Return to the list of forthcoming seminars.
- # Wednesday 11th July 2018, 11.00am - Dr Zeng Zhou, Associate Professor in Coastal Geomorphology, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
- Tidal flat morphodynamics: Sediment sorting, self-weight consolidation and marsh distribution
- Venue: Seminar Room, Department of Geography
Dr Zeng Zhou is a coastal geomorphologist focusing on the (bio-)physical mechanisms underlying the formation and evolution of coastal and estuarine landscapes. He is currently entering the field of coastal biomorphodynamics, with a particular focus on tidal flat systems where tidal channel networks and salt marshes are commonly present. Recently, he is leading a small group of young researchers and graduate students to explore some interesting questions using various approaches e.g. field and laboratory experiments, numerical modelling and UAV imagery. His group aims to gain fundamental insight into the biophysical effects of salt marshes (and biofilms) and their two-way interactions with coastal and estuarine morphology, so as to evaluate and predict the response of tidal flats, channels and marshes to climate change (e.g. sea level rise, increasing frequency of storms) and human activities (e.g. large-scale reclamation, nearshore fishery).
- # Monday 25th June 2018, 12.00pm - Dr Ivan Haigh, Associate Professor in Coastal Oceanography, University of Southampton
- Lessons learnt from 100 years of coastal flooding in the UK
- Venue: Department of Geography, HB101
Abstract not available
- # Thursday 21st June 2018, 12.00pm - Ben Evans, Department of Geography
- Sentinel/Google Earth Engine users meeting
- Venue: Department of Geography, Seminar Room
The next meeting of the Sentinel/Google Earth Engine user group will be on Thursday 21st June at 12pm in the Seminar Room. Ben Evans will be reporting back on the 2018 Earth Engine User Summit in Dublin he’s currently attending.
- # Wednesday 6th June 2018, 2.00pm - Dr Harriet Allen (University of Camridge)
- Sentinel/Google Earth Engine User meeting
- Venue: Department of Geography, HB101
The next meeting of the sentinel/google earth engine user group will be on Wednesday June 6th at 2pm in HB101 (finish by 4pm at the latest). Harriet Allen will be presenting her work on fusing Sentinel 1 and 2 (and terrain) for detailed land cover discrimination. The session will be a workshop where we share/examine/discuss approaches to using Earth Engine code.
Anyone interested in attending should let Harriet (hda1) know before hand so that she can send further details. As this is active and on-going research the exact format will not be known until nearer the 6th.
- # Friday 16th February 2018, 1.00pm - Ben Evans, Department of Geography
- Skill Sharing Session on Google Earth Engine
- Venue: Department of Geography, HB101
Skill sharing session on Google Earth Engine the cloud based geo-spatial analysis platform. Ben will be introducing the platform and giving some examples of what it can be used for.
- # Wednesday 10th January 2018, 11.00am - Speakers to be confirmed
- Earth Observation Research Workshop
- Venue: Department of Geography, Seminar Room
An informal research workshop consisting of talks and discussion on the use of Earth Observation for geographical research. Lunch will be provided!
- # Thursday 23rd November 2017, 4.15pm - Dr Richard Streeter, School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews
- Measuring landscape resilience: tephra, soil and spatial patterns
- Venue: Small Lecture Theatre, Department of Geography, Downing Site
A key challenge this paper addresses is understanding how and when landscapes are likely to become degraded. The concept of ecological ‘resilience’ and the related idea that there are generic ‘early warning signals’ prior to changes in state have created the possibility that we might be able to quantify the vulnerability of systems to change. This paper highlights the possibilities for both using both tephra layers (layers of volcanic ash) and the analysis of spatial patterns of erosion as approaches to understanding the resilience of landscapes, past and present. When tephra falls onto vegetated surface its thickness reflects aspects of the vegetation structure at the time. These variations in tephra thickness preserve information that can be used to assess the resilience of the land surface at the time of the eruption. This approach could be used to assess land surface resilience in the past. Using UAV imagery we can quickly and easily capture high-resolution images from currently eroding landscapes. These images are used to generate metrics such as patch-size distributions, which can be used to assess present landscape resilience. This paper will review these approaches and report on findings from fieldwork in the sub-arctic landscapes of Iceland.
- # Tuesday 27th June 2017, 1.00pm - Dr Marissa Yates, Visiting Academic, Department of Geography
- Empirical and physical modeling of equilibrium beach shoreline changes
- Venue: Department of Geography Hardy Building Seminar Room HB101
Predicting beach shoreline changes remains a challenge given the complexity of the processes affecting sediment transport at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Here, two different approaches are taken to improve our understanding of sandy beach shoreline changes: (1) a data-based approach with the development of an empirical shoreline change model based on equilibrium beach profile concepts, and (2) a physical modeling approach by measuring the profile changes during storms in a series of wave flume experiments. The equilibrium model was developed with data from Torrey Pines
Beach, CA, USA and has been applied at several different sites, including a macrotidal site where the effects of changing water levels are taken into account. In the second part of the talk, results from a series of wave flume experiments are presented to show the efficiency of submerged structures in reducing coastal shoreline erosion, based on an equilibrium profile approach.- # Monday 22nd May 2017, 3.00pm - Professor Stijn Temmerman, Ecosystem Management Research Group, University of Antwerp, Belgium
- ‘Tidal wetlands in a changing world: self-organization, sustainability and coastal defence value’
- Venue: Department of Geography Hardy Building Seminar Room HB101
Tidal wetlands such as salt marshes are vulnerable to global change, as sea level rise, growing storm intensity and human activities increase pressure on their sustainability. On the other hand, tidal wetlands are also increasingly valued as natural adaptive defenses against the coastal impacts of climate change, as they can adapt to sea level rise by sediment accretion, attenuate wind waves and storm surges, and mitigate shoreline erosion and flooding risks. This presentation gives an overview of research carried out at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), how this research contributes to our knowledge on this apparent contradiction between the high vulnerability and coastal defense value of tidal wetlands, and how this knowledge can serve in large-scale implementation of effective sustainable management of coastal and estuarine systems in the face of global change.