Andrew Cooper

• Doctor of Philosophy
• University of Ulster

The Málaga coast, in the south of Spain, is a densely populated tourist destination where ports, marinas and coastal protection structures of various typologies (e.g., groins, breakwaters, revetments) and shapes (e.g., “Y”, “L”, etc., shaped groins) have been emplaced. Such structures have modified the long- and cross-shore sediment transport and p...

Modern and Holocene tufa microbialites have been documented globally on groundwater spring-fed supratidal rock coasts. Here, we document the first emergent facies assemblage and demonstrate its utility as a palaeo- shoreline (and sea-level) indicator. At Cape Freycinet, Western Australia, discrete palaeo-spring-associated de posits comprise five...

High costs and project-based (short-term) financing mean that coastal engineering projects are often undertaken in the absence of appropriate post-construction monitoring programmes. Consequently, the performance of shoreline-stabilizing structures or beach nourishments cannot be properly quantified. Given the high value of beaches and the increase...

Sixteen systems of paired spits have been identified in Ireland, many of them previously undescribed. This study examines the hydrodynamic and geological factors controlling their formation and morphodynamic evolution. Wave conditions were obtained by the WW3 model, and shoreline evolution was assessed by comparing the Ordnance Survey map (1829-184...

Microbialites are known from a range of terrestrial, freshwater, marine, and marginal settings. The descriptive terminology used in each instance depends largely on the historical legacy derived from previous studies in similar environments. This has led to a diversity of nomenclature and a lack of conformity in the terms used to describe and categ...

Coastal environments are complex systems that are influenced by a combination of natural processes and human activities. Scientific interest in the effects of coastal erosion/accretion and climatic change-related processes has greatly increased in recent decades due to the growing human development along coastal areas. This paper investigates the s...

Rocky coastlines that are interconnected with discharges of mineralised groundwater seeps, can see the development of carbonate formations (tufa) driven by microbial and microalgal biofilm fixation. These formations can exist in a number of sub-environments in the high intertidal and supratidal zone and are affected by occasional storms and the eff...

Coastal environments are complex systems that are influenced by a combination of natural processes and human activities. Scientific interest in the effects of coastal erosion/accretion and climatic change-related processes greatly increased in recent decades due to the growing human development along coastal areas. This paper investigates the state...

Beach ridges originate from various depositional processes and occur in a variety of settings. This paper assesses their nature and distribution on the islands of the Greater Caribbean based on a literature review and the identification of sites using Google Earth© 7.3 imagery. The morphological and orientation parameters were measured for each sit...

Microbialites are known from a range of terrestrial, freshwater, marine, and marginal settings with the applied descriptive terminology depending largely on the historical legacy derived from previous studies in similar environmental settings. This has led to a diversity of nomenclature and a lack of conformity in the terms used to describe and cat...

Antecedent conditions and geology influence bedform dynamics and other sea-bed bottom current interactions on the continental shelf. However, the nature of this influence has not been well constrained, particularly on current-swept shelves. A variety of bedforms (narrow and broad sediment ribbons, comet marks and subaqueous dunes) are revealed by h...

Anegada, the easternmost island of the Virgin Islands group (Caribbean Sea), is a low Pleistocene carbonate platform surrounded by Horseshoe Reef, the world's third-largest fringing reef. The western part of the island consists of an extensive beachridge plain (>40 ridges). The sandy carbonate shoreline exists in three morphodynamic domains that ex...

Almar and colleagues (2023) are correct in stating that, “understanding and predicting shoreline evolution is of great importance for coastal management.” Amongst the different timescales of shoreline change, the interannual and decadal timescales are of particular interest to coastal scientists as they reflect the integrated system response to the...

Shoreline evolution over the last two centuries was analysed for Dundrum Bay, Co. Down, Northern Ireland using historical and recent shoreline datasets from 1833 to 2020. The area of interest comprises two sandy beaches and vegetated coastal dune fields, Newcastle-Murlough and Ballykinler, separated by an inlet channel which connects the inner with...

Allan was born on November 14, 1937, at 5 Vernon Street, Briton Ferry, Neath, to parents Doug and Loreen. At the age of 3, his family moved into the Harp Hotel, where he would spend his formative years. A gifted athlete, Allan represented Neath Grammar School in rugby, athletics, and badminton. Despite his initial struggles as a scholar, scoring a...

Although morphologically persistent in the long term, Multiple Intertidal Bar Systems (MITBs) display short-term, especially seasonal, morphodynamic behaviour. Analysis of high-density, monthly DGPS surveys conducted at Murlough and Ballykinler beaches, inter- and supratidal sediment volumes and hydrodynamic forcing (wave conditions and water level...

Coastal erosion in Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya) represents a major problem for archaeology and heritage management. The area is rich in archaeological sites, often understudied or not fully documented, but also has extensive stretches of vulnerable eroding coastline. This study demonstrates the extent and impact of erosion via shoreline change assessm...

During the winter storms of 2019, a deposit of organic-rich clay was fortuitously exposed in the intertidal zone of a beach near Streedagh (Co. Sligo). Impressed in the clay surface were a series of small (<10cm) paired indentations arranged in rough alignments. Their size and shape suggest that they are animal tracks; possibly red deer but not exc...

Shorefaces are transitional zones between the shelf and surfzone/beach systems. They are subdivided into ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ shoreface sectors, which display particular morphodynamic behaviour. The upper shoreface is morphologically active over short (annual) time scales, while the lower shoreface changes over much longer time scales (decadal and b...

The processes that initiate and sustain sediment transport which contribute to the modification of aeolian deposits in Mars’ low-density atmosphere are still not fully understood despite recent atmospheric modelling. However, detailed microscale wind flow modelling, using Computational Fluid Dynamics at a resolution of <2 m, provides insights into...

With the international prioritisation of sustainable development for management of marine resources and areas, those involved in marine industry are seeking how they progress their environmental, economic and social relationships, in a sustainable manner. Ocean accounting is an emerging tool that may enable stakeholders to integrate data and inform...

Using a suite of ultra-high resolution geophysical tools, remote operated vehicle dives, and isolated grab samples, we demonstrate at a regional shelf scale, the influence of antecedent geology (basement topography, shelf gradient and submerged shoreline features) on the evolving transgressive shelf stratigraphy of a subaqueous delta. The unconsoli...

Relict rocky shorelines are seemingly rarely preserved in the geological record, often underrepresented in the literature and the reasons for their scarcity, as well as the conditions needed for preservation are not well understood. On the “Wild Coast” shelf along the subtropical east coast of South Africa a series of submerged shorelines are prese...

Beachrocks are coastal sediments that are lithified through the precipitation of carbonate cements. It is widely acknowledged that lithofacies in beachrocks are variable and their interpretation is useful when using beachrock as a sea-level indicator. Surprisingly, the facies variability of beachrocks remains understudied as they are almost exclusi...

The 1969 UN Report “Problems of the Human Environment” was a seminal work that first highlighted environmental problems at a global scale. This report underpinned a series of subsequent international summits and conventions of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the subsequent three global conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification....

The use of marine resources and the settlement of coastal settlements may have influenced the bio-cultural evolution and dispersal of Pleistocene Homo sapiens in Africa. In order to test such scenarios, however, we require evidence for these behaviours deriving from an expanded spatio-temporal archaeological record. The Stone Age of South Africa do...

A review of available research into the blue carbon potential of seagrass was undertaken. This was then used to inform an analysis of the potential current, historic, and future value of carbon sequestered and stored in the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The assessed status of Zostera in the SAC highlights the extent of histori...

Contemporary microbialite formation has been documented on rock coasts in a variety of geomorphic, oceanographic, and climatic settings. Based on a synthesis of these diverse occurrences plus new observations, a generalized model is presented. At each locality microbialite development is associated with discharge of mineralized freshwater in the co...

Small, low-lying islands are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and development of effective adaptation strategies is regarded as an urgent need. Through an analysis of existing and emerging climate adaptation policies, this paper assesses the climate adaptation response in the Cayman Islands. Despite its strong economic status and...

This study examines both the inlet dynamics, recorded in the back-barrier stratigraphy of Kosi Bay, and the competing effects of waterbody segmentation on along-strike changes in the character and nature of an incised valley fill at Kosi Bay, South Africa. The Kosi Bay system comprises four interconnected lakes (Lake Makhawulani, Lake Mpungwini, La...

Classification of beach morphodynamic state relies on accurate representation of breaking wave conditions, Hb (plus grain size and spring tidal range). Measured breaking wave data, however, are absent from all but a handful of sites worldwide. Here, we apply process-based wave modelling for propagating offshore waves to the breaking zone using high...

Sandy beaches occur in a wide variety of environmental settings and as components of a diverse range of coastal system types. These variations among beaches lead to significant differences in their mesoscale (multi-decadal, km length scale) behaviour, including their response to sea-level rise. In addition to this natural variability, the degree to...

The Holocene evolution of one of Africa's largest estuaries, Lake St Lucia on the east coast of South Africa, is examined and juxtaposed with previous and contemporary management practices aimed at fixing the estuary state at a single point along the system's overall evolutionary pathway. The estuary has been heavily altered over the course of the...

Geological evidence of past storminess is fundamental for contextualizing long-term climate variability and investigating future climate. Unlike the Atlantic and Pacific basins, robust storminess reconstructions do not exist for most of the Indian Ocean, despite the hazard that tropical cyclones pose to the SE African margin. Here we combine seismi...

When compared to tide-dominated shelves, shelves swept by geostrophic flows are relatively understudied, yet geostrophic currents have the potential to construct substantial current-generated shelf bedforms. This paper examines the evolution of a series of bedforms encountered along the narrow Agulhas Current-swept northern KwaZulu-Natal shelf. The...

Multiple intertidal bar (MITB) beach systems comprise a succession of subdued, shore-parallel sandbars, developed under low energy conditions in meso- to macrotidal settings. Their relatively stable morphologies over long timescales are commonly attributed to a dynamic equilibrium, driven primarily by seasonal morphodynamics. The seasonal behaviour...

Beachrocks are a common characteristic of tropical and subtropical coastlines. It is known that they have a substantial influence on beach morphodynamics and they are commonly utilised as indicators of palaeo‐sea levels. At the same time, facies variability in beachrocks is understudied and their effect on shoreline evolution is poorly understood....

Richards Bay is part of a back-barrier lagoon fronted by high coastal dunes on the NE, Indian Ocean coast of South Africa. In the early 1970s, a berm was constructed, dividing the original Mhlathuze Estuary into two separate systems; the Richards Bay Harbour and the new Mhlathuze Estuary. This study investigates the stratigraphic evolution of the i...

Evidence for sea-level change during and around Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (ca. 125 ka) in southern Africa derives from a wide variety of geomorphic and sedimentological sea-level indicators, supported in the past 2 decades by absolute chronological control, particularly on littoral deposits, some of which have a quantifiable relationship to for...

In the context of rising sea levels, wave dominated coasts and deltas are among the most threatened of coastal landforms. The study of submerged deltas, in tandem with other drowned wave-dominated shoreline sequences, can shed light on the long-term coastal behaviour of these threatened shorelines when subject to high-end scenarios of relative sea-...

Human occupation of and alteration of the world’s coast has transformed large stretches of it into Coupled Human-Natural Systems (CHANS) in which humans both influence and are influenced by coastal evolution. In such systems, human activity is as critical on natural resilience as processes and sediment supply derived from the natural setting. Pre-...

Recent advances in structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques have proliferated the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the monitoring of coastal landform changes, particularly when applied in the reconstruction of 3D surface models from historical aerial photographs. Here, we explore a number of depth map filtering and point cloud cleaning metho...

Meso-scale airflow conditions can be observed at spatial scales of 2 – 2,000 km and temporal scales of days to months. In complex aeolian environments, where topographic steering alters regional airflow patterns, larger scale phenomena can modify micro-scale dune dynamics. Whole-island topographic steering has been observed around Gran Canaria, a h...

Modern coastal dune management is viewed largely through the prism of dune ecology. Achieving maximum biodiversity and preserving priority species are the primary objectives and management is based on interventions (grazing, mowing, burning, reseeding, and artificial destabilisation) to achieve that purpose. Under non-managed conditions, dune veget...

Ridge and runnel features were originally described by King and Williams (1949) from observations at Blackpool beach (U.K.) and laboratory experiments. They were characterised as intertidal, shore-parallel sandbars (ridges), commonly 2 to 6 bars in total, and disconnected from each other by troughs (runnels). The nomenclature ‘ridge and runnel’ was...

Evidence for sea-level change during and around Marine Isotopic Stage 5e (ca. 125 ka) in southern Africa derives from a wide variety of geomorphic and sedimentological sea-level indicators, supported in the past 2 decades by absolute chronological control. In addition to these proxies, data provided by both terrestrial (dune sediments and archaeolo...

At seasonal to century timescales (mesoscale), the shoreface is a critical zone seaward of the surf zone and/or beachface, in which waves interact with the mobile seafloor to cause morphological change. This has important (and often unacknowledged) implications for adjacent shoreline form and behaviour both now and in the near-future. The shoreface...

Airflow dynamics across dune surfaces are the primary agent of sediment transport and resulting dune migration movements. Using 3D computational fluid dynamic modelling, this study examined the behaviour of near surface airflow travelling over transverse (reversing) dunes on a beach system. Wind direction was modelled in two opposing directions (bo...

Mine-tailing dam bursts occur frequently with attendant implications for the environment and human populations. Institutional preparedness for such events plays an important role in their lasting impact. This study analyzes the stakeholder engagement in the new governance framework created to recover the Doce River ecosystem following the 2015 disa...

The shoreline evolution and the occurrence of storm events are analysed for the last two centuries in Dundrum Bay, Co. Down in the SE coast of Northern Ireland (U.K.) as part of the INTERREG MarPAMM project. The study site is a macrotidal beach (5.5 m max spring tidal range) predominantly sandy and characterised by multiple intertidal bars ('ridge...

DGPS surveys were undertaken on two beaches of Dundrum Bay (east coast of Northern Ireland, Co.Down, U.K.) and analysed to investigate the short-term morphodynamics of a multiple intertidal bar ('ridge and runnel') system, as part of the INTERREG MarPAMM project. Ballykinler (east) and Murlough beach (west) are medium to coarse sand environments su...

Wind flows on Mars are the dominant contemporary force driving sediment transport and associated morphological change on the planet's dune fields. To fully understand the atmospheric-surface interactions occurring on the dunes, investigations need to be conducted at appropriate length scales (at or below that of any landform features being examined...

It has been asserted by Vousdoukas et al., that climate change, in particular global sea-level rise (SLR), poses a threat to the existence of sandy beaches. The authors used global data bases of sandy beaches, bathymetry, wave conditions and SLR to drive a simple model based on the ‘Bruun Rule’ to quantitatively evaluate shoreline retreat. To this...

Conventional aeolian sand transport models relate mass transport rate to wind speed or shear velocity, usually expressed and empirically tested on a 1‐second time‐scale. Projections of total sand delivery over long time‐scales based on these models are highly sensitive to any small bias arising from statistical fitting on empirical data. We analyse...

This paper investigates the interplay between allocyclic controls and antecedent topography in the evolution of submerged coastal landforms, including a back-stepped delta. Using high-resolution tools, we examine the wave-dominated Thukela shelf, and define the major seismic units. Key features identified comprise incised valleys scoured into bedro...

Most assessments of coastal vulnerability are undertaken from the perspective of the risk posed to humans, their property and activities. This anthropocentric view is based on widespread public perception (a) that coastal change is primarily a hazard to property and infrastructure and (b) that sea defenses (whether soft or hard) are required to mit...

In the context of global climate change and sea-level rise, coastal dunes are often important elements in the coastal response to storm wave and storm surge impacts on coastal lowlands. Vegetation cover, in turn, has profound impacts on coastal dune morphology and storm-buffering function; it binds existing sediment, promotes fresh sediment accumul...

Shorelines respond to rising sea-level through processes such as erosion, landward migration and in-situ drowning (i.e. overstepping). Submerged and preserved shorelines on the continental shelf play a key role in examining coastal response to rising sea levels as they provide important information on how modern shorelines may evolve in time and sp...

Beachrock may be considered a reliable indicator of sea level, in addition to a reliable and recognizable source for onshore movement of beachrock clasts by overwash processes associated with extreme events. Key to this is its geomorphology and preservation potential, both of which are poorly understood. Here we examine the processes and deposits a...

The interplay of eustatic and isostatic factors causes complex relative sea‐level (RSL) histories, particularly in paraglacial settings. In this context the past record of RSL is important in understanding ice‐sheet history, earth rheology and resulting glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Field data to develop sea‐level reconstructions are often limited t...

Elongate, rock-framed Santa Catarina Island partly encloses a low-energy marine embayment that communicates with the ocean via narrow, rock-bounded inlets with ebb and flood-tide deltas. The bay shoreline consists of low-energy sandy beaches, strandplains, mangroves and bayhead deltas while the exposed Atlantic shoreline comprises a series of headl...

The morphodynamics and structure of barriers with persistent tidal inlets have been well studied. In contrast the stratigraphy and functioning of barrier systems with ephemeral inlets is poorly understood. This paper examines the barrier‐inlet systems of two intermittently closed open lagoons or temporarily open closed estuaries on the east coast o...

The Patos Lagoon in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is part of the largest barrier lagoon system in the world. It is enclosed by a 400-km-long composite late Pleistocene/Holocene sandy barrier and has a single tidal inlet. The modern lagoon is shallow (average <5 m) and is dominated by silt deposition. More than 1000 km of shallow seismic data (3.5 kHz)...

The Patos Lagoon in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is part of the largest barrier lagoon system in the world. It is enclosed by a 400-km-long composite late Pleistocene/Holocene sandy barrier and has a single tidal inlet. The modern lagoon is shallow (average < 5 m) and is dominated by silt deposition. More than 1000 km of shallow seismic data (3.5 kHz...

Beaches of tropical island coasts exhibit high levels of diversity in composition and form in comparison with their continental counterparts. To investigate the nature and origin of this diversity, individual beach morphology and sedimentology was investigated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a Caribbean archipelago of > 60 high volcanic and lo...

Winter storms have significant morphological impacts in coastal areas, often leading to extensive infrastructure damage and socio-economic disruption. While storm-dominated coastal environments, such as the northwest coast of Ireland, are generally attuned to highly energetic wave conditions, morphological impacts can be intensified by changes in t...

The barrier islands that fringe the western shore of the Outer Hebrides are globally unusual in that they are developed on a planated bedrock (strandflat) surface. They also contain the most extensive area of machair (a distinctive vegetated sandy plain) in the British Isles. This paper presents the first investigation of the internal structure and...

Sea-level change around southern Africa (southern Namibia, South Africa, southern Mozambique) since Termination I has been quantified using a variety of indicators. Existing and new data are reviewed to provide a baseline for future studies and identify key research needs and opportunities in the region. While the southern African records broadly a...

Winter storms have significant morphological impacts in coastal areas, often leading to extensive infrastructure damage and socioeconomic disruption. While storm-dominated coastal environments, such as the northwest coast of Ireland, are generally attuned to highly energetic wave conditions, morphological impacts can be intensified by changes in th...

Rapid cementation (<5 years) of beachrock is reported from the wave-dominated, microtidal coastline of Durban, South Africa. The beachrock is developing at mean sea level on a steep (10°–30°), reflective beach prone to periodic erosion by high-energy wave action; the most recent erosional event resulted in retrogradation of the beach by up to 10 m...

Dune length scale airflow modelling provides new insights on aeolian bedform response and complex near surface 3D wind patterns not previously resolved by mesoscale models. At a 1-m surface resolution, Curiosity wind data is used to investigate the aeolian environment of the Namib dune on Mars, providing improved seasonal constraints on grainfall,...

This study achieves the highest resolution of airflow modelling thus far in the study of martian aeolian dynamics by employing a High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the Namib dune in Gale Crater at a 1-meter resolution. At this resolution, sub-dune scale bedforms, not previously resolved by mesoscale m...

Models relating wind forcing to resulting sand transport flux have been at the core of the discipline from its conception and remain an important central focus. The desired capability to accurately predict the amounts of sand that are moved in response to any given wind regime is one of the key practical applications of our scientific efforts. A pl...

The Rio Grande do Sul (RS) coastal plain area (33,000 km2) had its physiography modified several times through the Quaternary, responding to allogenic and autogenic forcings. The Patos Lagoon covers a significant area of RS coastal plain (10,000 km2), where incised valleys were identified in previous works. About 1,000 km of high resolution (3.5 kH...

In 2015, an active dune field on Mars was visited up close by the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater providing the first high resolution ground images of fine scale windblown features not previously resolved from orbital-based imagery. For the first time, these images allow for direct comparison with terrestrial aeolian dynamics and provide critical gr...