Gerd Masselink

Professor Gerd Masselink - ()

Job title: Professor of Coastal Geomorphology, School of Marine Science and Engineering (Faculty of Science and Technology)
Address: A521, Portland Square, Drake Circus,
Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA
Telephone: +441752585902
Alternative telephone: +44 (0)1752 586102
Facsimile: +44 (0)1752 586103
Email: gerd.masselink@plymouth.ac.uk

Role

Coastal Processes Research Group Leader
Deputy Head of School (Marine Sciences)

Qualifications & background

2009–current Professor in Coastal Geomorphology, School of Marine Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
2007–2009 Professor in Coastal Geomorphology, School of Geography, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
2004–2007 Reader in Coastal Geomorphology, School of Geography, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
2002–2004 Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Geography Department, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
1999–2002 Lecturer in Physical Geography, Geography Department, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
1997–1999 ARC Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Australia
1995–1997 UWA Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Australia
1990–1994 PhD, University of Sydney, Australia
1984–1990 Doctoral degree (MSc), University of Utrecht, The Netherlands

Professional membership

Centre for Coastal and Ocean Science and Engineering (CCOSE)
Marine Institute (MI)
Coastal Education and Research Foundation (CERF)
Coastal Zone Network (COZONE)
European Network for Coastal Research (ENCORA)

Roles on external bodies

Editorial Board of Journal of Coastal Research

Teaching interests

GGP2137 Coastal Environments (2nd year) - Module Leader
GGX2105 Fieldwork in Geography - Ireland field trip (2nd year).
GGX3105 Dissertation in Geography (3rd year)
GGX3105 Denmark Coastal Field Trip (3rd year) - Module Leader
EAR5104 Integrated Coastal Zone Management (MSc) - Module Leader
SCI5301 MSc Dissertation

Staff serving as external examiners

2011 Ph.D. External Examiner – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, USA (Thijs Lancriet)
2010 Ph.D. External Examiner – Department of Geography, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy (Duccio Bertoni)
2008 Ph.D. External Examiner (Examinateur) – Department of Physical Oceanography, University of Brest, Brest, France (David Morellato)
2006 Ph.D. External Examiner (Examinateur) – Université du Littoral, Côte d’Opale, Dunkirk, France (Mouncef Sedrati)
2005 Ph.D. Internal Examiner – School of Engineering, University of Plymouth (Adrian Pedrozo-Acuña)
2004 Ph.D. External Examiner – University of Sydney, Australia (Aaron Couts-Smith)
2003–2006 Undergraduate External examiner Physical Geography, Bath Spa University
2003 Ph.D. External Examiner (Rapporteur) – Université du Littoral, Côte d’Opale, Dunkirk, France (Beatrice Reichmuth)

Research interests

Beach processes and morphology
Nearshore hydrodynamics and sediment transport
Coastal geomorphology, morphodynamics and evolution

UoP Research group membership

Centre for Coastal and Ocean Science and Engineering (CCOSE)
Coastal Processes

Other research

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

PhD students

2011–current Robert McCall – Modelling Gravel Beach Storm Response using XBeach
2010–current Antony Thorpe – Sediment Dynamics in Rip Currents
2009–current Suha Zoozi – Estuarine Pollution Dynamics in Agricultural River Basins
2008–current Tim Poate – Impact of Wave Hub on Shoreline Processes and Beach Morphology
2007–current Alison Nock – An ARC Marine Decision Support System for Coastal Flooding
2007–2010 Amaia Ruiz de Alegria Arzaburu – Storm Impacts on Gravel Beaches
2006–2010 Tim Scott – Classification of UK Beaches and Associated Nearshore Hazards
2004–2008 Daniel Buscombe – Morpho-Sediment Dynamics of Gravel Beaches
2002–2005 Martin Austin – Swash, Groundwater and Sediment Transport Processes on Gravel Beaches
2000–2004 Darren Evans – Swash on Steep and Shallow Beaches
2000–2004 Selma van Houwelingen – Spatial and Temporal Variability in Ridge and Runnel Morphology along the North Lincolnshire Coast, England
2000–2004 Aafke Tonk – Longshore Sediment Transport on Low-Energy Beaches

MSc students

2008–2009 Christopher Stokes – The Role of Swash interactions in Sediment Transport and Beach Change
2008–2009 David Blundell – Field Investigation of Longshore Swash Motion
2007–2008 William Hibberd – Intertidal Beach morphological Change over a Lunar Tidal Cycle, Truc Vert, France
2007–2008 William Moon – Sediment Transport Processes on Truc Vert Beach, France
2006–2007 Frances Brassington – An Investigation into the Influence of Stone Size and Shape over Coarse Sediment Longshore Transport in the Swash Zone of Slapton Sands Beach
2006–2007 Laurie Cointre – The Estuarine Dynamics of the Avon Estuary, Devon
2005–2006 Joshua Gibson – Application of ARGUS to wave run-up on a gravel beach, Slapton Sands, Devon
2005–2006 Tim Poate – Field Observations of Wave-Induced Set-Up and Nearshore Current Flows, Truc Vert, France
2005–2006 Emma Rendle – The Morphodynamics of an Intertidal Bar-Baine System on a High-Energy Mesotidal Beach: Truc Vert on the Aquitaine Coast, France
2004–2005 Nigel Auger – Short-term Interrelationship of Intertidal Beach Morphology and Sediment Distribution, Sennen Beach, UK
2004–2005 Louise Hockley – Observations of Ripple Geometry and Migration over Tidal Cycles on a Planar Macrotidal Beach
2004–2005 Catherine Mingins – The Spatial Variation in Physical and Chemical Sediment Characteristics of a Partially Infilled Estuary, Rural SW England
2004–2005 Helene Deniaud – Slapton Sands Barrier System Morphology and the Incident Wave Driven shoreline change: the Use of the Genesis model

Grants & contracts

2010–2012 NERC grant Dynamics of Rip Currents and Implications for Beach Safety (DRIBS) (PI with Dr Paul Russell of Plymouth University and the RNLI) (£396,192) (NE/H004262/1)
2010–2012 EPSRC grant New Understanding and Prediction of Storm Impacts on Gravel Beaches (NUPSIG (PI with Dr Paul Russell and Prof. Jon Williams of Plymouth University) (£372,428 + £50,040 studentship) (EP/H040056/1)
2009–2011 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust grant Groundwater seepage through gravel barrier beaches: morphological stability and saline-freshwater mixing (£11,830) (CI with Dr Martin Austin of Plymouth University)
2008–2009 NERC small grant Beach change over individual wave cycles on sand and gravel beaches (£76,197) (PI with Dr Russell of Plymouth University) (NE/F009275/1)
2008 European Community's Sixth Framework Programme, Integrated Infrastructure Initiative HYDRALAB III Contract no. 022441 (RII3) Barrier Dynamics Experiments (representing c. £200k) (CI with Dr Jon Williams of Plymouth University and others)
2008 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust grant Estuarine Situation in Devon and Cornwall: the Role of Agricultural Land Use (£9,360) (CI with Dr Roland Gehrels and Dr Will Blake of Plymouth University)
2007–2010 NERC grant Coastal Flooding by Extreme Events (CoFEE) (CI with Dr Jon Williams and Dr Luciana Estevez of Plymouth University) (£180,000) (NE/E002471/1)
2007-2010 South-West Regional Development Agency (SWERDA) Wave Hub Impacts on Shoreline and Sediment Processes (WHISSP) (representing c. £450k) (CI with Dr Jon Williams of Plymouth University and others)
2007–2009 ARC Discovery Grant Wave-by-wave bed-level changes at the beachface of gravel and sand beaches (AUD$304,300) (PI with Dr Ian Turner of University of New South Wales and Dr Russell of Plymouth University) (DP0770118)
2006–2008 Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Classification and risk assessment of UK beaches (£30,000) (with Dr Russell of Plymouth University)
2005–2007 South Hams Society Avon Estuary siltation project (£12,600) (CI with Dr Blake and Dr Gehrels of Plymouth University)
2004–2007 NERC grant Cross-shore sediment transport and profile evolution on natural beaches (X-SHORE) (£235,084) (CI with Dr Russell and Dr O’Hare of Plymouth University) (NER/A/S/2003/00553)
2000–2004 NERC grant The role of swash in shoreline change (£268,149) (CI with Dr Russell of Plymouth University) (NER/S/J/2000/04060)
2000–2004 NERC grant Spatial and temporal variability in ridge and runnel morphology (£35,510) (NER/M/S/2000/00281)
2000–2004 EPSRC grant Longshore sediment transport on low-energy beaches (£52,182) (PI)
2000 The Royal Society Conference Grant (£800) (RSS/SG/22387/994/D2)

Conferences organised

2007 - YCSEC'07, University in Plymouth

Other academic activities
Editorial board: Journal of Coastal Research

Grant review: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; UK), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC; UK), Leverhulme Trust (UK), Australian Research Council (ARC; Australia), Good Science Fund (New Zealand), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; Canada), Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NOSR; Netherlands), Swiss National Science Foundation

Journal review: Applied Geography, Area, Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, Coastal Engineering, Continental Shelf Research, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, Earth Science Reviews, Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, Geomorphology, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Coastal Research, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Journal of Geophysical Research, Marine Geology, Ocean Engineering, Sedimentology, Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie

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