Dr. Caius Whitlock

Biography

Caius Whitlock joined Veyra Institute in 2014 following a postdoctoral appointment at the Lentara Centre for Environmental Hydrology, where he developed probabilistic frameworks for rapid-onset flood forecasting in semi-arid basins. He received his PhD in physical geography from Orvale University in 2011, with a thesis examining coupled hillslope–channel sediment dynamics in debris-flow-prone terrain. Prior to his doctorate he read natural sciences at Brethwick College, graduating with first-class honours in 2006.

At Veyra, Whitlock founded the Hydrology & Earth Surface Lab to close the gap between process understanding and operational hazard forecasting. His group couples field instrumentation — distributed sensor networks, drone-mounted lidar, and in-channel bedload traps — with high-resolution numerical models and probabilistic ensemble techniques. A flagship product of the lab is FloodCast-HES, a coupled hydrodynamic–sediment-transport system now in pilot deployment with two regional water-authority partners. He holds one patent relating to adaptive sensor placement algorithms for flash-flood monitoring networks and has contributed expert testimony to three governmental inquiries on river-corridor management.

Whitlock sits on the programme committee of the Veyra Graduate School and leads the Institute's annual intensive short course on field hydrology methods. He has been principal investigator on six externally funded awards totalling approximately 5.1 million cr in direct costs, and currently supervises four doctoral students and two postdoctoral researchers. He lectures the graduate module Catchment Hydrology and Earth Surface Processes each autumn semester.

Research interests

Selected publications

1. Whitlock C, Farida-Osei B, Torvanger M. "Ensemble flash-flood prediction in semi-arid catchments using multi-source radar and rain-gauge fusion." Journal of Hydrometeorological Research, 18(2): 134–152, 2025. VEYRA-DOI: 10.veyra/VX-2511
2. Whitlock C, Strandvik H, Nwosu A. "FloodCast-HES: a coupled hydrodynamic–sediment-transport platform for operational rapid-onset flood forecasting." Proceedings of the Arendal Symposium on Environmental Modelling, pp. 203–218, 2024. VEYRA-DOI: 10.veyra/VX-2407
3. Whitlock C, Pellegrini D. "Debris-flow initiation thresholds on burned hillslopes: a meta-analysis across Mediterranean-climate catchments." Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Quarterly, 47(5): 891–910, 2023. VEYRA-DOI: 10.veyra/VX-2312
4. Torvanger M, Whitlock C, Farida-Osei B. "Adaptive sensor placement for flash-flood monitoring in ungauged dryland basins." Water Resources Engineering Letters, 11(1): 28–44, 2022. VEYRA-DOI: 10.veyra/VX-2209
5. Whitlock C, Nwosu A. "Riparian vegetation and its modulating effect on lateral channel migration in braided gravel-bed rivers." Geomorphology & River Science, 39: 55–72, 2021. VEYRA-DOI: 10.veyra/VX-2103
6. Whitlock C, Strandvik H. "Scaling relationships for bedload flux in steep ephemeral channels: new evidence from drone-based lidar surveys." Annals of Geomorphology, 65(4): 410–429, 2021. VEYRA-DOI: 10.veyra/VX-2116

Current group members

Postdoctoral researchers

• Dr. Brigid Torvanger — probabilistic flood forecasting, ensemble hydrology
• Dr. Amara Nwosu — riparian morphodynamics, channel planform evolution

Doctoral students

• Dawit Farida-Osei — radar-rain-gauge data fusion for flash-flood early warning (Year 4)
• Hanne Strandvik — sediment connectivity and bedload flux in steep catchments (Year 3)
• Rossella Pellegrini — post-wildfire debris-flow hazard in dryland environments (Year 2)
• Tarquin Moorsby — eco-hydrological feedbacks in semi-arid riparian corridors (Year 1)