MRes - Estuary and Coastal Geosciences

Heriot-Watt University

The group has particular interests in applied Quaternary geology and geomorphology, especially with reference to coastal and estuarine management. We are also interested in the applications of Quaternary geology to infrastructure engineering and to the properties of natural materials. Our current research is focused on the properties of estuarine clays and on the physical and biological factors that control these. We also have interests in the recovery of intertidal habitats on reclaimed land that has been flooded by shoreline realignment. More generally, we are interested in the mechanisms and timescales of coastal change and the impact that these have on human use of the coastal zone. We conduct ongoing fieldwork on several UK estuaries, including the Humber, the Forth, the Moray Firth and the Solway Firth.

School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society