Bret M. Webb, PhD, PE, DCE

Professor and Coastal Engineer at the University of South Alabama

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An Introduction to Living Shorelines from Restore America's Estuaries on Vimeo.

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[Photo by Martin Hartley]

Who are you and where do you work? Where are you in the field, and for how long? Adrian McCallum. I’m currently a Lecturer in Science & Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. This photo was taken on the 2011 Catlin Arctic Survey where we...

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This Saildrone is going where no Saildrone has gone before: to the Bering Sea! 

The Saildrone is an an unmanned sailboat equipped for science research. The first model was affectionately called the “Honey Badger” and for good reason: the carbon-fiber hybrid-hull and wingsail enables the Saildrone to cruise at speeds 2 – 5 times faster than other autonomous vehicles. It’ll be measuring the biological and physical characteristics of sea surface to monitor the highly productive and economically important eastern Bering Sea Fishery. 

More info at: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/ and http://itae.ocean.washington.edu/

Photo by Peter Proctor, NOAA PMEL.

- Kim Martini

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Replacing of our benthic lander with the RV Belgica during perfect weather condition on 13th of April 2015. The tripod is located in the Belgian near shore area and has collected (almost) continuous time series of hydro- and sediment dynamics since end of 2009. The information from this observatory helps in understanding the variability of suspended particulate matter concentration in this highly dynamic environment on time scales ranging from  seconds to years.

Michael Fettweis, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Natural Environment

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Checking the sensors on the Naval Research Laboratory’s quadpod instrument platform at the Dry Tortugas, Florida at the beginning of the Turbulence-controlled Erosion of Sand/mud Sediment (TESS) experiment. The quadpod will be deployed for nine days, during which current structure, turbulence, and suspended sediment near the sea floor will be continuously monitored, along with wave statistics, bottom roughness, conductivity and temperature. The information from this experiment will help us understand the role of turbulence near the seabed in erosion of mixed (cohesive and granular) sediments by wave and tidal currents that can generate instabilities from protruding biogenic features, such as the calcareous algae and hydroids seen here.

Kevin Briggs

Oceanographer at the Naval Research Laboratory (Seafloor Sciences Branch)

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Man, those conditions look a lot better than when we deployed it on the Alabama shelf! Plus, Dry Tortugas is my second home.

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A Coastal Defense Against Storms And Rising Seas That Bruce Lee Would Like

by Michael Keller

The way to protect shoreline communities from monster storms and climate change’s rising seas might not be to erect huge walls to fight the water, but to use its own energy to control it. 

That’s the idea behind a comprehensive coastal resiliency project called Living Breakwaters, which in late October won the 2014 Buckminster Fuller Institute Challenge for socially responsible design. The system, created by SCAPE/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PLLC, looks to reduce risks by rebuilding tidal habitats like oyster reefs that once protected shorelines along with smarter coastal planning and development.

At its heart, the winning idea is to construct rocky mounds and sloped walls within the water column that armor the coastline and diffuse wave energy. Those in front of undeveloped onshore lands like parks and refuges would be fully submerged tidal breakwaters while those in front of developed communities would protrude above the waterline as exposed islands. Both versions also act as artificial reefs that rebuild ecosystems and become homes for fish and shellfish. These are meant to serve as buffers between populated land and open water that absorb wave energy to diminish erosion and flooding. 

Read more and see images and videos below.

Read More

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Tenure-Track Faculty Position - Univ. South Alabama

The Department of Civil Engineering at the University of South Alabama (USA) invites applications for an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) faculty position in Coastal/Ocean Engineering.  The expected starting date is August 15, 2015.  ABD candidates will be considered, but preference will be given to applicants with a Ph.D. in Coastal/Ocean Engineering or a closely related field. Appropriate candidates must have good communication skills, a strong commitment to excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, a record of scholarship, and the ability to initiate and maintain a funded research program in their area of specialization.

Located in Mobile near the Mobile Bay estuary and the Alabama Gulf coast with its beautiful white-sand beaches, the University of South Alabama is a public, doctoral-level institution enrolling more than 16,000 students. The Civil Engineering department is housed in Shelby Hall, a new 155,000 sq.ft., state-of-the-art Engineering and Computing Sciences building that opened in 2012.  The department maintains coastal engineering laboratory facilities including a  wave basin, small wave flume, and a new recirculating wave-current flume located in Shelby Hall. The department also has unique field research capabilities, both internally and through our partnership with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

The Civil Engineering department offers a fully ABET accredited BSCE degree. The focus of the department's MSCE program is "Civil Engineering in the Coastal Environment," and students have the option of selecting a coastal engineering focus.  Additionally, the USA College of Engineering now offers a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree in Systems Engineering.   

Interested candidates should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statements of research and teaching interests, and a list of three references (all in PDF file format) to [email protected].  Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.  Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the U.S.  The University of South Alabama is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. 

This advertisement can also be found at the University of South Alabama Academic Affairs web site: http://southalabama.edu/departments/academicaffairs/resources/academicaffairspostings/Civil_3431_081515.pdf