Coastal Studies

This course is aimed at those wanting to work in the fields of coastal/environmental science, resource and hazard management and coastal/environmental engineering, as well as at anyone with an interest in the coast. Students with a wide variety of backgrounds and diverse skills and perspectives are welcome in the course. GEOG311 explores the processes responsible for change in coastal environments and the development of coastal landforms in New Zealand, the Pacific and worldwide. Topics examined include waves, currents, sea levels, sediments, beaches, wetlands, tropical reefs and human interactions with the coast. Students will gain an understanding of conceptual and computational models of the coastal zone, along with practice in the field and laboratory techniques used in coastal zone investigation. As the course explores both the processes operating in different coastal environments and coastal management themes, there will be direct industry involvement with ECAN, CCC and NIWA. There will be a compulsory one-day fieldtrip on which you will have the opportunity to measure waves, currents and profiles, and to collect sediment and ecological data to analyse in labs, plus an essay and exam.