
Larissa A. NaylorUniversity of Glasgow | UofG · School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Larissa A. Naylor
D.Phil., BSc.
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93
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Introduction
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August 2014 - March 2016
Publications
Publications (93)
Attempts to understand the morphodynamics of rock coasts focus on the nature and rate of erosion and how this influences the evolution of coastal profiles over century to millennial timescales. Biological contributions to this process are often ignored or treated in a rather simplistic way as merely producing microscale decreases in rock strength....
Understanding the complex, non-linear ways in which linked ecological and geomorphological systems respond to disturbance is important to improving both theoretical understanding and practical environmental management. Some simple conceptual models have been proposed to describe biogeomorphological responses to disturbance within fluvial and aeolia...
Although biogeomorphological research is well-established, with many studies on a range of two-way interrelations between organisms and geomorphology in different environments, there is little consensus over what constitutes biogeomorphology, why it might be useful and where it is heading. Starting with definitions of core biogeomorphic processes,...
In this paper, we quantitatively demonstrate that dominant erosion processes on different shore platforms can be explained, in part, by geological properties. We selected sites with a considerable history of rock coast geomorphology study, to evaluate whether geological data can improve our understanding of spatial variations in erosion between sit...
Public satellite platforms offer regular observations for global coastal monitoring and climate change risk management strategies. Unfortunately, shoreline positions derived from satellite imagery, representing changes in intertidal topography, are noisy and subject to tidal bias that requires correction. The seaward‐most vegetation boundary reflec...
Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals may only be possible if human activities are central to critical zone science.
There is a growing global emphasis on sustainable agriculture to reduce human impacts and improve delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With increasing investment in critical zone observatories (CZOs), it becomes important to understand how sustainable agricultural knowledge is produced, shared and used between different groups includin...
Critical Zone Science (CZS) explores the deep evolution of landscapes from the base of the groundwater or the saprolite‐rock interface to the top of vegetation, the zone that supports all terrestrial life. Here we propose a framework for CZS to evolve further as a discipline, building on 1st generation CZOs in natural systems and 2nd generation CZO...
Hard coastal defences support lower biodiversity than natural rocky shores. Ecological enhancement on coastal structures can improve biodiversity by increasing habitat heterogeneity. Most studies have investigated the effect of only one type of texture on intertidal biodiversity. There is a lack of eco-engineering designs that mimic the complexity...
Estuarine and coastal ecosystems support high biological productivity and provide important societal benefits including food production, carbon sequestration and alleviating erosion and flood risks for coastal communities. Coastal systems respond dynamically to changing conditions where they are unconstrained by artificial assets and infrastructure...
Shoreline positions reflect the underlying morphology of the beach and can act as an indicator of changes in wave climate and sediment transport across a beach system. However, the ever-moving nature of the shoreline means the instantaneous measure can pose tidal biases and noise problems in seasonal timeseries. The seaward- most boundary of vegeta...
This study developed a series of new, semi-automated methods for quantitatively analysing the contribution of rock weathering processes and geological control on shore platform evolution and boulder production. We used high resolution Digital Surface Models (DSMs) and orthoimages to map and classify a series of geomorphological and geological contr...
Dynamic Coast Aims
The Dynamic Coast project aims to provide the strategic
evidence base on the extent of coastal erosion in Scotland.
This will support the Scottish Government and the
Scottish Public Sector decision-making and indicate areas
of highest coastal erosion risk, where a more detailed
evidence base may be required. The initial research...
The Scottish Government’s Dynamic Coast project aims to:
• Improve the evidence on coastal change;
• Improve the awareness of coastal change;
• Support decision-makers to ensure Scotland’s coast and assets can adapt to our future climate.
Social Justice is an increasingly important policy consideration for the Scottish Government, particularly in relation to Climate Justice. Currently, spatial planning and risk management decisions within Scotland do not typically take account of the relative disadvantage of socio-economic groups across coastal communities. especially in relation to...
Estuaries and coasts (hereafter, coasts) host some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth (Mann 1982 ), where a diversity of geomorphological processes create coastal landforms that range from wave dominated hard rock cliffs, shore platforms, and sandy beaches to more vegetated tide dominated landforms such as saltmarshes and mangr...
Estuaries and coasts (hereafter, coasts) host some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth (Mann 1982), where a diversity of geomorphological processes create coastal landforms that range from wave dominated hard rock cliff s, shore platforms, and sandy beaches to more vegetated tide dominated landforms such as saltmarshes and mangr...
San Salvador (Bahamas) is a carbonate island with dozens of flank margin caves formed in the phreatic zone by fresh seawater mixing within the freshwater lens. These caves have no direct connection with the sea, and form at or close to the tidally influenced fluctuating water table. After sea-level fall, in their subaerial parts caves are enlarged...
Worldwide, karst terrain is highly sensitive to human activity due to extensive areas of thin soil and rapid water flow to groundwater. In the southwest China karst region, poor farming decisions can promote land degradation and reduce water quality with negative consequences for livelihoods in a region where farmers already suffer from the highest...
ABSTRACT Up to 19% of Scotland’s varied and dynamic coast is classified as soft and potentially erodible. These soft coasts are under increasing risk of coastal erosion and coastal flooding, driven by observed sea level rise (predicted to accelerate) and by potential changes in storm wave impact. We present here a method to quantitatively predict c...
The majority of shore platforms form in rocks that are characterised by layered stratigraphy and pervasive jointing. Plucking of weathered, joint and bed bounded blocks is an important erosion process that existing models of platform development do not represent. Globally, measuring platform erosion rates have focused on microscale (< 1 mm) surface...
Understanding social-ecological system (SES) feedbacks and interactions is crucial to improving societal resilience to growing environmental challenges. Social-ecological systems are usually researched at one of two spatial scales: local placed-based empirical studies or system-scale modelling, with limited efforts to date exploring the merits of c...
Karst aquifers have distinctive hydrology and supply 25% of the world's population with drinking water, making them a critical geological setting for understanding and managing microbial water pollution. Rainfall causes elevated concentrations and loading of faecal microorganisms, e.g. E. coli, in catchment surface and groundwater systems, increasi...
In order to enhance the ecological value of vertical hard coastal structures, hybrid designs with complex surface textures (such as a combination of grooves and pits) have been recommended. This strategy optimises ecological colonisation at two spatial scales: 1) at the mm-scale for barnacle abundance (shown to have bioprotective capabilities), and...
Large boulder-size clasts can represent important archives of high energy erosional wave activity at the coast. From tropical coral reefs to high-latitude eroding cliffs, boulders have been used to hindcast the frequency and magnitude (height) of waves produced by both storms and tsunami. Such reconstructions are based on the balance between the hy...
Global to local environmental policy-making is increasingly evidenced-based. Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly used by environmental scientists and policymakers, to deliver evidence-based policy and practice. There is thus an urgent need to identify whether and how knowledge is exchanged between knowledge producers and users in environmenta...
Large boulder-size clasts can represent important archives of high energy erosional wave activity at the coast. From tropical coral reefs to high-latitude eroding cliffs, boulders have been used to hindcast the frequency and magnitude (height) of waves produced by both storms and tsunami. Such reconstructions are based on the balance between the hy...
Knowledge exchange (KE) has been increasingly used to translate the scientific findings to produce outputs that inform land users and policy makers to lead to the sustainable environmental management. As part of the wider China-UK Critical Zone (CZ) programme, a KE research project was conducted to help ensure research results can be more effective...
The report summaries the first stage output from the Knowledge Exchange (KE) research carried out in one of China’s rural areas in the karst landscape, aiming to understand the local knowledge sharing dynamic and learning preference of stakeholders. A social science survey was carried out in November 2016 in 7 villages of Puding County to 15 county...
This report presents the output from the Knowledge Exchange research project within the China-UK Critical Zone (CZ) programme in China from 2016 to 2018, co-funded by NERC (UK) and NCSF (China). The project focused on understanding: (i) the current ways in which Chinese leaders, farmers and residents learn from scientists; (ii) their preference for...
This paper presents a new framework of critical success factors (CSF) that is being developed to aid approval of ecological enhancements and green engineering options in cities, historic conservation areas, estuaries and at the coast. This is intended to support asset managers, engineers, conservation and biodiversity teams, decision-makers, and ot...
Human exposure to water contaminated with faeces is a leading cause of worldwide ill-health. Contaminated water can be transmitted rapidly in karst terrain as a result of the connectivity of surface and groundwater systems, high transmissivity of aquifers over large areas, and well-developed underground conduit systems. Faecal indicator organisms (...
The main objective of this study is to provide an evidence base of the projected extent of
sea-level rise (SLR) and storm surges in the Firth of Clyde, and associated risks to vulnerable habitats, coastal communities, and infrastructure in order to inform development planning and other strategies such as flood risk management and regional marine pl...
We investigate how waves are transformed across a shore platform as this is a central question in rock coast geomorphology. We present results from deployment of three pressure transducers over four days, across a sloping, wide (~200 m) cliff-backed shore platform in a macrotidal setting, in South Wales, United Kingdom. Cross shore variations in wa...
Coastlines are very often places where the impacts of global change are felt most keenly, and they are also often sites of high values and intense use for industry, human habitation, nature conservation and recreation. In many countries, coastlines are a key contested territory for planning for climate change, and also locations where development a...
The authors present key design, construction and ecological enhancement criteria for sustainable coastal defence structures at Hartlepool, UK, a high-energy wave climate. Such 'ecologically favourable' coastal defences fulfil the habitats directive and key engineering and cost criteria. Bird, rocky intertidal ecological and biogeomorphological data...
The concept of transformation in relation to climate and other global change is increasingly receiving attention. The concept provides important opportunities to help examine how rapid and fundamental change to address contemporary global challenges can be facilitated. This paper contributes to discussions about transformation by providing a social...
The growing number of artificial structures in estuarine, coastal and marine environments is causing “ocean sprawl”. Artificial structures do not only modify marine and coastal ecosystems at the sites of their placement, but may also produce larger-scale impacts through their alteration of ecological connectivity - the movement of organisms, materi...
Extensive development and construction in marine and coastal systems is driving a phenomenon known as “ocean sprawl”. Ocean sprawl removes or transforms marine habitats through the addition of artificial structures and some of the most significant impacts are occurring in sedimentary environments. Marine sediments have substantial social, ecologica...
Sedentary and mobile organisms grow profusely on hard substrates within the coastal zone and contribute to the deterioration of coastal engineering structures and the geomorphic evolution of rocky shores by both enhancing and retarding weathering and erosion. There is a lack of quantitative evidence for the direction and magnitude of these effects....
The degree to which the climate change signal can be seen in the increasing frequency and/or magnitude of extreme events forms a key part of the global environmental change agenda. Geomorphology engages with this debate through extending the instrumental record with palaeogeomorphological research; studying resilience and recovery of geomorphic sys...
The increasing frequency and/or severity of extreme climate events are becoming increasingly apparent over multi-decadal timescales at the global scale, albeit with relatively low scientific confidence. At the regional scale, scientific confidence in the future trends of extreme event likelihood is stronger, although the trends are spatially variab...
The increasing frequency and/or severity of extreme climate events are becoming increasingly apparent over multi-decadal timescales at the global scale, albeit with relatively low scientific confidence. At the regional scale, scientific confidence in the future trends of extreme event likelihood is stronger, although the trends are spatially variab...
The degree to which the climate change signal can be seen in the increasing frequency and/or magnitude of extreme events forms a key part of the global environmental change agenda. Geomorphology engages with this debate through extending the instrumental record with palaeogeomorphological research; studying resilience and recovery of geomorphic sys...
GM6.2/BG9.43/SSS9.36 Biogeomorphology: conceptualising and quantifying processes, rates and feedbacks Dear colleague, we are organizing a session on Biogeomorphology at the next EGU General Assembly Meeting in Vienna (23-28 April 2017). The session focusses on the investigation of feedbacks between Ecology and Geomorphology, and includes wetland an...
Extreme wave events in coastal zones are principal drivers of geomorphic change. Evidence of boulder entrainment and erosional impact during storms is increasing. However, there is currently poor time coupling between pre- and post-storm measurements of coastal boulder deposits. Importantly there are no data reporting shore platform erosion, boulde...
The drilling device allows identification of changes in the structure of a sample: • By measuring the power required to drill, structural changes (including porosity changes) at depth within the sample can be located. • Compared to conventional drilling: penetration of the rock with less damage to vulnerable stone and a fast progress rate into hard...
Karst caves are unique biogeomorphological systems. Cave walls offer habitat for microorganismswhich in-turn
have a geomorphological role via their involvement in rock weathering, erosion and mineralisation. The
attenuation of light with distance into caves is known to affect ecology, but the implications of this for
biogeomorphological processes a...
Benthic organisms can form a persistent biological layer that mediates processes of rock deterioration and limits the degradation of the underlying surface. In this study we investigated the bioprotective potential of barnacle encrustations against salt weathering processes, and discuss their possible role in enhancing the durability of coastal eng...
Rocky landforms dominate large portions of the world’s coast. Cliffs and shore platforms form spectacular landscapes, yet when compared to other landforms they are relatively unstudied with many contemporary controversies dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The past decade has seen a reinvigoration of research driven by advances in technolog...
Non-destructive tools capable of measuring the condition and geomechanical properties of construction materials through time are of considerable value in engineering. Here, the ability of the Equotip durometer (Proceq, type D) to detect changes in the hardness of concrete and rock exposed to marine conditions was tested. Results indicated a progres...
As well as their destructive roles, plants, animals and microorganisms
contribute to geomorphology and ecology via direct and indirect
bioprotection, which can reduce weathering and erosion. For example,
indirect bioprotection can operate via biotic influences on microclimate
whereby physical decay processes associated with fluctuations in
temperat...
Urbanisation is recognised as a major pressure on coastal biodiversity. Increasing risks of flooding and erosion associated with future climate change indicate that new hard infrastructure will have to continue to be built – and existing structures upgraded – in areas of high social and economic value. Ecological enhancement involves undertaking ma...
Bioerosion on rocky shores has been frequently reported as an important mechanism in coastal evolution, with less attention focussed on determining the bioprotective role organisms may have in mediating coastal erosion. This work aims, for the first time, to provide an integrated assessment of both traversing microerosion meter (TMEM) downwearing r...
The way in which rocks and engineering materials heat‐up and dry‐out in the intertidal zone is of relevance to both weathering and ecology. These behaviours can be measured in the laboratory under controlled conditions designed to replicate those occurring in the field. Previous studies have demonstrated differences in thermal behaviours between ro...
The direct roles of microorganisms in the breakdown of rock and stone are well recognised. The ways in which animals, plants and microorganisms modify the efficiency of other weathering processes (both positively and negatively) are less well studied. Recently, macro-organisms (e.g., ivy and seaweed) have been suggested to have a bioprotective func...
Microorganisms are a ubiquitous feature of most hard substrata on Earth and their role in the geomorphological alteration of rock and stone is widely recognized. The role of microorganisms in the modification of engineering materials introduced into the intertidal zone through the construction of hard coastal defences is less well understood. Here...
We investigate some of the geological controls on boulder size, using a heterogeneous outcrop of Blue Lias limestone. Discontinuity and predicted boulder size data were collected on different layers of Blue Lias limestone on a shore platform in Wales, United Kingdom. Significant differences in joint spacing were found between the four layers examin...
This paper is the first review of coastal boulder studies; it serves as a peer-reviewed introduction to a special issue on the topic of ‘Boulders as a signature of storms on rock coasts’. Since 2004 and the Indian Ocean tsunami, most coastal boulder research has been focused on using boulders as sedimentary signatures of palaeo-tsunami events and t...
In this paper we investigate how geological contingency causes variations in scales of erosion within a single study site as opposed to variations between sites. Discontinuity data were collected on different layers of Blue Lias limestone on a shore platform in Wales, United Kingdom. Significant differences in block size were found between stratigr...
Available at: http://www.therrc.co.uk/MOT/References/EA_Ecological_Enhancements_Planning_Design_Construction_Hard_Coastal_Structures.pdf
There is growing research suggesting that coastal boulders can be entrained, transported and deposited by storm events as well as tsunamis. This research has typically documented decadal to century timescale changes in intertidal, supra-tidal or cliff-top boulder deposits. Indeed, there are no known studies of contemporaneous boulder transport stud...
The majority of coastal sediment transport studies focus on material finer than coarse gravels. Likewise, sediment fingerprinting as well as tag and trace technologies tend to focus on finer grained materials. In our paper, we present a methodology for tagging and tracing much larger materials - intertidal boulders weighing up to 0.75 tons. Whilst...
Water absorption is an important parameter affecting the susceptibility
of rocky shore substrates and construction materials to wetting-drying,
salt weathering and dissolution processes exposed in the intertidal
zone. Strength is also an important determinant of durability and
resistance to erosion processes such as abrasion. Here we examine
change...
There have been considerable advances in rock coast research in the past decade, as measured in terms of the number of active researchers and in the number of research papers being produced. This review, although not exhaustive, highlights many of the improvements that have been made in our ability to identify and measure the processes shaping rock...
This paper presents a case study comparing shore platforms of the same lithology and different rock structures (limestone) with those of different lithologies but similar rock structures (limestone, dolerite) in Wales and Sweden. Results of this study illustrate that different erosion mechanisms (i.e. wave action and ice scour) produce similar eros...
The assessment of links between ecology and physical habitat has become a major issue in river research and management. Key drivers include concerns about the conservation implications of human modifications (e.g. abstraction, climate change) and the explicit need to understand the ecological importance of hydromorphology as prescribed by the EU's...
This paper presents the first attempt to use environmental magnetism to quantify sediment provenance on a managed realignment (MR) site. MR is one technique for creating/restoring intertidal habitats and improving the standard of coastal flood protection. Monitoring of MR sites is essential for determining how successful they are at achieving these...