Coastal Geomorphology

3-0-9 units · Graduate

Explores mechanisms behind the formation and reshaping of coastal environments. Focuses on a process-based understanding of both the fluid dynamic and sediment transport aspects of coastal landforms, and, especially, the importance of feedbacks between the two. Investigates coastal evolution at various scales - from ripples to coastline formation - with an emphasis on the behavior of coastal environments over integrated timescales of days and years to centuries and millennia. Students investigate the effect of storms, sea-level rise, and interactions with biological and anthropogenic influences. Covers a broad array of coastal environments, including beaches, barrier islands, spits, inlets, tidal flats, deltas, rocky coasts, arctic shores, and carbonate atolls.