Welcome to the MASTS Coastal Forum
This Forum provides a platform for knowledge exchange, information, education and networking on Coastal Research. With coastal ecosystems providing many important services, adaption and resilience of coastlines is vitally important.
This Forum brings together expertise in relevant areas such as coastal processes and dynamics, management, policy, social science and biodiversity.
Coastal and estuarine waters are parts of the sea that dominate our everyday affairs. Our rapidly expanding use of and entry into the sea are mostly concerned with processes that take place in shallow water, and it is mostly within coastal waters that human acts, such as waste discharge, fishing/aquaculture, dredging, mining, drilling, and structures, have their greatest impact. The coastal zone is so important that it can often become embroiled in jurisdictional controversy. The coastal ecosystem also provides many important services including nursey grounds, coastal protection, biodiversity, carbon storage, tourism, and recreational benefits. The adaptation and resilience of the coastline is vitally important, and not just in Scotland.
The MASTS Coastal Forum brings together experts in areas such as coastal processes and dynamics, management, policy, social science, and biodiversity, ecology and conservation, thus providing a network for successful multidisciplinary marine and social science to address the management of the coastal zone and the ecosystem services it provides.
Cooperative research, together with interactions with key decision makers, local communities and experts can assist scientists to help solve often-complex issues and help generate leads for new projects, insights and potential contracts.
2023: Co-organising of SBCF Workshop on “Measuring Marine Carbon”
Together with the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum (SBFC) a workshop was hosted by the Forum at the University of St Andrews to showcase method development and opportunities to collaborate and support blue carbon analytical work in Scotland.
The workshop was open to all and included talks from Dr Ryan Pereira (Heriot-Watt University), Dr Daniel Dawson & Professor Sharon Ashbrook (University of St Andrews), Dr Philippa Ascough (Director of the NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory), Dr Eva Stueeken, Dr Craig Smeaton & Mr Alex Houston (University of St Andrews), Dr Alasdair O’Dell & Professor Mike Burrows (SAMS).
Larissa Naylor & Kieran Tierney
– University of Glasgow
Larissa is Professor of Geomorphology and Environmental Geography at the University of Glasgow, UK. She is a coastal geomorphologist who works at the interface of geomorphology, ecology and engineering and applies this to address ecological and climate change challenges facing society.
Kieran is a Research Associate at SUERC, with interests in ecosystem modelling, environmental radioactivity and applications of radiocarbon and other isotopes in marine ecology and other marine processes.
Vacancy!
Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in joining the Coastal Forum Steering Group.
Alistair Rennie (NatureScot), Catriona Jeorrett (Marine Directorate), David Green (University of Aberdeen), Hannah Grist (SAMS), Janet Khan (SEPA), William Austin & Richard Bates (University of St Andrews), Stewart Angus (SNH) and Sue Dawson (Dundee University). Corresponding member: Tim Stojanovic (University of St Andrews, MASTS Marine Planning & Governance Forum).
MASTS was founded in 2009 to be a unique collaboration between marine research organisations, government and industry.
Charity Number: SC045259
Company Number: SC485726
We’re working behind the scenes to bring you a suite of useful, and updateable, resources including:
If you would like to be updated when the resources section is live please let us know.