Professor Gerd Masselink

Research interests

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

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

PhD students

• 2011–current  Claire Early – Coastal Cliff Erosion in Cornwall
• 2011–current  Pedro Almeida – Dynamics of mixed Sand and Gravel Beaches during Storms
• 2011–current  Anissia White – Ecological Changes in Restored Salt Marshes
• 2011–current  Robert McCall – Modelling Gravel Beach Storm Response using XBeach 
• 2010–current  Saul Reynolds – Tidal Dune Dynamics
• 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

• 2011–2012  Matthew Hamm – Morphological and Sedimentological Evolution of a Gravel Barrier, at Loe Bar, Cornwall
• 2011–2012  Emma Veryan – Cliff Erosion in Veryan Bay
• 2010–2011  Hannah Richardson – Longshore Variability in Three-Dimensional Bar-Rip Morphology on a Macrotidal Sandy Beach, Perranporth, UK
• 2010–2011  Roger Pewsey – Application of Sediment Trend Vectors to Dune migration on an Intertidal Shoal
• 2009–2011  Tom Neubauer – Cost-Benefit Analysis of Managed Realignment vs. Holding the Line in the Bay of Santander (Cantabria, northern Spain)
• 2009–2010  Thomas Parker – An Investigation Studying the Morphological Adjustment of a Macrotidal Gravel Beach during a Tidal Cycle
• 2009–2010  Joseph Pritchard – Groundwater Seepage, Saltwater Intrusion and Nutrient Leaching from a Coastal Lagoon at Slapton Sands, UK
• 2009–2010  Kyle Sque – Temporal Observations of Flow Dynamics at Porthtowan Beach, Cornwall
• 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

• 2012–2014  EPSRC grant Proto-type Experiment and Numerical Modelling of Energetic Sediment Transport under Waves (PESTS) (CI with Dr Daniel Conley of University of Plymouth) (£240k) (EP/K000306/1)
• 2012–2013  Marine Institute Small Collaborative Research Grant, Quaternary Raised Beaches of Devon and Cornwall: New Data for an Old Problem (CI with Dr Matt Telfer, Prof. Roland Gehrels, Dr Will Marshall, Dr Ken Kingston and Dr Sarah Boulton of Plymouth University) (£5,000)
• 2012–2015  Science and Technology Foundation (Portugal), From runup to overwash (RUSH) (Consultant with Dr Ana Matias of Centre for Marine and Environmental Research , University of Algarve) (representing c. £85k)
• 2011–2015  Environment Agency Grant, Environmental Monitoring of Salt Marsh Restoration Project at South Efford (PI with Dr Ken Kingston, Dr Mick Hanley, Prof. Roland Gehrels and Dr Will Blake of Plymouth University) (£10,000)
• 2012–2013  Marine Institute Small Collaborative Research Grant, Evaluating Sediment Accretion Rates on Restored Saltmarshes using Fallout Be-7 (CI with Dr Will Blake and Dr Mick Hanley of Plymouth University) (£5,000)
• 2011–2014  European Social Fund, Great Western Research, PhD studentship Coastal Cliff Erosion in Cornwall (PI with Prof. Paul Russell of Plymouth University and Dr Robin Shail of Exeter University) (£60,000) (ID152)
• 2011–2016  EPSRC grant Adaption and Resilience of Coastal Energy Supply (ARCoES) (CI with Prof. Andrew Plater of University of Liverpool) (£150k + £50k studentship) (EP/IO35390/1)
• 2011-2012  European Community's Seventh Framework Programme, Integrated Infrastructure Initiative HYDRALAB IV Contract no. 261520 Barrier Dynamics Experiments II (PI with 14 international collaborators) (representing c. £300k)
• 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)

Research groups

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