Coastal hazards result from interacting physical processes that span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Accurately representing these processes remains a fundamental challenge for predicting coastal flooding and landscape response, particularly as the coastal environment and the hazards affecting it continue to change.

This seminar will present research that integrates numerical modeling, field observations, and remote sensing to improve understanding and prediction of coastal hazards and to inform resilience strategies. Examples from the southeastern United States will illustrate how process-based hydrodynamic models are being advanced toward high-resolution, probabilistic, and real-time predictions of coastal flooding. Field observations and UAV-based methods provide complementary measurements of coastal systems at scales that are difficult to resolve, helping investigate processes within marshes, barrier islands, and other dynamic coastal environments.

The seminar will also explore how these capabilities can be translated from hazard characterization into resilience design. Ongoing research integrates observations and models across scales to quantify the protective function of natural coastal systems and evaluate nature-based and hybrid solutions for flood and shoreline protection, including applications at coastal military installations. Taken together, this work illustrates opportunities to connect understanding of coastal processes, hazard prediction, and engineering implementation to support more resilient coastal systems.

*Refreshments: 12-12:30 PM, ES&T Atrium