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Earth Science
South Africa
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
57
Citations
11094
World Ranking
2278
National Ranking
7

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Earth Science in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Earth Science in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Earth Science in South Africa Leader Award

Overview

Ian D L Foster is affiliated with Rhodes University in South Africa. Their research primarily focuses on environmental science, with significant contributions to agricultural and biological sciences. Their subfields of study include soil science, ecology, water science and technology, atmospheric science, and electrical and electronic engineering.

The main topics of their work cover soil erosion and sediment transport, hydrology and sediment transport processes, hydrology and watershed management studies, geology and paleoclimatology research, soil and water nutrient dynamics, archaeology and ancient environmental studies, and optimal power flow distribution.

Foster has published recent papers addressing various aspects of sediment and environmental monitoring. These include:

  • Sediment source fingerprinting: benchmarking recent outputs, remaining challenges and emerging themes (2020, Journal of Soils and Sediments)
  • Abiotic predictors of fine sediment accumulation in lowland rivers (2021, International Journal of Sediment Research)
  • Comparison of observed and DEM-driven field-to-river routing of flow from eroding fields in an arable lowland catchment (2021, CATENA)
  • Evaluating the performance of taxonomic and trait-based biomonitoring approaches for fine sediment in the UK (2021, Ecological Indicators)
  • Monitoring soil erosion on agricultural land: results and implications for the Rother valley, West Sussex, UK (2020, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms)

Their frequent co-authors include John Boardman, Adrian L. Collins, Kate Rowntree, Simon Pulley, and Yusheng Zhang.

Foster often publishes in specific venues such as Hydrological Processes, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, Environmental Archaeology, arXiv (Cornell University), and Goldschmidt2021 abstracts.

Best Publications

  • Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping for the Basaltic aquifer of the Azraq basin of Jordan using GIS, Remote sensing and DRASTIC

    Rida A.N. Al-Adamat;Ian D.L. Foster;Serwan M.J. Baban

  • Turbidity dynamics during spring storm events in an urban headwater river system: the Upper Tame, West Midlands, UK.

    Damien M. Lawler;Geoffrey E. Petts;Ian D.L. Foster;S. Harper

  • Heavy metals in the hydrological cycle: Trends and explanation

    I. D. L. Foster;S. M. Charlesworth

  • Soil erosion on agricultural land.

    J. Boardman;I. D. L. Foster;J. A. Dearing

  • Sediment source fingerprinting as an aid to catchment management: A review of the current state of knowledge and a methodological decision-tree for end-users

    A.L Collins;S. Pulley;I.D.L Foster;Allen Gellis

  • Rivers and landscape

    Geoffrey E. Petts;Ian D.L. Foster

  • What can we learn about soil erosion from the use of 137Cs

    A J Parsons;Ian D L Foster;Ian D L Foster

  • Sediment and water quality in river catchments

    Ian Foster;A. M. Gurnell;Bruce Webb

  • The Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami in the United Kingdom

    David E. Smith;S. Shi;Robin A. Cullingford;Alastair G. Dawson

  • Tracers in geomorphology

    Ian Foster

  • VARIATIONS IN THE NATURAL CHEMICAL CONCENTRATION OF RIVER WATER DURING FLOOD FLOWS, AND THE LAG EFFECT: SOME FURTHER COMMENTS

    D.E. Walling;I.D.L. Foster

  • Using reservoir deposits to reconstruct changing sediment yields and sources in the catchment of the Old Mill Reservoir, South Devon, UK, over the past 50 years

    I. D. L. Foster;D. E. Walling

  • Sediment source fingerprinting: benchmarking recent outputs, remaining challenges and emerging themes

    Adrian L. Collins;Martin Blackwell;Pascal Boeckx;Charlotte-Anne Chivers;Charlotte-Anne Chivers

  • Assessing lake eutrophication using chironomids: understanding the nature of community response in different lake types

    Peter G. Langdon;Zoe Ruiz;Klaus P. Brodersen;Ian D. L. Foster

  • Sediment sources and transport pathways in a rural catchment, Herefordshire, UK

    K.E. Gruszowski;Ian D.L. Foster;J.A. Lees;S.M. Charlesworth

  • Soil erosion on the South Downs: a review.

    J. Boardman;I.D.L. Foster;J.A. Dearing

  • Sediment targets for informing river catchment management: international experience and prospects

    A L Collins;A L Collins;P S Naden;D A Sear;J I Jones

  • Sediment tracing and environmental history for two small catchments, Karoo Uplands, South Africa

    Ian D.L. Foster;Ian D.L. Foster;John Boardman;James Keay-Bright

  • The role of urban surfaces (permeable pavements) in regulating drainage and evaporation: development of a laboratory simulation experiment

    C. T. Andersen;I. D. L. Foster;C. J. Pratt

  • The use of caesium-137 measurements to establish a sediment budget for the Start catchment, Devon, UK

    Philip N. Owens;Desmond E. Walling;Qingping He;Jo Shanahan

  • HYDROLOGICAL FORECASTING

    Unknown

  • Soil Erosion on Agricultural Land

    John Gerrard;J. Boardman;I. D. L. Foster;J. A. Dearing

Frequent Co-Authors

John Boardman
John Boardman University of Oxford
Adrian L. Collins
Adrian L. Collins Rothamsted Research
John A. Dearing
John A. Dearing University of Southampton
Desmond E. Walling
Desmond E. Walling University of Exeter
David E. Smith
David E. Smith University of Virginia
Philip N. Owens
Philip N. Owens University of Northern British Columbia
Anthony J. Parsons
Anthony J. Parsons University of Sheffield
Jamie Woodward
Jamie Woodward University of Manchester
Peter Wadhams
Peter Wadhams University of Cambridge
Tim Burt
Tim Burt Durham University

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

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Moreover, those interested in library sciences and research may consider ala accredited mls programs, which can complement Earth Science studies by focusing on information management within scientific libraries or archives.

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