Research group

Coastal Communities

View of Blackpool Tower, beach and coastal defences on a sunny day.

Coastal Communities SIG focuses on bringing together researchers and non-academic stakeholders to tackle challenges facing coastal communities. 

About

We are an interdisciplinary group of researchers interested in tackling real-world challenges in coastal communities. We aim to improve understanding and capacity to adapt to these challenges by bringing together those researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders who are affected, interested and/or involved in coastal communities. Through creating a forum for discussion, sharing methods and best practice, and doing research together, we can improve understanding and management of the challenges that coastal communities face, ranging from the health impacts of air pollution to social effects of climate change-driven coastal change.  

On an annual basis, the Coastal Communities SIG will host three formal meetings to:

  • Bring together researchers from across all faculties and institutes at the University of Southampton to discuss coastal communities research and identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. This will support the sustainability of existing working relationships, create space to build new partnerships, and facilitate interdisciplinary coastal communities bid development.
  • Invite University of Southampton researchers and external stakeholders to participate in a methods/best practice workshop, focusing on a cross-cutting approach. This will provide opportunity for researchers and other stakeholders to meet and upskill in methods/best practice they may not have encountered within their own discipline or working practice.
  • Hold a lunchtime forum with academic, policy and practitioners invited both as guest speakers and participants to learn from and network with each other. This will enable researchers and other stakeholders to share leading-edge research and practice and facilitate new collaborative partners for future research.

The Coastal Communities SIG invites those from within and outside of the University of Southampton to join the group. We welcome new ideas for events, trainings, speakers.

To find out more about the Digital Oceans Special Interest Group and what we do, get in touch with group champions Sien Van Der Plank and Lareb Dean.

Join the SMMI Community to sign up to this group and our other special interest groups.

People, projects and publications

People

Dr Markus Brede

Associate Professor
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Professor Markus Heller

Professor of Biomechanics
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Professor Martin Solan

Professor of Marine Ecology

Research interests

  • Biodiversity ecosystem function bioturbation benthic ecology

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Martin Warner PhD

Associate Professor
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Dr Martina Stiasny BSc, MSc

Lecturer

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Martyn Hill

Professor of Electromechanical Systems
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Dr Martyn Prince

Principal Research Engineer
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Professor Mary Barker PhD, C Psychol

Prof of Psychology & Behavioural Science

Research interests

  • Mary Barker is Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Science. She has a joint appointment in both the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton UK.  Mary runs a programme of work in both the UK and in low-income countries aiming to engage young people in improving their sense of agency, well-being and mental health, to benefit their health in general but their diets and physical activity habits more specifically. Her team’s approach is participatory and combines social activism focused on engaging young people in the climate change and health agenda and testing methods of one-to-one support and digital resources including smartphone games. Much of this work takes place as part of her NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research EACH-B (Engaging Adolescents in Changing Behaviour). She partners in this activity with the TALENT network of colleagues with interests in adolescent health and well-being based in institutions in low-and-middle-income countries. Her team also ran a five-country, longitudinal qualitative study with young people throughout the pandemic exploring their experience, mental health, well-being and resilience, data from which supported UK local and national government COVID messaging to young people. She is adjunct professor at the University of Agder, Norway, and has honorary appointments at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and University College London.
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Dr Masashi Watanabe

Lecturer B in Coastal Marine Science

Research interests

  • Modelling coastal process
  • Investigating future and past coastal natural hazards
  • Coral reefs

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Massimiliano Manfren

Lecturer in Energy in Built Environment
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Related research institutes, centres and groups

Related research institutes, centres and groups

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Enquiries

If you're interested in joining us or collaborating, get in touch with the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.