Ian Townend

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Verified

Ian verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• BSc
• Visiting Professor at University of Southampton

The dynamic interplay between microbial communities and sediment transport shapes continental landscapes and influences particulate matter fluxes across the Earth’s surface. Microbial colonization transforms individual sediment grains into aggregates with intricate and varied morphologies, complicating sediment transport. However, current models of...

Branching networks are key elements in natural landscapes and have attracted sustained research interest across the geosciences and numerous intersecting fields. The prevailing consensus has long held that branching networks are optimized and exhibit fractal properties adhering to power-law scaling relationships. However, tidal networks in coastal...

Introduction Tidal marsh wetlands provide essential and valuable services to the wider interconnected marine and coastal environment, although the complex intertwined processes in morphological evolution remain insufficiently understood owing to synchronized data scarcity, limiting the development of numerical models and management strategies. Met...

The dynamic interplay between microbial communities and sediment transport shapes continental landscapes and influences particulate matter fluxes across the Earth’s surface. Microbial colonization, with its ubiquitous presence, transforms individual sediment grains into aggregates with intricate and varied morphologies, making sediment transport pr...

Future sediment transport from the North Sea coasts to the Dutch Wadden Sea for various future sea level scenarios has been studied because it influences the future sand nourishment demand for the maintenance of the coastline and because it determines bio-geomorphological development of the Wadden Sea. The present study focuses on two questions whi...

Coastal defences have long provided protection from erosion and flooding to cities, towns and villages. In many parts of the world, continued defence is being questioned due to both environmental, sustainability and economic considerations. This is exemplified in England and Wales, where strategic Shoreline Management Plans envisage realignment of...

In coastal areas, biofilms are often subject to disturbance by hydrodynamic forcing, bioturbation and human activities. These factors affect the influences biofilms have on the sediment. To reveal these effects, we studied laboratory-incubated and field-collected biotic sediments reworked by disturbances, and examined their stabilities and three-di...

River discharge is known to enhance tidal damping and tidal wave deformation in estuaries. While the damping effect on astronomical tides has been well documented, river impact on tidal wave deformation and associated overtide generation (shallow water harmonics of one or more astronomical constituents, such as M4) remains insufficiently understood...

For operational use there is a need to identify a set of measures that quantify the resilience. The ‘CoastRes’ project, a component of the UK Climate Resilience Programme, examined how an operational interpretation of resilience might be applied to the coast, building on existing approaches to shoreline management in the UK. The development of the...

Crab burrows play an important role in saltmarsh wetlands and are a useful indicator of wetland condition. The spatiotemporal distribution of crab burrows varies considerably in tidal wetlands. However, the reasons for these variations are poorly understood, in part, due to the limited availability of comprehensive field data. Based on a two-year c...

Adaptation in and around estuaries, to ensure the future resilience of both the natural environment and the communities that are located alongside is an increasingly pressing need. As part of an adaptation planning program for the Basque estuaries (northern Spain, south-eastern Bay of Biscay), a modelling system to simulate the morphological respon...

Understanding and predicting the geomorphological response of fluvial and tidal channels to bank retreat underpins the robust management of water courses and the protection of wetlands.

Reclamation of low‐lying tidal flats and floodplains adjacent to present shorelines has been implemented worldwide for both coastal defense and development. While it is technically feasible to monitor the short‐term impact of tidal flat embankments, it is challenging to identify long‐term and cumulative morphodynamic impact, particularly considerin...

Bank retreat plays a fundamental role in fluvial and estuarine dynamics. It affects the cross‐sectional evolution of channels, provides a source of sediment, and modulates the diversity of habitats. Understanding and predicting the geomorphological response of fluvial/tidal channels to external driving forces underpins the robust management of wate...

Crab burrows play an important role in saltmarsh wetlands and are a useful indicator of wetland condition. The spatiotemporal distribution of crab burrows varies considerably in tidal wetlands. However, the reasons for these variations are poorly understood, in part, due to the limited availability of comprehensive field data. Based on a two-year c...

El cambio climático y el ascenso del nivel del mar (ANM) son una amenaza creciente e inevitable para los estuarios del planeta, por lo que aumentar su resiliencia es un requisito ineludible. En este contexto, se ha iniciado un programa de investigación para determinar las medidas de adaptación a tomar en los estuarios del País Vasco, incluyendo el...

“How can I stand on the ground every day and not feel its power? How can I live my life stepping on this stuff and not wonder at it?”—W. B. Logan. As the evidence for early life in the earth's sedimentary environment has shown, microorganisms are at least 3,770 million years old in sedimentary rocks, while each sand grain can harbor a highly diver...

Researchers have extensively investigated the back-barrier islands morphodynamics using numerical methods. However, the influence of rocky mouth islands, which may be submerged by sea-level rise, has been rarely explored. Using the Dongshan Bay in southern China as a reference, this study numerically explores the long-term morphodynamic effect of g...

Understanding the interactions between dune systems and beaches is critical to determining the short‐term shoreline response and the long‐term resilience. In this study, almost 15 years of monthly beach/dune measurements were analyzed for three different profiles at Vougot Beach, France to understand and predict shoreline changes from intra‐annual to...

The use of power law forms to describe hydraulic geometry is a classic subject with a history of over 70 years. Two distinct forms of power laws have been proposed: at-a-station hydraulic geometry (AHG) and downstream hydraulic geometry (DHG). Although the utility of these semiempirical expressions is widely recognized, they remain poorly understoo...

The morphodyamics of back-barrier tidal basins have been extensively investigated by numerical modelling, but the influence of mouth islands (which may be submerged under future sea level rise) has been rarely explored. Using the Dongshan Bay in southern China as a reference site, we explore numerically the effects of geological constraints (i.e.,...

Global climate changes have accelerated sea-level rise (SLR), which exacerbates the risks of coastal flooding and erosion. It is of practical interest to understand the long-term hydro-morphodynamic adaptation of coastal systems to SLR at a century time scale. In this work we use a numerical model to explore morphodynamic evolution of a schematized...

This session will critically examine new and emerging approaches to adaptation using three contrasting themes to illustrate key issues. The session will comprise 3 panels on: Conservation/biodiversity, Coastal Systems and Urban Systems. Each panel will address the common themes of (a) co-benefits and transformation issues; (b) how to handle uncerta...

Understanding sediment sorting and bedding dynamics has high value to unravelling the mechanisms underlying geomorphological, geological, ecological and environmental imprints of tidal wetlands and hence to predicting their future changes. Using the Nanhui tidal flat on the Changjiang (Yangtze) Delta, China, as a reference site, this study establis...

Resilience is widely seen as an important attribute of coastal systems and, as a concept, is increasingly prominent in policy documents. However, there are conflicting ideas on what constitutes resilience and its operationalisation as an overarching principle of coastal management remains limited. In this paper, we show how resilience to coastal fl...

Tidal waves traveling into estuaries are modulated in amplitude and shape due to bottom friction, funneling planform and river discharge. The role of river discharge on damping incident tides has been well-documented, whereas our understanding of the impact on overtide is incomplete. Inspired by findings from tidal data analysis, in this study we u...

Plain Language Summary The term “ecosystem engineering” emerged in the 1990s, which commonly refers to the activities of larger organisms like mangroves. However, while people think that bigger organisms generate bigger potential engineering effects, there may be microscale organisms who can result in significant impacts on the ecosystems through t...

The flocculation process of cohesive sediment impacts upon estuaries and tidal flats by affecting the sediment dynamics, modifying the biogeochemical exchanges, and playing an essential role in coastal ecosystems and geomorphologic evolution. To understand the roles of biological activity on flocculation processes in aquaculture areas, here we unde...

A better understanding of how tidal-flat reclamation changes the flood hazard is critical for climate-proofing coastal flood defense design of heavily urbanized areas. Since the 1950s, large-scale reclamation has been performed along the Shanghai coast, China, to fulfill the land demands of city expansion. We now show that the loss of tidal flats m...

The Oka estuary (Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, SE Bay of Biscay) is a semi-di-urnal and mesotidal drowned fluvial valley composed of shallow intertidal sandy and muddy flats and marshes. Waves are a dominant influence on the enclosing spit and on the ebb tidal delta known as the Mundaka sand bar, a worldwide recognized surfing spot. Furthermore, sedi...

The landscape setting for an estuary varies widely and is an important aspect of determining how they evolve. This paper focusses on alluvial estuaries in river valleys and how they respond to sea level rise. We examine the implications of marine transgression, as a response to sea level rise, where the estuary moves upwards and landwards to mainta...

Many of the world’s coastlines are vulnerable to erosion and at risk from tidal flooding. Addressing and managing these risks presents major challenges especially when seeking to sustainably balance the requirements for coastal protection with other economic, environmental, and societal objectives. The nature and scale of these challenges varies gr...

In the UK, coastal flooding and erosion are two of the primary climate-related hazards to communities, businesses, and infrastructure. To better address the ramifications of those hazards, now and into the future, the UK needs to transform its scattered, fragmented coastal data resources into a systematic, integrated, quality-controlled, openly acc...

In the UK, coastal flooding and erosion are two of the primary climate-related hazards to communities, businesses, and infrastructure. To better address the ramifications of those hazards, now and into the future, the UK needs to transform its scattered, fragmented coastal data resources into a systematic, integrated, quality-controlled, openly acc...

Collinear wave-current shear interactions are often assumed to be the same for currents following or opposing the direction of regular wave propagation; with momentum and mass exchanges restricted to the thin oscillating boundary layer (zero-flux condition) and enhanced but equal wave-averaged bed shear stresses. To examine these assumptions, a pro...

Resilience is widely seen as an important attribute of coastal systems and, as a concept, is increasingly prominent in policy documents. However, there are conflicting ideas on what constitutes resilience and its operationalisation as an overarching principle of coastal management remains limited. In this paper, we show how resilience to coastal fl...

The description of the geomorphic characteristics in power law forms has been the subject of research, over the past 70 years, and has become the cornerstone of regime theory. However, just why power functions should represent such geomorphic relationships remains poorly understood. Hence, differences in the values of the regime exponents observed...

Tidal waves traveling into estuaries are modified by channel geometry and river flow. The damping effect of river flow on incident astronomical tides is well documented, whereas its impact on low-frequency tides like MSf and Mm is poorly understood. In this contribution, we employ a numerical model to explore low-frequency tidal behavior under vary...

In order to estimate sediment organic carbon budget in coastal oceans and continental shelves, a first step is to estimate how much of the deposited organic matter is retained within a sediment matrix, for further remineralization and preservation on a geological timescale, rather being physically flushed away by benthic flow. This question becomes...

Aggregation is used to represent the real world in a model at an appropriate level of abstraction. We used the convection-diffusion equation to examine the implications of aggregation progressing from a three-dimensional (3D) spatial description to a model representing a system as a single box that exchanges sediment with the adjacent environment....

Beaches around the world continuously adjust to daily and seasonal changes in wave and tide conditions, which are themselves changing over longer time-scales. Different approaches to predict multi-year shoreline evolution have been implemented; however, robust and reliable predictions of shoreline evolution are still problematic even in short-term...

Salinity difference between the terrestrial river discharge and the oceanic tidal water plays a role in modifying the local flow field and, as a consequence, estuarine morphodynamics. Although widely recognized, recent numerical studies exploring the long‐term morphological evolution of river‐influenced estuaries with two‐dimensional, depth‐average...

A re-analysis of historical data from two field campaigns was undertaken to examine the accuracy of measurements of bed load ( Q_b ) and total transport ( Q_tot ) of sand in (1) a wave-dominant shoreface off western Newfoundland, Canada, and (2) a tide-dominant inlet of Venice Lagoon, Italy. Video tapes recorded within Sea Carou...

Climate change, and especially the associated acceleration of sea-level rise, forms a serious threat to the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea contains the world’s largest coherent intertidal flat area and it is known that these flats can drown when the rate of sea-level rise exceeds a critical limit. As a result, the intertidal flats would then be permane...

p>Estuary morphologies are dynamic systems, and their stabilities are dependent on various forcing conditions, including tides, waves, and fluvial inputs. However, during the past half century, massive anthropogenic interventions have occurred in many estuaries around the world, resulting in substantial changes in morphologies. Here, we examine suc...

p>Many large rivers in the world delivers decreasing sediment loads to coastal oceans owing to reductions in sediment yield and disrupted sediment deliver. Understanding the sediment load regime is a prerequisite of sediment management and fluvial and deltaic ecosystem restoration. This work examines sediment load changes across the Changjiang Rive...

Tidal wave deformation and tidal asymmetry widely occur in tidal estuaries and lagoons. Tidal asymmetry has been intensively studied because of its controlling role on residual sediment transport and large‐scale morphological evolution. There are several methods available to characterize tidal asymmetry prompting the need for an overview of their a...

Predictions of shoreline change are of great societal importance, but models tend to be tested and tuned for the specific site of interest. To overcome this issue and test the ability of numerical models to simulate shoreline change over the medium scale (order of years) we have organized a non-competitive competition where participants were given...

Biofilm-sediment aggregate (BSA) contains a high water content, either within internal pores and channels, or bound by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) forming a highly hydrated biofilm matrix. Desiccation of BSAs alters the biofilm morphology and thus the physical characteristics of porous media, such as the binding matrix within BSA and i...

The geomorphology of the Yangtze Estuary in the Changjiang River Delta in Eastern China has been the subject of extensive research. This study extends previous work to examine the influence of wind-waves on the mouth-bar, where about half of the river-borne material settles to the bed. The site is located just outside of Changjiang River mouth, whi...

Simple stability relationships are practically useful to provide a rapid assessment of coastal and estuarine landforms in response to human interventions and long‐term climate change. In this contribution, we review a variety of simple stability relationships which are based on the analysis of tidal asymmetry (shortened to “TA”). Most of the existi...

The ability to model morphological changes on complex, multi-landform coasts over decadal to centennial timescales is essential for sustainable coastal management worldwide. One approach involves coupling of landform-specific simulation models (e.g. cliffs, beaches, dunes and estuaries) that have been independently developed. An alternative, novel...

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are ubiquitous on tidal flats but their impact on sediment erosion has not been fully understood. Laboratory-controlled sediment beds were incubated with Bacillus subtilis for 5, 10, 16 and 22 days before the erosion experiments, to study the temporal and spatial variations in sediment stability caused by th...

Morphodynamic equilibrium is a widely adopted yet elusive concept in the field of geomorphology of coasts, rivers and estuaries. Based on the Exner equation, an expression of mass conservation of sediment, we distinguish three types of equilibrium defined as static and dynamic, of which two different types exist. Other expressions such as statistic...

Modelling coastal morphological changes at decadal to centennial time scales is required to support sustainable coastal management world-wide. One approach involves coupling of landform-specific components (e.g. cliff, beach, dunes, estuaries, etc.) that have been independently developed. An alternative, and novel approach explored in this paper is...

Whilst much attention has been given to models that describe wave, tide and sediment transport processes in sufficient detail to determine the local changes in bed level over a relatively detailed representation of the bathymetry, far less attention has been given to models that consider the problem at a much larger scale (e.g. that of geomorpholog...

All North Sea countries are confronted by climate change impacts such as accelerated sea-level rise, increasing storm intensities resulting in as well higher set-up of storm surges as growing wave energy and a follow-up of morphological changes. Thus it is necessary to question the effectiveness of existing coastal protection strategies and to exam...

Whilst much attention has been given to models that describe wave, tide and sediment transport processes in sufficient detail to determine the local changes in bed level over a relatively detailed representation of the bathymetry, far less attention has been given to models that consider the problem at a much larger scale (e.g. that of geomorpholog...

Intertidal mudflats are often characterized by a special “very shallow water” environment, with a water depth in the order of 10 cm. High-resolution data including water depth, wave parameters, velocity profiles (within 3–6 cm above the mudflat surface with a vertical resolution as fine as 1 mm), stratified suspended sediment concentration (SSC) an...

Coastal and shoreline management increasingly needs to consider morphological change occurring at decadal to centennial timescales, especially that related to climate change and sea-level rise. This requires the development of morphological models operating at a mesoscale, defined by time and length scales of the order 101 to 102 years and 101 to 1...

The suspension of sediments by oscillatory flows is a complex case of fluid–particle interaction. The aim of this study is to provide insight into the spatial (time) and scale (frequency) relationships between wave-generated boundary layer turbulence and event-driven sediment transport beneath irregular shoaling and breaking waves in the nearshore...

Tidal rivers are intrinsically complex because tidal propagation is influenced by river discharge. This study aims to examine the seasonal variation of tidal prism and energy variance in the tidal river of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River estuary in China. In order to quantify the behaviour of river and tide, we use numerical modelling that has been...

In many large estuaries there are significant variations in flow conditions due to the interaction between tide (with spring–neap changes) and river discharge (with wet–dry seasons), which is key to understanding the evolution of the morphology and the resultant equilibrium state. To explore whether there exists an equilibrium state, and what might...

We extend a numerical model to explore the morphodynamics of intertidal flats, with a specific focus on the sorting dynamics of sand and mud. We investigate the effect of tidal currents, wind waves, sediment properties, external sediment supply, flocculation and initial bed composition on the cross-shore profile shape and sediment sorting of intert...

The increasing complexity of numerical modelling systems in environmental sciences has led to the development of different supporting architectures. Integrated environmental modelling can be undertaken by building a ‘super-model’ simulating many processes or by using a generic coupling framework to dynamically link distinct separate models during r...

We investigate the morphodynamics of river-influenced barrier basins numerically, with a particular emphasis on the effects of landscape and hydrodynamic settings. The simulated morphologies are qualitatively comparable to natural systems (e.g., tidal inlets along the East Coast of the U.S.). Model results suggest that the basin morphology is gover...

The nodal tide causes a periodic variation in the mean tidal range, with a period of 18.6 years and amplitude of about 4% of the mean range. As the cross-sectional area of the channel in an estuary has been observed to be related to the tidal prism, such a variation of the tidal range can significantly influence the morphological development of tid...