Modular River Survey

The Modular River Survey is a suite of survey methods developed by river scientists at Cartographer Studios to assess the physical condition of rivers.

There are separate methods for application by environmental professionals and citizen scientists, all based on our scientific research conducted in collaboration with academic, public sector, and NGO partners.

We also provide support and training for these methods as well as software tools for recording and managing data at a national scale.

Professional Methods #

The River Condition Assessment provides environmental professionals with the foundation knowledge and software tools to enable a baseline assessment of River Condition together with scenario modelling options for forecasting target condition, as needed for Biodiversity Metric assessment and Biodiversity Net Gain reporting.

Citizen Science Methods #

MoRPh Rivers (Citizen Science) captures the local physical character of a river channel and its margins using a suite of quantitative indicators allowing changes in the physical environment to be monitored through time.

Mud Spotter (Citizen Science) is a rapid walkover survey that records wet weather inputs of fine sediment into river systems from sources such as culverts, pipes, ditches, fields, and eroding river banks.

Riverwood (Citizen Science) provides a rapid walkover survey for monitoring the location and hydraulic impact of natural and artificial wood structures in river channels, including NFM leaky barriers. It is complimented by optional detailed assessments of the composition and physical habitat influences of these structures.

Urban River Survey (Citizen Science) captures the broad physical character of a river channel and its margins at a larger spatial scale than MoRPh Rivers. It extends and is compatible with River Habitat Survey to incorporate the nature of human pressures and interventions within urban and suburban environments.

MoRPh Estuaries (Citizen Science Pilot) is a physical habitat assessment for estuaries based on the same design principles as MoRPh Rivers. It is being developed by a separate team at Queen Mary University of London, and is currently being piloted with volunteers and professionals on estuaries around the UK.

Research #

We have five decades of experience in river science research, producing numerous publications with an emphasis on natural river forms and dynamics and how these are influenced by human pressures and interventions. This also equips us to design investigations, analyse resulting data, and provide scientifically based results for project partners.

Partners #