Dr. Jan Walstra
Geological Survey of Belgium
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Jennerstraat 13
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Jan.Walstra@naturalsciences.be
Tel: +32 (0)2 788 76 60
Professional experience
2011– present: Geologist and expert in Earth Observation, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
2007–2011: Research Fellow, Ghent University
2006–2007: Consultant, ADC ArcheoProjecten
Academic education
2003–2006: PhD in Civil & Building Engineering, Loughborough University.
Title of thesis: “Historical Aerial Photographs and Digital Photogrammetry for Landslide Assessment”
1997–2002: MSc in Physical Geography, Utrecht University.
Research interests and expertise
Remote sensing, photogrammetry, InSAR, GIS, natural hazards, geomorphological mapping, geological modelling, geoarchaeology, sedimentology.
Research projects (selection)
Charax Spasinou: Research on the capital of Mesene, a center of ancient trade (funded by DFG, 2019–2021).
RESPONSE: Reactive transport modelling of point source contamination in soils and groundwater (funded by BELSPO, 2016–2020).
GEPATAR: GEotechnical and Patrimonial Archives Toolbox for ARchitectural conservation in Belgium (funded by BELSPO, 2014–2018).
Greater Mesopotamia, Reconstruction of Its Environment and History (funded by BELSPO, 2007–2011).
Publications (selection)
Heyvaert, V.M.A. & Walstra, J. 2016. The role of long-term human impact on avulsion and fan development, Earth Surface Processes & Landforms, 41 (14), pp. 2137–2152.
Woodbridge, K.P., Parsons, D.R., Heyvaert, V.M.A., Walstra, J. & Frostick, L.E. 2016. Characteristics of direct human impacts on the rivers Karun and Dez in lowland south-west Iran and their interactions with earth surface movements. Quaternary International, 392, pp. 315–334.
Heyvaert, V. M. A., Walstra, J., Verkinderen, P., Weerts, H. J. T. & Ooghe, B. 2012. The role of human interference on the channel shifting of the river Karkheh in the Lower Khuzestan plain (Mesopotamia, SW Iran). Quaternary International, 251, pp. 52–63.
Walstra, J., Heyvaert, V. M. A. & Verkinderen, P. 2011. Mapping Late Holocene landscape evolution and human impact – a case-study from Lower Khuzestan (SW Iran). In: Smith, M. J., Paron, P. & Griffith, J. S. (eds.), Geomorphological mapping: methods and applications. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: pp. 551–575.
Walstra, J., Heyvaert, V. M. A. & Verkinderen, P. 2010. Assessing human impact on alluvial fan development: a multidisciplinary case-study from Lower Khuzestan (SW Iran). Geodinamica Acta, 23 (5–6), pp. 267–285,
Walstra, J., Chandler, J. H., Dixon, N. & Wackrow, R. 2010. Evaluation of the controls affecting the quality of spatial data derived from historical aerial photographs. Earth Surface Processes & Landforms, 36 (7), pp. 853–863.