Coastal Resilience

Our People

Amani Becker

I’m a coastal scientist with expertise in microphytobenthos and sediment biogeochemistry. My research interests are centred on coastal processes and resilience, with a focus on stakeholder engagement, capacity building and achieving impact from research. I am currently involved in projects in the UK, the Southwest Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.

https://noc.ac.uk/n/Amani+Becker 

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, The Sea and Society, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre 

Colin Bell

I am the software and technical manager for the products team at the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool.  I have been a professional software designer and developer for nearly 30 years specialising in marine software for tidal level / current prediction and harmonic analysis - working with both coastal data (from tide gauges) and offshore data (from numerical model simulations).  I've been involved with a number of ports/harbours and offshore operators, and worked on specific projects for renewable energy, flood defence and particle tracking.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, Ports and Maritime, The Sea and Society
Afilliation: National Oceanography Centre

Lucy Bricheno

My focus is around coastal hazards, and the impact of the climate crisis. I study the influence of changing climate at the coast, affecting flood, erosion, and impacting infrastructure. My expertise in on the use and evaluation of several different numerical ocean models. I have a particular interest in surface waves and storms, and study their effects on the seabed, and Interactions with the atmosphere and ocean. Recently, I have worked on land-sea interactions, and coastal freshwater resources. I am interested in science into policy, to get the most practical and direct use of our latest findings. Always looking to collaborate, and find connections with those with common interests.

https://staff.noc.ac.uk/people/luic 

Themes: Coastal Resilience
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Jenny Brown

I have a keen interest in coastal flood and erosion hazard modelling and monitoring to support decisions surrounding coastal management. My expertise are in wave, surge and tidal modelling at the regional scale; storm impact modelling at the local scale; and technology development to validate model capability

Recent projects are investigating novel systems to monitor wave overtopping and nowcast hazard information, see https://youtu.be/a5Y33SWdNU4 and https://twitter.com/wirewall_noc

Themes: Coastal Resilience, The Sea and Society
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Jill Burgess

I’m a Liverpool girl born and bred and even stayed in our wonderful city to study Geography at the University of Liverpool.  I’ve been at the National Oceanography Centre since 2004 working within the Marine Information Products and Services Team which is the commercial arm of the NOC. My aim within LISCO is to develop new collaborations, business partnerships and new opportunities with those interested in coastal processes, tidal predictions, and coastal management. Additionally I am particularly interested in continuing to develop good public engagement activities in order to raise public awareness of the research within LISCO.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, Ports and Maritime, The Living Ocean, Sea and Society
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Kasey Clark

I am a lecturer in Environmental Change. I have broad research interests in physical geography, river biogeochemistry and land-ocean interactions. My work primarily involves tropical field-based research. I am interested in the role of terrestrial influences in coastal biogeochemistry and environmental degradation. In Panama I am 1) determining freshwater inputs and nutrient fluxes, which will be used as forcing variables in a physical hypoxia model for a Caribbean bay, 2) assessing mangrove dieback in the Bay of Panama due to a severe El Niño event in 2015/16, and 3) working in a team of scientists and stakeholders with the aim of declaring Matusagaratí a Ramsar wetland.

I am currently advertising an ACCE DTP project, applications due January 2023, on understanding the Influence of land-based nutrient pollution on coastal ecosystems in a Caribbean Bay. https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/understanding-the-influence-of-land-based-nutrient-pollution-on-coastal-ecosystems-in-a-caribbean-bay/?p148549 

Themes: Coastal Resilience, The Sea and Society, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Michela De Dominicis

I am a physical oceanographer in the Marine Systems Modelling Group at the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool. My research studies how the ocean interacts with any external factors, mostly human intervention. I use high-resolution ocean models to understand the changes that might take place in shelf seas and coastal zones in the next few decades. This includes “what-if” scenarios to investigate the impact of large arrays of offshore renewable energy devices, but also the response of coastal areas to extreme storms, sea level rise and different coastal protection measures.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Alexandre Gagnon

I am a Senior Lecturer in Geography at Liverpool John Moores University. My research interests range from understanding the temporal and spatial patterns of climate variability to vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. I am currently working on projects assessing the vulnerability of the built environment, including cultural heritage, to climate change, notably in Madagascar, Asia and Scotland. My work examines the changing exposure to climatic and coastal hazards under climate change and the capacity of communities to respond and adapt to them, notably through the co-development of adaptation strategies through participatory approaches.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Jonathan Green

My research focusses on seabirds, which must adapt to two contrasting environments: the challenges of foraging at sea are very different to those that they face while breeding on land. Furthermore, both of these environments and their associated challenges change naturally on a seasonal and annual basis and are under anthropogenic threats from over-fishing, climate-change, and in particular right now, renewable energy developments. Indeed, seabirds are the world’s most threatened group of birds and I currently collaborate with a number of organisations such as JNCC, BTO, CEH and Marine Scotland to try to better understand and hopefully solve these problems.

Research Group Website: www.segul.org.uk 

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate 
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Chris Hughes

I am Professor of Sea Level Science at the University of Liverpool, and an Adjoint Fellow of the National Oceanography Centre. I study how ocean dynamics (the changing currents in the ocean) interact with sea level and ocean bottom pressure. This ranges from work to understand how coastal sea level will change as the ocean adjusts to changing climate or shorter term weather, to using observations of pressure on the seafloor to measure changing heat transport by the ocean, to using measurements of sea level and gravity from satellites and tide gauges to understand how the ocean circulation works, and how sea level has changed in the past. Much of my work is concerned with the global circulation, but particular regional interests include the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Caribbean Sea and the Tasman Sea, and the ocean's boundaries, in the form of the global continental slope.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Svetlana Jevrejeva

Svetlana is an internationally acknowledged sea level expert, a Lead Author of Chapter 13 (Sea Level Change), Working group 1, Fifth Assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR5 IPCC), 2010-2013.  Svetlana specialises in the synthesis of observations and models to develop our understanding of physical mechanisms for global and regional sea level rise and variability, their impact in coastal areas, changes in tropical cyclones in warming climate and extreme sea levels. Dr Jevrejeva engages with stakeholders, policy makers and the international scientific community to translate advances in sea level science into impact and bring societal benefit. She spent two years (sabbatical) in Singapore, leading the National Sea Level Programme of Singapore and providing scientific advice to the Singapore government about adaptation to sea level rise.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, Sea and Society
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

David Jones

I am the Head of Mechanical Engineering at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) Liverpool, where I have worked since 1990. My role is to design and oversee the manufacture of bespoke equipment used in all NOC projects. I design build, and deploy equipment for tide gauge systems in the UK and overseas, deep ocean landers, instrument platforms, instrument deployment and recovery systems. I also manage the mechanical workshop; which is equipped with CNC machinery enabling us to produce precision parts and prototypes. We also have an area for the assembly and testing of equipment prior to deployment.  

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, Ports and Maritime, The Living Ocean, Sea and Society
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Jason Kirby

I am a Professor of Physical Geography in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University. My main coastal research expertise is in reconstructing sea-level changes from salt-marsh sediment records (also known as ‘geological tide gauges’). I have also worked on the short-medium term dynamics (months-years) of inter-tidal mudflats in estuary systems. Recent projects have explored the environmental factors influencing microbial degradation of TBT in muddy port sediment as a potential bioremediation technique. 

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, Ports and Maritime
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Nicoletta Leonardi

Professor of Coastal Dynamics. I am a civil engineer specializing in coastal studies and computer modelling and an EPSRC Fellow with the project ''ENARM: Engineering with Nature: combining Artificial intelligence, Remote sensing and computer Models for the optimum design of coastal protection schemes' (2021-2026I have an international reputation for the study of coastline evolution, hydrodynamics and coastal management strategies with focus on engineering with nature. My expertise spans the use of different types of computer models and models coupling for the investigation of hydrodynamics and geomorphology (e.g. ROMS, Delft3d, stochastic models and AI models) and field data collections (e.g. acoustic measurements for hydrodynamics, sediment transport and geomorphological measurements). 

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, Ports and Maritime
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Ming Li

I have extensive experiences of numerical and physical modelling of coastal sediment transport and morphodynamics processes. Research activities include investigation of fundamental turbulence effects on sediment transport using multiphase CFD models, study of coastal boundary processes, and developing numerical models for prediction large-scale morphodynamic changes around coastal structures and river delta. I have also been actively involved in numerical modelling of marine renewable energy research, including tidal barrage across estuary, tidal stream and offshore wind turbine foundation in the seas. Recent works extend into vegetation effects on sediment transport in coastal seas and river estuaries using computer models.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resillience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Charlotte Lyddon

I am a coastal scientist based in the Department of Geography and Planning with an interest in developing a better understanding of the drivers of coastal and estuarine flooding to support the development of accurate management, adaptation, or resilience strategies. My expertise are in tide, surge, and river modelling at a regional scale using process-based numerical models; flood impact modelling; and analysing observation data and future projections of river and sea-levels to understand how the drivers of estuarine flooding may vary with climate change.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Neil Macdonald

Neil is Professor of Geography, his work explores how communities and societies have historically and continue to respond to extreme events (e.g. floods, storms and droughts), understanding how the have responded and adapted. He is interdisciplinary, using a range of approaches to undertake such work, including sedimentary, archival, oral and textual sources, spanning timescales (centuries to days). He has worked across the UK and Europe, Asia and Africa, with a wide range of partners.  

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Sea and Society
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Jeff Polton

I am the Shelf Seas Team leader in the Marine Systems Modelling Group at the NOC. We have a long history in developing regional hydrodynamic models of shelf seas, and in particular the European shelf seas which are strong controlled by tidal processes. I am also the Coastal Ocean theme lead for the Joint Marine Modelling Programme (a partnership between the Met Office and UK research centres). In this role I coordinate European shelf sea model development of operational services and as a research tool for the UK ocean community. This also compliments my role as co-leader of the NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) community engagement working group. In addition to these responsibilities my research interests include:  wave processes and turbulence (Turbulence modelling, observation and parameterisation development to improve simulation of the ocean); and the Shelf Sea response to changing seas (impact of changing climate on shelf seas). I also enjoy developing software tools to aid science discovery and communication: e.g. anyTide (2013-2021), a mobile app for tide predictions, and COAsT, a python toolkit for assessing an diagnosing ocean simulations.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Julia Rulent

I am a coastal ocean modelling scientist at NOC. My interest is in coastal hazards and extreme events. I use coupled high resolution numerical models to simulate coastal interaction processes and better understand the impact of storms in a changing climate. I have been studying the impact of wave-tide-surge interactions on extreme coastal water level formation, and I am currently working on a project dealing with the impact of nearshore infrastructures over the seabed and ocean dynamics. I am keen to get involved with science policy and practical application of research. 

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Mehdi Seddighi

Mehdi Seddighi is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Fluid Mechanics at Liverpool John Moores University. He is a BSc in Aerospace Engineering, MSc in Aerospace Engineering (Aerodynamics), and holds a PhD degree in Fluid Mechanics from University of Aberdeen. His research interests include unsteady turbulent flow, control of turbulent flow, hydrodynamics, and marine renewable energy, using numerical and experimental techniques. The numerical approach includes, a high-fidelity in-house DNS (direct numerical simulation) and LES (large eddy simulation) code, CHAPSim, which is developed initially by him and then further developed by other researchers under his supervision over the past decade.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation:  Liverpool John Moores University

Peter Thorne

Main area of expertise is in coastal and estuarine physical processes, with a focus on nearbed sediment transport dynamics using developmental acoustic instrumentation. Recent studies have been on acoustic measurements of intra-wave vortex entrainment of sediments, convective-diffusive modelling of suspended sediments, diffusivity studies over rippled beds, a review of sediment process modelling and studies on bedform dynamics on mixed, sand-mud-biological, sediments.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Jin Wang

Prof. Jin Wang’s research interests are in design and operation of large maritime engineering systems. He has published extensively in this area, making him among top 100 in Civil Engineering globally. He has led three EU funded projects as coordinator, and as PI seven EPSRC funded projects. He has won several awards for his research work including the 2017 RINA - Lloyd’s Register Maritime Safety Award for Lifetime Achievement. He has completed the supervision of over 80 doctoral or postdoctoral researchers. Prof. Wang was a sub-panel member (Unit of Assessment 12) in the UK’s REF 2014 and 2021. He is also Chair of the UK-Malaysia University Consortium (UK-MUC).

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Ports and Maritime
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Joanne Williams

As part of the Sea Level group at NOC, I’ve lately been working on global tide and surge reanalysis, seeking to improve the understanding of coastal flood-risk. I've been studying the details of tidal analysis, for example quantifying how periodic weather can affect predictions of tides, and how this could influence storm surge forecasts. I'm also looking at methods to automate processing of data, to improve coverage around the world. Previously, I've studied other aspects of sea-level measurement, such as using pressure recorders at the ocean bottom to monitor global ocean mass variations.  See also https://noc.ac.uk/n/Joanne+Williams

Themes: Coastal Resilience
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Judith Wolf

I am a retired physical oceanographer. Previously I worked in the Marine Systems Modelling Group at the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool. My research interests included the modelling of tides, surges, waves and their interactions in continental shelf waters and coastal seas, wave climate, marine renewable energy and the coastal impacts of climate change. I have been involved in the use of coupled models to investigate estuarine processes, atmosphere-wave-hydrodynamic interactions and tidal energy, focussing on resource assessment and environmental impacts. My geographical areas of interest have included the NW European continental shelf, Bangladesh, South China and Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre

Zaili Yang

Professor of Maritime Transport at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), UK. Prior to my current appointment, I was Reader in Maritime Transport (2010-2014) and a lecturer in Maritime Operations (2007-2010) at the School of Engineering, Technology and Maritime Operations, LJMU. I received my BEng in Maritime Transportation from Dalian Maritime University, China, in 2001, MSc in International Transport from Cardiff University, UK, in 2003, and PhD in Maritime Safety from LJMU, UK, in 2006. My research interests are analysis and modelling of safety, resilience and sustainability of transport networks, particularly maritime and logistics systems.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, Ports and Maritime
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Monica McCard

I am an aquatic ecologist and Environmental Science lecturer at Liverpool John Moore University (LJMU). My primary research centres on the consequences of non-native species, emphasising recent work on environmental stressors. I have led projects exploring the impacts of non-native species and predator-prey dynamics in both freshwater and marine environments. Collaborating with Natural Resource Wales, I currently work on the impacts of invasive Chinese mitten crabs and management in the river Dee. Another key focus is my research on the feeding impacts of invasive lionfish, identified as highly destructive invaders in southern European waters. Currently, I am conducting a project in Honduras, Central America, analysing lionfish stomach contents to assess their potential as pollution indicators.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, The Bio-Economy, Oceans and Climate
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Kennedy Edeye Osuka

With a background in fisheries management and marine conservation, my expertise spans various facets of environmental management. I have spearheaded fish conservation and research initiatives, harmonising data collection methods across Western Indian Ocean nations. My contributions have informed fisheries policies in East African countries, showcasing a commitment to both research and policy development. My interests lie in human-ocean interactions, emphasising fisheries management, conservation efforts, and species protection. Exploring marine ecosystems, from shallow to deep reefs and pelagic environments, fascinates me, especially understanding the dynamic roles of piscivores and herbivores in ecosystem resilience. Additionally, I engage in influencing national and regional legislation, conducting research to overcome policy barriers.

Themes: Coastal Resilience, The Bio-Economy, The Sea and Society
Affiliation: University of Liverpool 

Iacopo Carnacina

Dr Carnacina is a Reader in Water and Environmental Engineering for the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment. In 2010 he obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering from the doctorate school of the University of Pisa “Leonardo da Vinci” Italy, with a thesis on the effect of debris accumulation on bridge pier scour. Since 2007, he has also been a member of the professional body of Civil Engineers of the province of La Spezia, Italy. He is interested in local erosion in correspondence with hydraulic structures such as bridges, river training structures and dams, large-scale numerical flood models and flood protection for riverine and coastal environment. His research focuses on the sustainability of hydraulic infrastructures, ranging from micro-hydropower development in rural regions', use of sustainable resources to optimize efficiency and minimize the environmental impact, and low carbon coastal protections, to nature-based solution for climate adaptation and large scale coastal hydrodynamic models.

Themes: Coastal Resilience
Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University 

Marta Payo Payo

I am a research scientist working at coast, at the interface between land, ocean and people.
My research focuses on coastal hazards and on transport processes, and I use numerical models to understand hydrodynamics and transport processes in coastal environments under anthropogenic impacts including climate change. Lately I'm more interested on how natural habitats can help make our coastal systems more resilient to climate change and human activities. I enjoy science communication and together with other scientists have established collaborations with artists and social scientists trying to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and general knowledge.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resillience, Oceans and Climate, The Sea and Society
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre 

Iain Young

Iain promotes cross-disciplinary approaches addressing sustainability and food security challenges while delivering impactful R&D with industry partners. His projects address issues such as improving the sustainability of nutrition for aquaculture and agriculture, novel sensor development for water quality, smart approaches for control and monitoring and food chain optimisation.

Research and Knowledge Exchange highlights: Black Soldier Fly larvae as a Bioconverter of food waste into fish feed, development of novel water treatment systems, detection methods for flavour tainting compounds and pathogens in water, the use of fish waste in renewable energy production, hydrogen powered aquaponics systems and outreach projects engaging local schools in urban farming.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience, Oceans and Climate, The Sea and Society
Affiliation: University of Liverpool

Bin Guo

I am a research scientist in the Marine Systems Modelling Group at NOC. My previous research primarily involved coastal ocean modelling, hydro-environmental research, and tidal energy development, with a particular emphasis on tidal range energy schemes. My current research focuses on investigating the risks and impacts of climate change and direct anthropogenic drivers on coastal ocean physics and the implications for biogeochemistry and ecosystems.

Themes: Blue Green Energy, Coastal Resilience
Affiliation: National Oceanography Centre