Research group

Coastal Communities

View of Blackpool Tower, beach and coastal defences on a sunny day.

Coastal Communities SIG focuses on bringing together researchers and non-academic stakeholders to tackle challenges facing coastal communities. 

About

We are an interdisciplinary group of researchers interested in tackling real-world challenges in coastal communities. We aim to improve understanding and capacity to adapt to these challenges by bringing together those researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders who are affected, interested and/or involved in coastal communities. Through creating a forum for discussion, sharing methods and best practice, and doing research together, we can improve understanding and management of the challenges that coastal communities face, ranging from the health impacts of air pollution to social effects of climate change-driven coastal change.  

On an annual basis, the Coastal Communities SIG will host three formal meetings to:

  • Bring together researchers from across all faculties and institutes at the University of Southampton to discuss coastal communities research and identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. This will support the sustainability of existing working relationships, create space to build new partnerships, and facilitate interdisciplinary coastal communities bid development.
  • Invite University of Southampton researchers and external stakeholders to participate in a methods/best practice workshop, focusing on a cross-cutting approach. This will provide opportunity for researchers and other stakeholders to meet and upskill in methods/best practice they may not have encountered within their own discipline or working practice.
  • Hold a lunchtime forum with academic, policy and practitioners invited both as guest speakers and participants to learn from and network with each other. This will enable researchers and other stakeholders to share leading-edge research and practice and facilitate new collaborative partners for future research.

The Coastal Communities SIG invites those from within and outside of the University of Southampton to join the group. We welcome new ideas for events, trainings, speakers.

To find out more about the Digital Oceans Special Interest Group and what we do, get in touch with group champion Sien Van Der Plank.

Join the SMMI Community to sign up to this group and our other special interest groups.

People, projects and publications

People

Professor Bharath Ganapathisubramani

Professor of Experimental Fluid Mechani

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Bindi Shah PhD, FHEA

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • A key question that Bindi is interested in asking is: What shapes citizenship and a sense of belonging to the nation amongst immigrants and established ethnic minority communities?
  • Bindi is also interested in exploring the role of social capital for developing interdisciplinary solutions to climate crisis and biodiversity loss for marginalised communities.

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Blair Thornton

Professor of Marine Autonomy

Research interests

  • seafloor 3D visual reconstruction: development of deep-sea imaging hardware and processing pipelines for calibration, localisation and 3D mapping of the seafloor with full-field uncertainty characterisation 
  • automated interpretation of data: development of AI methods for rapid scalable interpretation of seafloor imagery
  • robotics: development of low-cost, long endurance seafloor imaging floats and highly intelligent and manoeuvrable robotic imaging platform for visual survey of complex environments

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Mrs Carin Reisinger

Collaboration & Scientific Comms.Manager
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Professor Carlos Ponce De Leon Albarran MBA, PhD, FRSC

Professor of Electrochemical Engineering

Research interests

  • Electrochemical energy conversion
  • Water treatment technology
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Dr Catherine Rychert

Associate Professor
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Dr Cathy Lucas

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • The role of gelatinous zooplankton in ecosystem structure and function.
  • Causes and consequences of jellyfish blooms.
  • Jellyfish and ecosystem servives in the coastal zone.

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Cecilia D'angelo

Associate Professor
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Celia Prescott

Research interests

  • Eastern Mediterranean
  • Coastal processes and impact assessment
  • Digital archaeology
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Emeritus Professor Charles Banks

Research interests

  • Controlled anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation of municipal and industrial solid wastes
  • Concepts for an integrated farming system for non competitive food and fuel production
  • Energy production from digestion of crops and agricultural wastes
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Related research institutes, centres and groups

Related research institutes, centres and groups

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Enquiries

If you're interested in joining us or collaborating, get in touch with the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.