Staff profile

Research interests

My primary research is focused upon the recognition of the role of material deformation characteristics in controlling the spatial and temporal nature of rockfalls and landslides. Using data collected both in the laboratory and in the field, I am interested in exploring theoretical models which underpin recent developments in the understanding the mechanics of slope failure. My research is most often end-user focussed, with an emphasis on risk management which broadly considers when, why, where and how landslides occur. My recent research has focussed in two areas: earthquake-triggered landsliding; and, the development and use of 3D time-series terrestrial imaging techniques to monitor slope failure at unprecedented levels of spatial and temporal detail.

I am currently PI on series of projects that enable my research group to pursue these interests. For example, I lead the long term Coastal Behaviour and Rates of Activity (COBRA) research collaboration that runs in partnership with ICL Fertilizers (UK) Ltd, conducting fundamental research on rock slope failure, coastal evolution and deep mining in North Yorkshire, UK. I also lead a project focussed around providing a rolling assessment of the evolution of landslide risk in the area impacted by the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, working with DFID-Nepal and the National Society for Earthquake Technology (Kathmandu). 

Research video

A short video (2014) summarising some of my research is available on Youtube.

• Landslide hazard and risk
• Rock slope failure
• 3D terrestrial monitoring
• Rock coast evolution

Chapter in book

• Brain, M., & Rosser, N. (in press). Mass Movements. In T. Burt, A. Goudie, & H. Viles (Eds.), The History of the Study of Landforms or the Development of Geomorphology. The Geological Society. https://doi.org/10.1144/m58-2021-32
• Whadcoat, S., Rosser, N., Brain, M., & Hardy, R. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Rockfalls in Hard Rock Coastal Cliffs. In J. De Graff, & A. Shakoor (Eds.), Landslides: Putting Experience, Knowledge and Emerging Technologies into Practice (633 - 644). Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG)
• Pradhan, S., Toll, D., Rosser, N., & Brain, M. (2020). Field monitoring of soil-moisture to understand the hydrological response of a road-cut slope. In R. Cardoso, C. Jommi, & E. Romero (Eds.), 4th European Conference on Unsaturated Soils (E-UNSAT 2020). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202019501029
• de Vilder, S., Rosser, N., Brain, M., & Vann Jones, E. (2017). Forensic rockfall scar analysis: Development of a mechanically correct model of rockfall failure. In J. De Graff, & A. Shakoor (Eds.), Landslides : putting experience, knowledge and emerging technologies into practice (829-839). Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG)
• Benjamin, J., Rosser, N., & Brain, M. (2016). Rockfall detection and volumetric characterisation using LiDAR. In S. Aversa, L. Cascini, L. Picarelli, & C. Scavia (Eds.), Landslides and Engineered Slopes: Experience, Theory and Practice (389 - 396). CRC Press
• Brain, M., Rosser, N., Petley, D., Lim, M., Barlow, J., & Norman, E. (2010). Dynamic rock strength in coastal rock cliffs. In A. Williams, G. Pinches, C. Chin, T. McMorran, & C. Massey (Eds.), Geologically Active. CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, London

Journal Article

• Diaz-Andreu, M., Hobbs, R., Rosser, N., Sharpe, K., & Trinks, I. (online). Long Meg : rock art recording using 3D laser scanning
• Prémaillon, M., Dewez, T., Regard, V., Rosser, N., Carretier, S., & Guillen, L. (online). Conceptual model of fracture-limited sea cliff erosion: erosion of the seaward tilted flyschs of Socoa, Basque Country, France. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms,
• Harvey, E., Kincey, M., Rosser, N., Gadtaula, A., Collins, E., Densmore, A., Dunant, A., Arrell, K., Oven, K., Basyal, G., Dhital, M. R., Robinson, T., de Vries, M., Paudyal, S., Pujara, D., & Shrestha, R. (in press). Review of landslide inventories for Nepal between 2010 and 2021 reveals data gaps in global landslide hotspot. Natural Hazards,
• Arrell, K., Rosser, N., Kincey, M., Robinson, T., Horton, P., Densmore, A., Oven, K., Shrestha, R., & Pujara, D. (2024). The dynamic threat from landslides following large continental earthquakes. PLoS ONE, 19(8), Article e0308444. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308444
• Chen, T.-H. K., Kincey, M. E., Rosser, N. J., & Seto, K. C. (2024). Identifying recurrent and persistent landslides using satellite imagery and deep learning: A 30-year analysis of the Himalaya. Science of the Total Environment, 922, Article 171161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171161
• Van Wyk De Vries, M., Arrell, K., Basyal, G., Densmore, A., Dunant, A., Harvey, E. L., Ganesh, J., Kincey, M., Li, S., Pujara, D. S., Pujara, S., Shrestha, R., Rosser, N., & Dadson, S. (2024). Detection of slow‐moving landslides through automated monitoring of surface deformation using Sentinel‐2 satellite imagery. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 49(4), 1397-1410. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5775
• Kincey, M. E., Rosser, N. J., Swirad, Z. M., Robinson, T. R., Shrestha, R., Pujara, D. S., Basyal, G. K., Densmore, A. L., Arrell, K., Oven, K. J., & Dunant, A. (2024). National‐Scale Rainfall‐Triggered Landslide Susceptibility and Exposure in Nepal. Earth's Future, 12(2), Article e2023EF004102. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023ef004102
• Kincey, M., Rosser, N., Densmore, A., Robinson, T., Shrestha, R., Pujara, D., Horton, P., Swirad, S., Oven, K., & Arrell, K. (2023). Modelling post-earthquake cascading hazards: Changing patterns of landslide runout following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 48(3), 537-554. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5501
• Ruusa, M., Rosser, N., & Donoghue, D. (2022). Improving above ground biomass estimates of Southern Africa dryland forests by combining Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, 282, Article 113232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113232
• Pearson, C., Reaney, S., Perks, M., Hortobagyi, B., Rosser, N., & Large, A. (2022). Identification of floodwater source areas in Nepal using SCIMAP‐Flood. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 15(4), Article e12840. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12840
• Pradhan, S., Toll, D., Rosser, N., & Brain, M. (2022). An investigation of the combined effect of rainfall and road cut on landsliding. Engineering Geology, 307, Article 106787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106787
• David, R., Rosser, N. J., & Donoghue, D. N. (2022). Remote sensing for monitoring tropical dryland forests: A review of current research, knowledge gaps and future directions for Southern Africa. Environmental Research Communications, 4(4), https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ac5b84
• Few, R., Armijos Burneo, T., Barclay, J., Oven, K., Phillips, J., & Rosser, N. (2022). Working with communities on disaster risk research: reflections from cross-disciplinary practice. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 70, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.102815
• Rosser, N., Kincey, M., Oven, K., Densmore, A., Robinson, T., Pujara, D., Shrestha, R., Smutny, J., Gurung, K., Lama, S., & Dhital, M. (2021). Changing Significance of Landslide Hazard and Risk After The 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal Earthquake. Progress in disaster science, 10, Article 100159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2021.100159
• Kincey, M. E., Rosser, N. J., Robinson, T. R., Densmore, A. L., Shrestha, R., Pujara, D. S., Oven, K. J., Williams, J. G., & Swirad, Z. M. (2021). Evolution of coseismic and post‐seismic landsliding after the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126(3), Article e2020JF005803. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jf005803
• Benjamin, J., Rosser, N., & Brain, M. (2020). Emergent characteristics of rockfall inventories captured at a regional scale. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 45(12), 2773-2787. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4929
• Williams, J., Rosser, N., Hardy, R., & Brain, M. (2020). The Importance of Monitoring Interval for Rockfall Magnitude-Frequency Estimation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 124(12), 2841-2853. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jf005225
• Swirad, Z. M., Rosser, N. J., Brain, M. J., Rood, D. H., Hurst, M. D., Wilcken, K. M., & Barlow, J. (2020). Cosmogenic exposure dating reveals limited long-term variability in erosion of a rocky coastline. Nature Communications, 11, Article 3804. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17611-9
• de Vilder, S., Brain, M., & Rosser, N. (2019). Controls on the geotechnical response of sedimentary rocks to weathering. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(10), 1910-1929. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4619
• Robinson, T., Rosser, N., & Walters, R. (2019). The spatial and temporal influence of cloud cover on satellite-based emergency mapping of earthquake disasters. Scientific Reports, 9, Article 12455. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49008-0
• Swirad, Z. M., Rosser, N. J., & Brain, M. J. (2019). Identifying mechanisms of shore platform erosion using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(8), 1542-1558. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4591
• Milledge, D., Densmore, A., Bellugi, D., Rosser, N., Watt, J., Li, G., & Oven, K. (2019). Simple rules to minimise exposure to coseismic landslide hazard. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 19(4), 837-856. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-837-2019
• Benjamin, J., Rosser, N., Dunning, S., Hardy, R., Kelfoun, K., & Szczuciński, W. (2018). Transferability of a calibrated numerical model of rock avalanche run-out: application to 20 rock avalanches on the Nuussuaq Peninsula, West Greenland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43(15), 3057-3073. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4469
• Vann Jones, E., Rosser, N., & Brain, M. (2018). Alongshore variability in wave energy transfer to coastal cliffs. Geomorphology, 322, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.08.019
• Robinson, T., Rosser, N., Densmore, A., Oven, K., Shrestha, S., & Guragain, R. (2018). Use of scenario ensembles for deriving seismic risk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(41), E9532-E9541. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807433115
• Williams, J., Rosser, N., Hardy, R., Brain, M., & Afana, A. (2018). Optimising 4-D surface change detection: an approach for capturing rockfall magnitude–frequency. Earth Surface Dynamics, 6(1), 101-119. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-101-2018
• Williams, J., Rosser, N., Kincey, M., Benjamin, J., Oven, K., Densmore, A., Milledge, D., Robinson, T., Jordan, C., & Dijkstra, T. (2018). Satellite-based emergency mapping using optical imagery: experience and reflections from the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 18, 185-205. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-185-2018
• Robinson, T., Rosser, N., Densmore, A., Williams, J., Kincey, M., Benjamin, J., & Bell, H. (2017). Rapid post-earthquake modelling of coseismic landsliding intensity and distribution for emergency response decision support. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 17(9), 1521-1540. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1521-2017
• de Vilder, S., Rosser, N., & Brain, M. (2017). Forensic analysis of rockfall scars. Geomorphology, 295, 202-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.07.005
• Robinson, T., Rosser, N., Densmore, A., Williams, J., Kincey, M., Benjamin, J., & Bell, H. (2017). Rapid post-earthquake modelling of coseismic landslide magnitude and distribution for emergency response decision support. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 17, 1521-1540. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2017-83
• Brain, M., Rosser, N., & Tunstall, N. (2017). The control of earthquake sequences on hillslope stability. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(2), 865-872. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016gl071879
• Schürch, P., Densmore, A., Ivy-Ochs, S., Rosser, N., Kober, F., Schlunegger, F., McArdell, B., & Alfimov, V. (2016). Quantitative reconstruction of late Holocene surface evolution on an alpine debris-flow fan. Geomorphology, 275, 46-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.09.020
• Swirad, Z. M., Rosser, N. J., Brain, M. J., & Vann Jones, E. C. (2016). What controls the geometry of rocky coasts at the local scale?. Journal of coastal research, 75(sp1), 612-616. https://doi.org/10.2112/si75-123.1
• Parker, R., Hancox, G., Petley, D., Massey, C., Densmore, A., & Rosser, N. (2015). Spatial distributions of earthquake-induced landslides and hillslope preconditioning in northwest South Island, New Zealand. Earth Surface Dynamics, 3(4), 501-525. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-501-2015
• Davies, T., Beaven, S., Conradson, D., Densmore, A., Gaillard, J., Johnston, D., Milledge, D., Oven, K., Petley, D., Rigg, J., Robinson, T., Rosser, N., & Wilson, T. (2015). Towards disaster resilience: A scenario-based approach to co-producing and integrating hazard and risk knowledge. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 13, 242-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.05.009
• Brain, M., Rosser, N., Sutton, J., Snelling, K., Tunstall, N., & Petley, D. (2015). The effects of normal and shear stress wave phasing on coseismic landslide displacement. Journal of Geophysical Research, 120(6), 1009-1022. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014jf003417
• Vann Jones (née Norman), E., Rosser, N., Brain, M., & Petley, D. (2015). Quantifying the environmental controls on erosion of a hard rock cliff. Marine Geology, 363, 230-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2014.12.008
• Brain, M., Rosser, N., Norman, E., & Petley, D. (2014). Are microseismic ground displacements a significant geomorphic agent?. Geomorphology, 207, 161-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.11.002
• Rosser, N., Brain, M., Petley, D., Lim, M., & Norman, E. (2013). Coastline retreat via progressive failure of rocky coastal cliffs. Geology, 41(8), 939-942. https://doi.org/10.1130/g34371.1
• Norman, E., Rosser, N., Brain, M., Petley, D., & Lim, M. (2013). Coastal cliff-top ground motions as proxies for environmental processes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 118(12), 6807 - 6823. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jc008963
• Barlow, J., Lim, M., Rosser, N., Petley, D., Brain, M., Norman, E., & Geer, M. (2012). Modeling cliff erosion using negative power law scaling of rockfalls. Geomorphology, 139-140, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.11.006
• Schürch, P., Densmore, A., Rosser, N., Lim, M., & McArdell, B. (2011). Detection of surface change in complex topography using terrestrial laser scanning: application to the Illgraben debris-flow channel. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 36(14), 1847-1859. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2206
• Schürch, P., Densmore, A., Rosser, N., & McArdell, B. (2011). Dynamic controls on erosion and deposition on debris-flow fans. Geology, 39(9), 827-830. https://doi.org/10.1130/g32103.1
• Lim, M., Petley, D., Rosser, N., Allison, R., Long, A., & Pybus, D. (2005). Combined digital photogrammetry and time-of-flight laser scanning for monitoring cliff evolution. The Photogrammetric Record, 20(110), 109-129. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9730.2005.00315.x
• Díaz-Andreu, M., Hobbs, R., Rosser, N., Sharpe, K., & Trinks, I. (2005). Long Meg: Rock Art Recording Using 3D Laser Scanning