[Aqualist] IGCP588 ? Preparing for coastal change

[Barrows, Tim]

The New IGCP588 - Preparing for coastal change

UNESCO has approved the proposed IGCP project “Preparing for coastal change: A detailed
process‐response framework for coastal change at different timescales”.

This project continues
and will build on a long tradition of IGCP projects that have focused on the role that sea‐level
has had on shaping coastal environments (particularly the IGCP495). This project aims to
integrate contemporary processes, impacts and responses of coastal environments to changes
in sea level and extreme events, with an overarching focus on human influences and reactions
to coastal processes. The project will include further examination of past and present coastal
dynamics and evolution, with the additional emphasis on predictive modelling of the coastal
response to changing climates, anthropogenic impacts and natural hazards. We hope to bring
together researchers assessing coastal dynamics and vulnerability at timescales from minutes
to millennia that are immediately relevant to a variety of stakeholders interested in the future
of coastal communities globally. This project has three primary, interlinked themes: (1)
catastrophic events, (2) sea‐level fluctuations and coastal change, and (3) the response of
humans to coastal change. Each of these themes will be investigated at various temporal scales
including catastrophic or instantaneous events (minutes to hours), measurable and predictable
changes (hours to years), planning scale (years to decades) and geological‐scale changes
(centuries to millennia).

By drawing together researchers that have an interest in “preparing for coastal change” this
project will provide a forum for scientists to network, collaborate, gain experience and develop
skills. With this in mind we are pleased to announce:

The first international IGCP588 meeting in Hong Kong

The initial IGCP588 “Preparing for Coastal Change” meeting will be organised in conjunction
with the INQUA Coastal Marine Processes Commission conference. The meeting will be held at
the University of Hong Kong from 30 November ‐ 4 December 2010. The first circular of this
meeting will soon be sent to members of the research community in sea‐level change and
coastal marine processes. The local organiser of the meeting is: Dr Yongqiang Zong, Department
of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China (email:
yqzong at hkucc.hku.hk<mailto:yqzong at hkucc.hku.hk>).

Project Leaders: Adam Switzer (Earth Observatory of Singapore), Craig Sloss (Queensland University of Technology,
Australia), Benjamin Horton (University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) and Yongqiang Zong (The University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong SAR, China)