Staff Profile

Chris Hackney is a NUAcT fellow in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology. He obtained his PhD from the University of Southampton in 2013 and was a PDRA on a NERC funded research project investigating sediment transport and erosion in large alluvial rivers until 2015. He then moved to the University of Hull where he was a research fellow until 2020. 

Chris researches sediment and water transport through river and delta systems, particularly in South East Asian deltas such as the Mekong, Red and Irrawaddy systems. He is interested in the way that humans are impacting natural fluvial processes, with a particular focus on sand mining, and how these impacts ultimately affect the populations and communities which make deltaic regions their home. He is a National Geographic Explorer, co-leading the Rivers of Plastic project.

For a full list of publications, please see my Google Scholar page or visit my webpage.

Research Interests

Natural and human alterations to sediment and water loads in large rivers and deltas

Flood risk in deltaic regions

The impact of sand mining on flow and sediment transport

Linking physical processes to societal resilience to natural hazards and sustainable livelihoods

The transport and impact of plastic waste through river systems

Current research projects

What controls roughness in bedrock rivers (NERC, Co-I). In this project, led by Dr Rebecca Hodge at Durham University, we are using statea of the art technologies for measuring river channel topography at high resolution in the field (terrestrial laser scanning, shallow-water multi-beam sonar) to produce the first comprehensive dataset of rough-bed river topographies, and will use the statistical methods to decribe the roughness of their beds and banks.

River of Plastics (National Geographic, co-lead with the Universities of Hull, Panassastra University Cambodia, and the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research in Vietnam) investigating the physical mechanisms of micro plastic transport through the Mekong River and its delta, and social perceptions to plastics waste throughout Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Youth-led adaptation for climate change challenges in Vietnam: social action, inter-generational and inter-cultural learning (British Academy, Co-I) This project will develop creative, youth-led perspectives and action on climate change challenges facing one of the most populous, economically important and ethnically diverse areas in Vietnam, the Red River catchment.

Resilient Mangroves (Newton Fund, led by the University of Leeds and the Vietnam National University) This project is investigating the role that mangroves play in providing and maintaining important ecosystem services along the fringes of the Red River Delta, Vietnam.

Sediment pathways through deltas (Royal Society International Exchanges with Indiana University, PI) This project is mapping and monitoring the flow of sediment and water through an evolving bifurcating delta system, Wax Lake Delta in Louisiana, USA, to assess how changes in flow regime affect the preferential pathways sediment and water take through delta systems. 

Undergraduate Stage 1:

GEO1023: Environment and Society

Undergraduate Stage 2: 

GEO2229: River Catchment Dynamics 

GEO2233: Humans vs Nature: Netherlands residential fieldtrip

Undergraduate Stage 3:

GEO3165: Coastal Environments

Postgraduate supervision:

Hannah Runeckels (ongoing): The morphological footprint of anthropogenic activities in the Red River delta, Vietnam

James Hardwick (SNES; ongoing): The impact of invasive plant species on riverbank stability

Gemma Hoyes (SNES; ongoing): Satellite dervied bathymetry for offshore sandbanks

Halinishi Yusuf (ongoing): Defining sustainable rates of sand mining through the lens of alluvial freshwater availability

• Articles

  • Mendrik F, Hackney CR, Cumming VM, Waller C, Hak D, Dorrell R, Nguyen NH, Parsons DR. The transport and vertical distribution of microplastics in the Mekong River, SE Asia. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2025, 484, 136762.
  • Hackney CR. Migrating sands: Refocussing transboundary flows from water to sediment. Area 2024, Epub ahead of print.
  • Mendrik F, Houseago RC, Hackney CR, Parsons DR. Microplastic trapping efficiency and hydrodynamics in model coral reefs: A physical experimental investigation. Environmental Pollution 2024, 342, 123094.
  • Do NT, Trinh DA, Panizzo VN, McGowan S, Runeckles H, Henderson ACG, Large A, Hackney CR. Human activity controls nitrogen loads in a large sub-tropical delta from 2000 to 2020. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2024, 213, 108021.
  • Lloyd Williams A, Vu Q, Le H, Jones L, Vo TT, Halstead F, Parsons KJ, Nguyen ATQ, Hackney CR, Parsons DR. Act of hope: a story of climate change and water puppetry performance along the Red River, Vietnam. Research in Drama Education 2024, 29(2), 278-289.
  • Mendrik F, Fernandez R, Hackney CR, Waller C, Parsons DR. Non-buoyant microplastic settling velocity varies with biofilm growth and ambient water salinity. Communications Earth & Environment 2023, 4, 30.
  • Smigaj M, Hackney CR, Diem PK, Tri VPD, Ngoc NT, Bui DD, Darby SE, Leyland J. Monitoring riverine traffic from space: the untapped potentail of remote sensing for measuring human footprint of inland waterways. Science of the Total Environment 2023, 860, 160363.
  • Sengupta D, Choi YR, Tian B, Brown S, Meadows M, Hackney CR, Banerjee A, Li Y, Chen R, Zhou Y. Mapping 21st Century global coastal land reclamation. Earth's Future 2023, 11(2), e2022EF002927.
  • Jones L, Parsons KJ, Halstead F, Nguyen DN, Pham HTM, Pham DL, Allison CR, Chew M, Bird E, Meek A, Buckton SJ, Nguyễn KL, Williams AL, Võ TT, Lê H, Nguyễn ATQ, Hackney CR, Parsons DR. Conversations on grief and hope: a collaborative autoethnographic account exploring the lifeworlds of international youth engaged with climate action. Journal of the British Academy 2023, 11(3), 69-117.
  • Runeckles H, Hackney CR, Le H, Ha HTT, Bui L, Do N, Large A. “Local people want to keep their sand”: Variations in community perceptions and everyday resistance to sand mining across the Red River, Vietnam. The Extractive Industries and Society 2023, 15, 101336.
  • Carrie RH, Stringer LC, Le TVH, Nguyen HQ, Dao VT, Hackney CR, Pham TTN, Quinn C. Social differences in spatial perceptives about local benefits from rehabilitated mangroves: Insights from Vietnam. Ecosystems and People 2022, 18(1), 378-396.
  • Carrie RH, Stringer LC, Le TVH, Nguyen HQ, Hackney CR, Dao VT, Pham TTN, Quinn CH. Recommendations to guide sampling effort in participatory mapping to identify polygon-based ecosystem services hotspots. MethodsX 2022, 9, 101921.
  • Waldschlager K, Bruckner MZM, Almroth BC, Hackney CR, Adyel TM, Alimi OS, Belontz SL, Cowger W, Doyle D, Gray A, Kane I, Kooi M, Kramer M, Lechthaler S, Michie L, Nordam T, Pohl F, Russell C, Thit A, Umar W, Valero D, Varrani A, Warrier AK, Woodall CL, Wu N. Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective. Earth Science Reviews 2022, 228, 104021.
  • Hong NQ, Quinn CH, Carrie R, Stringer LC, Le TVH, Hackney CR, Dao VT. Comparisons of regression and machine learning methods for estimating mangrove above-ground biomass using multiple remote sensing data in the red River Estuaries of Vietnam. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment 2022, 26, 100725.
  • Moorhouse HL, Roberts LR, McGowan S, Panizzo V, Barker P, Salehin S, Nga D, Salgardo Bonnet J, Rahman FMF, Ghosh T, Das S, Roy M, Opel A, Henderson A, Large A, Nguyen Thanh P, Hackney CR. Tropical Asian mega-delta ponds: Important and threatened socio-ecological systems. Geo: Geography and Environment 2021, 8(2), e00103.
  • Hu H, Yang Z, Yin D, Cheng H, Hackney CR, Parsons DR. The combined effect of discharge and tides on low-angle dune evolution at the tidal current limit of the Changjiang Estuary. Geomorphology 2021, 392, 107917.
  • Mendrik FM, Henry TB, Burdett H, Hackney CR, Waller C, Parsons DR, Hennige SJ. Species-specific impact of microplastics on coral physiology. Environmental Pollution 2021, 269, 116238.
  • Bendixen M, Iversen LI, Best J, Franks D, Hackney CR, Latrubesse E, Tusting LS. Sand, gravel and the UN sustainable development goals: conflicts, synergies and ways forward. One Earth 2021, 4(8), 1095-1111.
  • Hackney CR, Vasilopoulos G, Heng S, Darbari V, Walker S, Parsons DR. Sand mining far outpaces natural supply in a large alluvial river. Earth Surface Dynamics 2021, 9, 1323-1334.
  • Bussi G, Darby SE, Whitehead PG, Jin L, Dadson SJ, Voepel HE, Vasilopoulos G, Hackney CR, Hutton C, Berchoux T, Parsons DR, Nicholas A. Impacts of dams and climate change on suspended sediment flux to the Mekong delta. Science of the Total Environment 2021, 755(Part 1), 142468.
  • Jones L, Halstead F, Parsons KJ, Le H, Bui TH, Hackney CR, Parsons DR. 2020-Vision: Understanding climate (in)action through the emotional lens of loss. Journal of the British Academy 2021, 9(s5), 29-68.
  • Lotsari E, Hackney CR, Salmela J, Kasvi E, Kemp J, Alho P, Darby SE. Sub-arctic river bank dynamics and driving processes during open-channel flow period. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2020, 45(5), 1198-1216.
  • Hackney CR, Darby SE, Parsons DR, Leyland J, Best JL, Aalto R, Nicholas AP, Houseago R. River bank instability from unsustainable sand mining in the lower Mekong River. Nature Sustainability 2020, 3, 217-225.
  • Nguyen HQ, Quinn C, Stringer L, Carrie R, Hackney CR, Le TVH, Dao VT, Pham TTN. Multi-decadal changes in mangrove extent, age and species in the Red River Estuaries of Viet Nam. Remote Sensing 2020, 12(14), 2289.
  • Baronas JJ, Stevenson EI, Hackney CR, Darby SE, Bickle MJ, Hilton RG, Larkin CS, Parsons DR, Khaing AM, Tipper ET. Integrating suspended sediment flux in large alluvial river channels: Application of a synoptic Rouse-based model to the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 2020, 125(9), e2020JF005554.
  • Nguyen HQ, Vu AT, Le TTH, Nguyen MH, Doan TT, Dinh TD, Ngo DA, Hackney CR. Hydrological/Hydraulic Modeling-Based Thresholding of Multi SAR Remote Sensing Data for Flood Monitoring in Regions of the Vietnamese Lower Mekong River Basin. Water 2020, 12(1), 71.
  • Darby SE, Langdon PG, Best JL, Leyland J, Hackney CR, Marti M, Morgan PR, Savuth B, Aalto R, Parsons DR, Nicholas AP, Leng MJ. Drainage and erosion of Cambodia's Great Lake in the middle-late Holocene: the combined role of climatic drying, base-level fall and river capture. Quaternary Science Reviews 2020, 236, 106265.
  • Whitehead PG, Jin L, Bussi G, Voepel HE, Darby SE, Vasilopolous G, Manley R, Rodda H, Hutton C, Hackney CR, Tri VPD, Hung NN. Water quality modelling of the Mekong River basin: Climate change and socioeconomics drive flow and nutrient flux changes to the Mekong Delta. Science of the Total Environment 2019, 673, 218 - 229.
  • Bendixen M, Best JL, Hackney CR, Iverson L. Time is running out for sand. Nature 2019, 571, 29-31.
  • Hackney CR, Darby SE, Parsons DR, Leyland J, Aalto R, Nicholas AP, Best JL. The influence of flow discharge variations on the morphodynamics of a diffluence–confluence unit on a large river. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2018, 43(2), 349 - 362.
  • Hu H, Wei T, Yang Z, Hackney CR, Parsons DR. Low-angle dunes in the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary: Flow and sediment dynamics under tidal influence. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 2018, 205, 110-122.
  • Leyland J, Hackney CR, Darby SE, Parsons DR, Best JL, Nicholas AP, Aalto R, Lague D. Extreme flood‐driven fluvial bank erosion and sediment loads: direct process measurements using integrated Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) and hydro‐acoustic techniques. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2017, 42(2), 334 - 346.
  • Darby SE, Hackney CR, Leyland J, Kummu M, Lauri H, Parsons DR, Best JL, Nicholas AP, Aalto R. Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity. Nature 2016, 539, 276-279.
  • Hackney CR, Best JL, Leyland J, Darby SE, Parsons DR, Aalto R, Nicholas AP. Modulation of outer bank erosion by slump blocks: Disentangling the protective and destructive role of failed material on the three‐dimensional flow structure. Geophysical Research Letters 2015, 42(24), 10,663-10,670.
  • Hackney CR, Darby SE, Leyland J. Landscapes on the edge: examining the role of climatic interactions in shaping coastal watersheds using a coastal-terrestrial landscape evolution model. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2015, 40(3), 313-325.
  • Hackney CR, Darby SE, Leyland J. Modelling the response of soft cliffs to climate change: A statistical, process-response model using accumulated excess energy. Geomorphology 2013, 187, 108 - 121.
  • Hackney CR, Carling P. The occurrence of obtuse junction angles and changes in channel width below tributaries along the Mekong River, south-east Asia. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2011, 36(12), 1563 - 1576.

• Book Chapters

  • Hackney CR, Teasdale SL. Morphological changes in the Mekong delta and their implications for livelihoods. In: Nguyen HQ; Apel H; Le QB; Sridah V, ed. The Mekong River Basin: Ecohydrological Complexity from Catchment to Coast. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2024, pp.393-419.
  • Castro de Oliviera E, Pla-Pueyo S, Hackney CR. Natural and anthropogenic influences on the Nhecolândia wetland, SE Pantanal, Brazil. In: Corbett, P; Owen, A; Hartley, AJ; Pla-Pueyo, S; Barreto, D; Haynes, H; Hackney, CR; Kape, SJ, ed. River to Reservoir: Geoscience to Engineering. London: Geological Society of London, 2019.
  • Hackney CR, Clayton AI. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in geomorphological mapping. In: Clarke, LE; Nield, JM, ed. Geomorphological Techniques. London: British Society for Geomorphology, 2015.

• Edited Book

  • Corbett P, Owen A, Hartley AJ, Pla-Pueyo S, Barreto D, Haynes H, Hackney CR, Kape SJ, ed. River to Reservoir: Geoscience to Engineering. Geological Soceity of London, 2019.