Dynamic coasts

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

Jacques Cousteau

Overview

With increasing pressures on Earth’s marine environment, Dynamic Coasts provides the underpinning biological, ecological, and sociological knowledge to support sustainable Blue Growth whilst inspiring the next generation.

From the first time a child runs down a beach, to sailing, diving, fishing or just observing and dreaming, the coastal seas are most peoples’ immediate experience of the oceans.

Dynamic Coasts brings together many SAMS researchers, post-docs and support scientists who collectively undertake vital research to improve our understanding of these waters. Our research spans the biology of individual species to the ecosystem impacts of climate change and social and economic studies of how human communities interact with the coastal seas.

Research, teaching and outreach are integrated so that our work inspires the next generation. Ensuring that our knowledge does not remain locked within academia, but is effectively communicated to a wide audience, is a key objective of Dynamic Coasts.

These activities not only advance scientific knowledge, but support a wide-range of stakeholders by providing authoritative evidence, analysis and advice for coastal management. With increasing pressures on Earth’s marine environment, Dynamic Coasts provides the underpinning biological, ecological and sociological knowledge to support sustainable Blue Growth whilst inspiring the next generation.  

 

Our expertise

Since the 1970s we have been studying the fundamentals of changing physics, chemistry and biology of marine systems and increasingly contribute to scientific predications of future scenarios. We have expertise in monitoring the consequences for climate change in marine ecosystems with international leadership in the North Atlantic and Arctic, through to local Scottish coastal systems.

 

Research strategy 2020-25

We are going to focus our Dynamic Coasts related research in five sub-areas:

  1. Primary production: understanding the changes occurring in coastal and shelf seas primary production by seaweeds, seagrasses, mirophytobenthos and phytoplankton
  2. Impact of human activities: understanding the impacts of marine pollutants including plastics, chemotherapeutics from aquaculture, contaminants from land-use and marine sources and anthropogenic noise
  3. People and the sea: understanding the interlinkages between the marine environment and society through studies into livelihoods, culture, economic activity and identity
  4. Changing marine ecosystem: understanding how marine ecosystems are being impacted by direct and indirect pressures, by multiple stressors and by climate change
  5. Whole organism biology and ecology: advancing the understanding of the basic biology and ecology of marine species

 

Dynamic Coasts leaders

Dr Andy Dale

Dr Helena Reinardy