The scourge of ocean microplastics

Tiny particles of plastic (less than 1 mm diameter) are now entering the human food-chain through our consumption of seafood. The issue of plastics reaching the ocean is not new, but over the past few years our understanding of the impacts has increased dramatically. A 2014 study showed that Europeans consume approximately 11,000 microplastic particles

The use of drones to protect mangrove coastline

Mangroves are a type of forest-like ecosystem that occur on sheltered tropical coastlines around the world. They typically consist of shrubs or trees in brackish coastal waters, and create a vital form of protection for the coastlines on which they exist. They have suffered from systematic deforestation over the past few decades, typically for timber

Climate change and coastal flooding: the current state of the art

There are many hundreds of publications in the scientific literature each year detailing the proposed impacts of climate change on the coastal zone, however, last week, the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) published a new synopsis on UK coastal flooding impacts. The coastal flooding report, authored by SurgeWatch founders Ivan Haigh and Robert Nicholls is available here. Concern about

Keep calm and carry on: Immunity from integration for Blighty’s Armed Forces?

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) controls in excess of 250 miles of coastline in the United Kingdom, spread across some 48 coastal sites, making them a key stakeholder in the Coastal Zone Management equation. Since WWI the MOD has acted with relative immunity regarding its use of the coast; Countless chemical and conventional munitions have

Too little, too late? The role of science in ICZM.

There is little doubt that science is synonymous with the understanding of the world around us and the processes that shape it. In the same vain, scientific knowledge is integral to the good management of the coastal zone (McFadden, 2007). Inherent, however, is an interesting paradox of scientific research; the understanding and knowledge derived from