Coastal Sediments '07 Conference a Success in New Orleans


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Coastal Sediments '07 Conference a Success in New Orleans

By Matthew Arsenault and S. Jeffress Williams
August 2007

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Erika Lentz checks out a display of sand waves in San Francisco Bay while Jeff Williams talks with Cornelia Dean

Above: Erika Lentz, Ph.D. student from University of Rhode Island, checks out a 3D display of sand waves in San Francisco Bay, while Jeff Williams (far right) talks with Cornelia Dean, science writer for the New York Times. [larger version]

Chris Polloni discusses coastal imaging with Luciana Esteves

Above: Chris Polloni (right) discusses coastal imaging and shares his 3D glasses with Luciana Esteves, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow from the University of Plymouth, U.K. [larger version]

Jeff Williams presents the conference's 2007 Coastal Award to Leo van Rijn

Above: Jeff Williams (right) presents the conference's 2007 Coastal Award to Leo van Rijn of Delft Hydraulics and the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Van Rijn's research has greatly influenced engineers and geologists working in the areas of coastal sediment transport and morphology change (see "2007 Coastal Award" link at URL http://www.asce.org/
conferences/cs07/). [larger version]

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and its coastal and marine science research were well represented at Coastal Sediments '07—the Sixth International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment Processes—held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from May 13 to 17, 2007. Scientists from the three centers of the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program attended the conference, presenting papers, chairing technical sessions, and staffing a prominent USGS information booth at the Intercontinental Hotel on St. Charles Street.

The Coastal Sediments specialty conference, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers and first held in 1977, takes place roughly every 4 years; this year's conference theme was "Coastal Engineering and Science in Cascading Spatial and Temporal Scales." The theme was chosen, along with the venue, to stimulate and encourage papers devoted to addressing and understanding the many issues facing the community and society in managing coastal areas. In total, 197 presentations were given, with about 340 attendees representing 24 countries from around the globe. The presentations were based on peer-reviewed papers included in the conference proceedings, published as three hardcopy volumes and a CD version.

A total of 29 members from the USGS represented the Woods Hole Science Center, the Florida Integrated Science Center, and the Western Coastal and Marine Geology Team and delivered a total of 18 talks on recent research results in sessions on Barrier Island Breaching, Storm Overwash, Storms, Shoreline Change, Tsunamis, Sea Level Rise, Sediment Transport, Coastal Morphology, Remote Sensing, and Sea Floor Mapping. Some of the USGS participants were Cheryl Hapke, Hilary Stockdon, Abby Sallenger, Jeff Williams, Walter Barnhardt, Chris Polloni, Matt Arsenault, Bruce Jaffe, Jane Denny, Guy Gelfenbaum, Bob Morton, Jeff List, Laura Fauver, Bruce Richmond, Curt Storlazzi, Edwin Elias, and Mark Hansen. Many other USGS staff were coauthors on papers presented.

S. Jeffress Williams (Woods Hole Science Center) served on the CS07 Conference Steering Committee and headed up the Exhibits and Sponsorship Coordination. This is the fourth Coastal Sediments conference that Williams has helped organize since 1987. Matthew Arsenault and Chris Polloni (both of the Woods Hole Science Center) staffed the USGS exhibit and distributed data products and handouts on USGS research activities. The exhibit backdrops featured images from mapping projects off Puerto Rico, usSEABED sea-floor-mapping data coverage, high-resolution mapping of San Francisco Bay, and the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana coast, among other topics. Many of the activities performed by the USGS are of significant interest to the broader scientific community, and conference attendees were eager to talk about their use of data products and models produced by the USGS. The exhibit was a huge success thanks to help and materials from Diane Welch, Karen Morgan, Laura Torresan, Peter Dartnell, Helen Gibbons, and Nancy Soderberg, who supplied fact sheets, computer animations, and posters.

For more information about the conference, visit URL http://www.asce.org/conferences/cs07/. The next Coastal Sediments conference will be held in 2011. Mark your calendar and make plans to participate.

Coastal Sediments '07
American Society of Civil Engineers