Skip navigation

Dr Nick Rutter

Associate Professor

Department: Geography and Environmental Sciences

I am interested in the hydrology of cold environments and how the frozen land surface interacts with the atmosphere. Most of my current research focuses on making improved field measurements of seasonal snow and applying this knowledge in order to better constrain uncertainties in environmental models. Models I work with include catchment scale glacio-hydrological models, snow-forest-atmosphere components of climate models, and radiative transfer models used in microwave remote sensing of snowpacks.

I have extensive experience of making snow measurements in boreal and mid-latitude forests (e.g. Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Rocky Mountains in Canada and USA), Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra (Alaska, USA, and Manitoba, Canada), sea ice (Canadian high-Arctic), and on Alpine and Polar glaciers (e.g. Switzerland, Svalbard). As many of these environments are rapidly responding to a warming climate, better measurement, modelling and critical evaluation of variations in seasonal snow contribute to improved projections of climate change and our understanding of cold regions hydrology.

Campus Address

A215, Ellison Building
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

I am interested in the hydrology of cold environments and how the frozen land surface interacts with the atmosphere. Most of my current research focuses on making improved field measurements of seasonal snow and applying this knowledge in order to better constrain uncertainties in environmental models. Models I work with include catchment scale glacio-hydrological models, snow-forest-atmosphere components of climate models, and radiative transfer models used in microwave remote sensing of snowpacks.

I have extensive experience of making snow measurements in boreal and mid-latitude forests (e.g. Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Rocky Mountains in Canada and USA), Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra (Alaska, USA, and Manitoba, Canada), sea ice (Canadian high-Arctic), and on Alpine and Polar glaciers (e.g. Switzerland, Svalbard). As many of these environments are rapidly responding to a warming climate, better measurement, modelling and critical evaluation of variations in seasonal snow contribute to improved projections of climate change and our understanding of cold regions hydrology.

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Simulating net ecosystem exchange under seasonal snow cover at an Arctic tundra site, Dutch, V., Rutter, N., Wake, L., Sonnentag, O., Hould Gosselin, G., Sandells, M., Derksen, C., Walker, B., Meyer, G., Essery, R., Kelly, R., Marsh, P., Boike, J., Detto, M. 15 Feb 2024, In: Biogeosciences
  • Canopy structure and air temperature inversions impact simulation of sub-canopy longwave radiation in snow-covered boreal forests, Rutter, N., Essery, R., Baxter, R., Hancock, S., Horton, M., Huntley, B., Reid, T., Woodward, J. 27 Jul 2023, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
  • Environmental controls of winter soil carbon dioxide fluxes in boreal and tundra environments, Mavrovic, A., Sonnentag, O., Lemmetyinen, J., Voigt, C., Rutter, N., Mann, P., Sylvain, J., Roy, A. 20 Dec 2023, In: Biogeosciences
  • Evaluating Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer (SMRT) model emissivities with 89 to 243GHz observations of Arctic tundra snow, Wivell, K., Fox, S., Sandells, M., Harlow, C., Essery, R., Rutter, N. 13 Oct 2023, In: The Cryosphere
  • Snow accumulation and ablation measurements in a mid-latitude mountain coniferous forest (Col de Porte, France, 1325 m alt.): The Snow Under Forest (SnoUF) field campaigns dataset, Sicart, J., Ramseyer, V., Picard, G., Arnaud, L., Coulaud, C., Freche, G., Soubeyrand, D., Lejeune, Y., Dumont, M., Gouttevin, I., Le Gac, E., Berger, F., Borgniet, L., Mermin, E., Rutter, N., Webster, C., Essery, R. 24 Nov 2023, In: Earth System Science Data
  • Airborne SnowSAR data at X- and Ku- bands over boreal forest, alpine and tundra snow cover, Lemmetyinen, J., Cohen, J., Kontu, A., Vehviläinen, J., Hannula, H., Merkouriadi, I., Scheiblauer, S., Rott, H., Nagler, T., Ripper, E., Elder, K., Marshall, H., Fromm, R., Adams, M., Derksen, C., King, J., Meta, A., Coccia, A., Rutter, N., Sandells, M., Macelloni, G., Santi, E., Leduc-Leballeur, M., Essery, R., Menard, C., Kern, M. 1 Sep 2022, In: Earth System Science Data
  • Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere?, Kropp, H., Loranty, M., Rutter, N., Fletcher, C., Derksen, C., Mudryk, L., Todt, M. 1 Oct 2022, In: Environmental Research Letters
  • Characterizing tundra snow sub-pixel variability to improve brightness temperature estimation in satellite SWE retrievals, Meloche, J., Langlois, A., Rutter, N., Royer, A., King, J., Walker, B., Marsh, P., Wilcox, E. 6 Jan 2022, In: The Cryosphere
  • Global Monitoring of Snow Water Equivalent using High Frequency Radar Remote Sensing, Tsang, L., Durand, M., Derksen, C., Barros, A., Kang, D., Lievens, H., Marshall, H., Zhu, J., Johnson, J., King, J., Lemmetyinen, J., Sandells, M., Rutter, N., Siqueira, P., Nolin, A., Osmanoglu, B., Vuyovich, C., Kim, E., Taylor, D., Merkouriadi, I., Brucker, L., Navari, M., Dumont, M., Kelly, R., Kim, R., Liao, T., Xu, X. 2 Sep 2022, In: The Cryosphere
  • High-resolution snow depth prediction using Random Forest algorithm with topographic parameters: a case study in the Greiner Watershed, Nunavut, Meloche, J., Langlois, A., Rutter, N., McLennan, D., Royer, A., Billecocq, P., Ponomarenko, S. Mar 2022, In: Hydrological Processes

  • Gabriel Hould Gosselin Measurement and modelling of carbon emissions in snow-covered Arctic tundra and taiga biomes Start Date: 01/10/2023
  • Amy Clark Forest disturbance effects on snow hydrology in an operational runoff forecast model Start Date: 01/10/2023
  • Jonathan Rutherford Simulating Carbon Emissions Across the Arctic Boreal-Tundra Ecotone Start Date: 01/10/2022
  • Georgina Woolley Measurement and Modelling of Snow in Arctic Tundra and Taiga Biomes Start Date: 01/10/2021
  • Markus Todt Impact of longwave enhancement by forests on snow cover in a global climate model Start Date: 01/02/2016 End Date: 10/05/2019
  • Clare Webster Measurement and modelling of sub-canopy radiation to seasonal snow in alpine forests Start Date: 01/12/2013 End Date: 20/04/2017
  • Thomas Watts Influence of Stratigraphy and Heterogeneity on Simulated Microwave Brightness Temperatures of Shallow Snowpacks Start Date: 01/02/2011 End Date: 12/11/2015
  • Victoria Dutch Seasonal snow and wintertime carbon emissions in Arctic shrub tundra Start Date: 01/10/2019 End Date: 26/05/2023
  • Johanna Malle Wintertime land surface albedo of forested environments Start Date: 01/10/2017 End Date: 21/01/2021

Geography DPhil June 30 2002


a sign in front of a crowd
+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

Research at Northumbria
+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.

NU World
+

Explore NU World

Find out what life here is all about. From studying to socialising, term time to downtime, we’ve got it covered.


Latest News and Features

academic Jennifer Aston pictured in a law library holding an open book
Launch of The Regeneration Shop in Chopwell. Sarah Cotton, Senior Programmes Manager at Chopwell Regeneration Group; Jennine Wilson, Lecturer in Fashion and Senior Technician at Northumbria University; Hal Convery, Shop Manager at The Regeneration Shop; Crystal Hicks, Executive Director of Chopwell Regeneration Group; Gayle Cantrell, Assistant Professor BA Fashion Communication at Northumbria University; Sophie Wetherell, Assistant Professor BA Fashion / MA Fashion Design at Northumbria University; Emma Jane Goldsmith Assistant Professor BA Fashion / MA Fashion Design at Northumbria University; Professor Anne Peirson-Smith, Head of Fashion at Northumbria University.
Mooting
A new toolkit has been developed to support rural communities with the development of renewable energy projects. Photo: Adobe Stock
From left to right: Natalie Winchester, Subject Lead Health and Social Care and Post-16 Raising Standard Leader at Bede Academy, Dr Julie Derbyshire – Director of Apprenticeships and Assistant Professor in Nursing at Northumbria University, Andrew Thelwell – Principal at Bede Academy, Professor Alison Machin, Head of Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University and pupils from Bede Academy.
British Military Uniform
More news

Back to top