Thomas Robinson

Senior LecturerTom Robinson

Internal Phone: 90758

Qualifications & Memberships

Research Interests

My research focusses on developing a greater understanding of earthquake hazards and disaster risk. In particular, I am interested in modelling earthquake-triggered landslides and their consequent impacts on people and critical lifelines. I also work on understanding how these landslides change and evolve following an earthquake and how this affects the longer-term post-earthquake recovery. My work involves a broad range of techniques including geospatial modelling, scenario modelling, risk analysis, and statistical analyses. I work throughout New Zealand and the Himalaya, including Nepal and Bhutan.

Current research projects:
1) Scenario modelling of earthquakes to deriving seismic risk
2) Modelling the evolution of landslides in earthquake disasters
3) The temporal and spatial variability of earthquake risk
4) The effectiveness of different earthquake mitigation actions

Recent Publications

  • Kincey ME., Rosser NJ., Densmore AL., Robinson TR., Shrestha R., Singh Pujara D., Horton P., Swirad ZM., Oven KJ. and Arrell K. (2023) Modelling post-earthquake cascading hazards: Changing patterns of landslide runout following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 48(3): 537-554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.5501.
  • Taylor C., Robinson T., Carr JR., Dunning S. and Westoby M. (2023) Glacial lake outburst floods threaten millions globally. Nature Communications 14 487 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36033-x.
  • Walsh E., Stahl T., Howell A. and Robinson T. (2023) Two-Dimensional Empirical Rupture Simulation: Examples and Applications to Seismic Hazard for the Kaikoura Region, New Zealand. Seismological Research Letters 94(2 A): 852-870. http://dx.doi.org/10.1785/0220220231.
  • Kincey ME., Rosser NJ., Robinson TR., Densmore AL., Shrestha R., Pujara DS., Oven KJ., Williams JG. and Swirad ZM. (2021) Evolution of Coseismic and Post-seismic Landsliding After the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 126(3) http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005803.
  • Rosser N., Kincey M., Oven K., Densmore A., Robinson T., Pujara DS., Shrestha R., Smutny J., Gurung K. and Lama S. (2021) Changing significance of landslide Hazard and risk after the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal Earthquake. Progress in Disaster Science 10 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2021.100159.