The poles of the earth have wandered. The equator has apparently moved. The continents, perched on their plates, are thought to have been carried so very far and to be going in so many directions that it seems an act of almost pure hubris to assert that some landmark of our world is fixed at 73 degrees 57 minutes and 53 seconds west longitude and 40 degrees 51 minutes and 14 seconds north latitude–a temporary description, at any rate, as if for a boat on the sea. - John McPhee

Who?

Hey, I’m Ben. Formerly a scientist within the Remote Sensing and Earth Surface Processes research group at the University of Potsdam in Germany. Now freelancing in sub-arctic Nome, Alaska.

What?

My background is in geology, including field observations and mapping, but I specialized in remote sensing and geomorphology. I use satellites, drones, handheld cameras, geodetic measurements, and a lot of computer coding to investigate water and sediment (boulders, pebbles, and, yes, even dirt) routing through landscapes. I’m particularly interested in bridging gaps between close-up and far-away measurements, and in pushing the limits of available technologies with quantitative techniques.

Where?

I try and keep things open source, you can check out my GitHub for code snippets and inspiration. I enjoy science communication and get my fix via instagram. I should probably tweet, but I don’t.

On this site, my research page contains some of the science I’ve done, with a few links to the publications that came out of it. You can also find my current CV.

By the way, I started blogging. Let’s see how that goes!

Rio Toro
Quebrada del Toro in northwestern Argentina, my PhD study area.

Opportunities

Get in touch for collaboration!