EE544 COASTAL SEDIMENTOLOGY

Coastal Sedimentology is a course designed to teach Sedimentological concepts and processes so that students will be able to interpret present day and ancient coastal depositional environments and landforms. There will be occasional Zoom lectures, but learning will be primarily achieved through a variety of field activities and firsthand exposure to diverse physical processes and coastal settings, stretching from central Maine to Cape Cod. The highly variable nature of the New England coast and Eastern Seaboard, in terms of bedrock and glacial histories, sediment supply, tidal range, wave energy, sea-level trends, storm exposures, and coastal landforms, make this an ideal region in which to study Sedimentology. The principles learned in this course can be applied directly to many other non-marine depositional environments. Finally, global warming and the attendant accelerating sea-level rise and increased storminess are preferentially impacting the coastal zone causing frequent flooding, wide scale erosion and shoreline recession, and storm-induce damage and loss of infrastructure. The information gained in this course will aid the student’s ability to make informed decisions about managing coastal resources and the expenditure of taxpayer funds.