Members of The Department of Geography and Geology recently contributed to the X Coastal Geomorphology Workshop in Castelldefels (Barcelona). This is an annual conference on coastal-related themes including coastal morphodynamics and storm hazards, coastal management and planning, coastal dunes and anthropogenic impacts, and other topics such as rocky coasts and sediment transport. The event gathered researchers from a myriad of backgrounds including coastal geomorphologists, geologists, engineers, and planners which offered further opportunities to engage in informed academic conversations to enhance our ethos of research led teaching.

Professor Irene Delgado-Fernandez presenting at the Coastal Geomorphology conference and journal articles published based on the work by Susan Rodgers (graduate from Geo-EHU) and Abel Sanromualdo-Collado (Gran Canaria), both involving Nick O’Keeffe and Irene Delgado-Fernandez. Links for papers can be found below.

The event was a prime opportunity to present the undergraduate dissertation work completed by Susan Rodgers, a recent graduate from the BSc Physical Geography programme, whose research on coastal dune evolution at Newborough (Wales) was accepted for presentation and subsequently published as a journal article in the conference proceedings book which can be found here.

Commenting on her time with Edge Hill, Susan Rodgers said:

As a mature student who left school in 1981 at the age of 16, I was able to access higher education at EHU via the Fastrack programme and graduated in July 2019 with a first class honours Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Geography. Although sometimes challenging, my time at EHU proved to be an amazing experience which culminated in my dissertation study on coastal dunes in Wales.

Susan Rodgers and Prof Irene Delgado-Fernandez were part of the joint publication which included another member of the department, PhD student Nicholas O’Keeffe. Irene and Nick additionally co-authored a second publication with an international group of researchers working on aeolian processes in the arid island of Lanzarote and led by Abel Sanromualdo Collado (PhD student at the Universida de las Palmas de Gran Canaria).

Susan Rodgers commented:

The subsequent publication of a journal article with Irene Delgado Fernandez and Nick O’Keeffe, along with the presentation of my work was a fantastic opportunity which enabled me to meet with and talk to numerous researchers, enhancing my learning (and curiosity) further.

The conference was followed by field trips around the Catalonian coastline, organised by the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona and other Catalonian Universities. Further images of the field trip can be found here.

Conference field trip along the Catalonian Coastline, with stops to explore landscape evolution, sediment budgets, coastal processes, and human impacts. Susan Rodgers and Irene Delgado-Fernandez feature in the top-left image, alongside conference attendees and colleagues in the rest of pictures.