Aeolian Geomorphology in coastal areas

The AMU Lecture Series in Aeolian geomorphology in coastal areas will consist of five lectures delivered by internationally-renowned scientists that deal with aeolian geomorphology with emphasis put on interaction between aeolian and nearshore processes. Coastal dunes often act as a natural protection against storm surges that recently become stronger and more frequent due to climate warming and sea level rise. Therefore the knowledge on how the entire dune-beach-shoreface system may accommodate this changes is of high importance. The group of invited lecturers includes researchers from leading research centers around the world, that specialize in the aeolian study in the coastal zone: Prof. Patrick A. Hesp (Flinders University, Australia), Prof. Robin Davidson-Arnott (University of Guelph, Canada), Dr. Mike Hilton (University of Otago, New Zealand), Dr. Irene Delgado-Fernandez (Spain), and Prof. Clement Narteau (Université de Paris, France). They will provide an overview of recent advances in aeolian research conducted in the coastal zone. The series of lectures will focus on coastal dune evolution and the roles of climate and sediment supply, the controls on decadal scale aeolian transport to the foredune versus erosion from intense storms, long-term evolution in response to RSLR and the littoral sediment budget. Speakers will also touch on the pressing problem of human impact on coastal dunes, coastal dune management and ecology, The series of lectures will end with a presentation on modelling the dune development in relation to sediment supply and others factors.

The series of lectures, although they emphasize aeolian issues, are to be of interest to all those who conduct research in the coastal zone. As there are many research centres in Poland dealing with coastal geomorphology, such a series of lectures should find wide audience in the Polish scientific community. They can also benefit anyone who conducts research on sandy shores around the world.

Each lecture will end with a panel discussion, which will enable the exchange of thoughts, views and experiences between the scientists representing various fields of research. The intention of these discussion is also to encourage young researchers and PhD students to take part in scientific discussions at the highest level. Undeniably, the entire academic community of our university, as well as other scientific units in Poland and abroad will benefit from listening to lectures conducted by experienced researchers presenting the most up-to-date research topics.

Patrick A. Hesp

College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia

Preliminary lecture title: A review of initiation and evolution of coastal transgressive dune fields

Prof. Patrick Hesp is now Strategic Professor in Coastal Studies at Flinders University, but he has held academic positions in New South Wales (Western Australia), Singapore, USA, and New Zealand, non-academic positions in the WA State Dept. of Agriculture, Geomarine P/L, and the Rottnest Island Authority, held visiting professorships and fellowships in South Africa, Namibia, Israel, Holland, China, Brazil, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, and France. He has worked on beaches and coastal and desert dunes all over the world. He is an expert on coastal dune

geomorphology. Currently he is involved in many research (also in Poland) within Beach and Dune Systems Laboratory (BEADS, https://sites.flinders.edu.au/beach-and-dune-systems/), based at Flinders University in Adelaide. He has published over 290 articles in his career to date, including 162 scientific paper (Scopus H = 47).

Robin G.D. Davidson-Arnott

Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics Experts University of Guelph, Canada

Preliminary lecture title: Beach-dune interaction and controls on the evolution of a sandy beach system

Prof. Robin Davidson-Arnott is Emeritus Professor at University of Guelph. His scientific interest are on coastal geomorphology, and particularly on: shoreface-beach- dune interaction and controls on the evolution of a sandy beach system, nearshore erosion of cohesive coasts, coastal saltmarshes, aeolian sediment transport and coastal dunes. In his studies he has concentrated on long-term coast evolution in response to lake/sea level changes and the littoral sediment budget as well as on problem of modelling rates of dune erosion during storm events. He has studied coastal processes in many areas but began with the Great Lakes, and continued at marine coasts such as the east coast of Canada, including Greenwich Dunes (PEI National Park) at Prince Edward Island. He has authored and co-authored many books and journal articles on the subject (111 articles), including a contribution to Geomorphology and Global Environmental Change (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and Introduction to Coastal Processes and Geomorphology (Cambridge 2010) (Scopus H = 40).

Irene Delgado-Fernandez

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cadiz, Spain

Preliminary lecture title: Coastal dunes and aeolian geomorphology in the context of climate and environmental change

Dr. Irene Delgado-Fernandez is Professor of Coastal Geomorphology at the University of Cadiz (Spain), with academic and work experience in the UK (from Lecturer to Full Professor at Edge Hill University), Ireland (NERC Post-Doc), Canada (PhD), as well as Australia and Spain. She is specialist of application of on-site remote sensing techniques consisting on camera systems to the measurement of aeolian sediment input to coastal dunes. Her work was pioneer on describing the magnitude and frequency of aeolian transport events in coastal areas, and identifying new modelling frameworks for improving calculations of aeolian sand transport to coastal dunes over temporal scales of weeks to months. She authored more than 30 scientific papers (Scopus H = 17).

Mike Hilton

School of Geography, University of Otago, New Zealand

Preliminary lecture title: Dune restoration and management

Dr. Mike Hilton is Associate Professor and Senior Environmental Management Adviser. He is an authority on coast ecology and his research is primarily concerned with the geomorphology and management of coasts, with a focus on aeolian coastal systems. He has studied the form and function of coastal dunes and dune ecology at all latitudes, from the cold temperate to equatorial latitudes. He has over 20 years in the restoration of coastal dunes systems, which in southern New Zealand includes the management of invasive plant species; he was involved in the world’s largest dune restoration dune program on Stewart Island aimed at eradication of the invasive Ammophila grass, i.e. a species of grass that is a dune-forming species on the Polish coast. He authored more than 50 scientific papers in the field of coastal ecology (Scopus H = 16).

Clement Narteau

Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université de Paris, France

Preliminary lecture title: Dune morphodynamics, a numerical perspective

Prof. Clement Narteau is a Professor at University of Paris with academic and work experience at University of Edimburgh, California Institute of Technology, University of Potsdam, and Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions (China). He is geophysicist and investigates complex geophysical systems using discrete numerical models and statistical data analysis. In particular, he has concentrated on modelling sediment transport and dunes dynamic in relation to sediment supply and others factors that may impact dune evolution. He is an author of 78 papers (Scopus H = 26).