Introduction to Coastal Processes and Geomorphology

Written for undergraduate students studying coastal geomorphology, this is the complete guide to the processes at work on our coastlines and the features we see in coastal systems across the world. Accessible to students from a range of disciplines, the quantitative approach of this book helps to build a solid understanding of wave and current processes that shape coastlines. The resulting processes of erosion, transport and deposition and the features they create are clearly explained, with over 400 illustrations and photographs. From sandy beaches to coral reefs, the major coastal features are related to contemporary processes and to sea-level changes over the past 25,000 years. Key equations describing or predicting measurements from instruments used to map these processes are all presented in this wide-ranging overview. Davidson-Arnott completes this teaching package with online material that brings the subject to life, including videos of coastal processes and virtual field trips.

Robin Davidson-Arnott completed his Ph.D. in 1975 from the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto. He was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph in 1976, Associate Professor in 1980, and has served as Professor from 1988 onwards. He has been a member of the Task Force of the International Joint Commission (Canada/USA) Great Lakes Water Levels Reference Study Phase 1 (1987–9), and has been seconded as a Scientist to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Development of Ontario Shoreline Management Policy and Technical Guideline (1992–5), and to the International Joint Commission (Canada/USA) Upper Great Lakes Water Level Regulation Study (2007–11). He has worked as a consultant for a number of studies for Ontario Conservation Authorities and Parks, Canada, and been awarded the R. J. Russell Award from the Coastal and Marine Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers in 2000. His research interests are in coastal geomorphology - on beach and nearshore processes on sandy coasts, nearshore erosion of cohesive coasts, coastal saltmarshes, aeolian sediment transport and coastal dunes - and he has received continuous support in this from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for over 30 years. He has authored and co-authored many books and journal articles on the subject, including a contribution to Geomorphology and Global Environmental Change (Cambridge University Press, 2009).