
SN Lane, CJ Brookes, AL Heathwaite, S Reaney, "Surveillant science: Challenges for the management of rural environments emerging from the new generation diffuse pollution models." JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, 2006.
Reaney, S.M., Bracken, L.J. and Kirkby, M.J. (2007), Use of the Connectivity of Runoff Model (CRUM) to investigate the influence of storm characteristics on runoff generation and connectivity in semi-arid areas. Hydrol. Process., 21: 894-906. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6281
S. Reaney, "The use of agent based modelling techniques in hydrology: determining the spatial and temporal origin of channel flow in semi-arid catchments." EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, 2008.
S. Lane, S. Reaney, A. Heathwaite 2009, Representation of landscape hydrological connectivity using a topographically driven surface flow index; WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, 2009. Volume 45, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007336
Reaney S., Lane S., Heathwaite A. and Dugdale L., 2011: Risk-based modelling of diffuse land use impacts from rural landscapes upon salmonid fry abundance; ECOLOGICAL MODELLING, Volume 222, Issue 4, Pages 1016-1029; [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.08.022](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.08.022)
D. Wall, P. Jordan, A. Melland, P. Mellander, C. Buckley, S. Reaney, G. Shortie, "Using the nutrient transfer continuum concept to evaluate the European Union Nitrates Directive National Action Programme." ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY, 2011.
David Milledge, Stuart Lane, A. Heathwaite, Sim Reaney, "A Monte Carlo approach to the inverse problem of diffuse pollution risk in agricultural catchments." SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 2012.
K. Oven, S. Curtis, S. Reaney, M. Riva, M. Stewart, R. Ohlemueller, C. Dunn, S. Nodwell, L. Dominelli, R. Holden, "Climate change and health and social care: Defining future hazard, vulnerability and risk for infrastructure systems supporting older people's health care in England." APPLIED GEOGRAPHY, 2012.
L. Bracken, J. Wainwright, G. Ali, D. Tetzlaff, M. Smith, S. Reaney, A. Roy, "Concepts of hydrological connectivity: Research approaches, pathways and future agendas." EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2013.
Gerard Laniak, Gabriel Olchin, Jonathan Goodall, Alexey Voinov, Mary Hill, Pierre Glynn, Gene Whelan, Gary Geller, Nigel Quinn, Michiel Blind, Scott Peckham, Sim Reaney, Noha Gaber, Robert Kennedy, Andrew Hughes, "Integrated environmental modeling: A vision and roadmap for the future." ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE, 2013.
Genevieve Ali, Claire Oswald, Christopher Spence, Erik Cammeraat, Kevin McGuire, Thomas Meixner, Sim Reaney, "Towards a unified threshold-based hydrological theory: necessary components and recurring challenges." HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, 2013.
M. Snell, P. Barker, B. Surridge, A. Large, J. Jonczyk, C. Benskin, S. Reaney, M. Perks, G. Owen, W. Cleasby, C. Deasy, S. Burke, P. Haygarth, "High frequency variability of environmental drivers determining benthic community dynamics in headwater streams." ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS, 2014.
S. Reaney, L. Bracken, M. Kirkby, "The importance of surface controls on overland flow connectivity in semi-arid environments: results from a numerical experimental approach." HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, 2014.
Pattison I., Lane S. N., Hardy R., Reaney S. M., "The role of tributary relative timing and sequencing in controlling large floods." WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, 2014. 50 (7) 5444-5458. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013WR014067
Greene S., Johnes P., Bloomfield J., Reaney S., Lawley R., Elkhatib Y., Freer J., Odoni N., Macleod C., Percy B.: 2015: A geospatial framework to support integrated biogeochemical modelling in the United Kingdom." Environmental Modelling & Software, 68, 219-232
M. Perks, G. Owen, C. Benskin, J. Jonczyk, C. Deasy, S. Burke, S. Reaney, P. Haygarth, "Dominant mechanisms for the delivery of fine sediment and phosphorus to fluvial networks draining grassland dominated headwater catchments." SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 2015.
M. Ockenden, C. Deasy, C. Benskin, K. Beven, S. Burke, A. Collins, R. Evans, P. Falloon, K. Forber, K. Hiscock, M. Hollaway, R. Kahana, C. Macleod, S. Reaney, M. Snell, M. Villamizar, C. Wearing, P. Withers, J. Zhou, P. Haygarth, "Changing climate and nutrient transfers: Evidence from high temporal resolution concentration-flow dynamics in headwater catchments." SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 2016.
David Oliver, Kenneth Porter, Yakov Pachepsky, Richard Muirhead, Sim Reaney, Rory Coffey, David Kay, David Milledge, Eunmi Hong, Steven Anthony, Trevor Page, Jack Bloodworth, Per-Erik Mellander, Patrice Carbonneau, Scott McGrane, Richard Quilliam, "Predicting microbial water quality with models: Over-arching questions for managing risk in agricultural catchments." SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 2016.
Porter K., Reaney S. M., Quilliam R., Burgess C., Oliver D.: 2017: "Predicting diffuse microbial pollution risk across catchments: The performance of SCIMAP and recommendations for future development." SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, Volume 609, 31 December 2017, Pages 456-465
M. Perks, J. Warburton, L. Bracken, S. Reaney, S. Emery, S. Hirst, "Use of spatially distributed time-integrated sediment sampling networks and distributed fine sediment modelling to inform catchment management." JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, 2017.
David Oliver, Phil Bartie, A. Heathwaite, Sim Reaney, Jared Parnell, Richard Quilliam, "A catchment-scale model to predict spatial and temporal burden of E. coli on pasture from grazing livestock." SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 2018.
Russell Adams, Paul Quinn, Nick Barber, Sim Reaney, "The Role of Attenuation and Land Management in Small Catchments to Remove Sediment and Phosphorus: A Modelling Study of Mitigation Options and Impacts." WATER, 2018.
Kenneth Porter, Richard Quilliam, Sim Reaney, David Oliver, "High resolution characterisation of E. coli proliferation profiles in livestock faeces." WASTE MANAGEMENT, 2019.
M. Snell, P. Barker, B. Surridge, C. Benskin, N. Barber, S. Reaney, W. Tych, D. Mindham, A. Large, S. Burke, P. Haygarth 2019: "Strong and recurring seasonality revealed within stream diatom assemblages." SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 9, 3313 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37831-w .
Rosanna A. Lane, Gemma Coxon, Jim E. Freer, Thorsten Wagener, Penny J. Johnes, John P. Bloomfield, Sheila Greene, Christopher J. A. Macleod & Sim M. Reaney 2019: Benchmarking the predictive capability of hydrological models for river flow and flood peak predictions across over 1000 catchments in Great Britain. Hydrology and Earth System Science. 23:4011-4032.
Reaney, S.M., Mackay, E.B., Haygarth, P.M., Fisher, M., Molineux, A., Potts, M. & Benskin, C. McW.H. Identifying critical source areas using multiple methods for effective diffuse pollution mitigation. Journal of Environmental Management. 2019;250:109366
Sinha P., Rollason E., Bracken L. J., Wainwright J., Reaney S. M., 2020: "A new framework for integrated, holistic, and transparent evaluation of inter-basin water transfer schemes." Science of The Total Environment, Volume 721, 15 June 2020, 137646.
Mathias S. A., Reaney S. M. and Kenabatho P. K. 2021: "Transmission loss estimation for ephemeral sand rivers in Southern Africa." Journal of Hydrology, Volume 600, September 2021, 126487.
Thomas I., Bruen M., Mockler E., Werner C., Mellander P., Reaney S., Rymszewicz A., McGrath G., Eder E., Wade A., Collins A. and Arheimer B. 2021: "Catchment Models and Management Tools for Diffuse Contaminants (Sediment, Phosphorus and Pesticides): DiffuseTools Project" *Irish EPA Research Report no. 396*. ISBN: 978-1-84095-011-8
Reaney, Sim M. (2022) Spatial targeting of nature‐based solutions for flood risk management within river catchments. Journal of Flood Risk Management Volume 15, Issue 3 e12803 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12803
Lashford, C.; Lavers, T.; Reaney, S.; Charlesworth, S.; Burgess-Gamble, L.; Dale, J. 2022: Sustainable Catchment-Wide Flood Management: A Review of the Terminology and Application of Sustainable Catchment Flood Management Techniques in the UK. _Water_, 14, 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081204
Pearson C. J., Reaney S. M.,Perks M. T.,Hortobagyi B., Rosser N. J. and Large A. R. G. 2022: Identification of floodwater source areas in Nepal using SCIMAP-Flood, Journal of Flood Risk Management https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12840
Rahayu R., Mathias, S. A., Reaney S., Vesuviano G., Suwarman R., Ramdhan A. M. (2023) Impact of land cover, rainfall and topography on flood risk in West Java. Natural Hazards 116, 1735–1758 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05737-6
Wolf, K., Mills, J. P., Cormier, L., Dunn, R., Fairless, O., Falaye, A., Gordon, S., Jayamanne, O., Morris-Wiltshire, C., Myall, E., Salgado-Castillo, F., Shukla, Y., Taylor, L., Robson, E., Donoghue, D., Dawson, R. J., Lewis, E., Reaney, S. M., Scott, E., Freedman J., Marshall S., Walker P., Hinds, H. (2025). Capability Analysis of Earth Observation Data for Integrated Emergency Management. Remote Sensing, 17(9), 1545. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17091545
Vesuviano G., Mathias S. A., Rahayu R., Reaney S. M.; Rainfall–runoff modelling in a tropical climate (Citarum basin, West Java, Indonesia): model and climate data intercomparison. Hydrology Research 2025; nh2025021. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2025.021
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Poster at Land User and Water Quality 2013, The Hague, Netherlands
Talk at AGU Chapman Conference, Estes Park, CO 80511, USA
Talk at The Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
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Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at Stirling University, Stirling, Scotland
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at Durham University, Durham, UK
Talk at Eden Rivers Trust, Penrith, England
Poster at COST Action Connecteur Meeting, Durham, England
Poster at COST Action Connecteur Meeting, Durham, England
Talk at SCIMAP User Group Meeting 2016, London, England
Talk at Flood Expo 2016, London, England
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, San Francisco, USA
Talk at In the proceedings of EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Vienna, Austria
Talk at SCIMAP User Group Meeting 2016, The Hague, Netherlands
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Talk at University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Talk at AGU, San Francisco, USA
Talk at Catchment Data User Group Meeting 2020, Online
Talk at IHRR Annual Conference, Durham, England
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Talk at EGU, Vienna, Austria
Talk at EGU, Vienna, Austria
Talk at EGU, Vienna, Austria
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Talk at EGU, Vienna, Austria
Talk at EGU, Vienna, Austria
Talk at EGU, Vienna, Austria