In
general, I am a coastal geomorphologist with a background in physical
geography, biology and geomatics that specializes in process geomorphology
and biogeography of intertidal ecosystems. Most of my current research
focuses on the ecomorphodynamics (study of the interaction and feedbacks
that occur between topography, biota, hydrodynamics and sedimentary
processes and the resultant adjustments of morphology) of macrotidal
ecosystems at a range of spatial and temporal scales and how human
activities and climate change influence these processes.
As director of the Intertidal Coastal Sediment Transport (In_CoaST) Research Unit and coordinator of the Maritime Provinces Spatial Analysis Research Center (MP_SpARC) I have an opportunity to merge fine-scale spatial and temporal biophysical measurements with geomatics technologies to understand landscape-scale processes that lead to the rapid establishment of salt marshes in environments where disturbances occur at very high frequencies.
I
am an active member of SMaRTS (Salt Marsh and Restricted Tidal Sytems) working
group of the Bay of Fundy ecosystem partnership and act as a scientific
consultant to CB Wetlands and Environmental Specialists that is responsible for
the majority of coastal ecosystem restoration projects in Nova Scotia. In
addition, I work closely with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture (Land
Protection, Resource Stewardship) and the Nova Scotia Department of
Transportation and Public Works, advocating the use of environmentally
sustainable coastal engineering protection works to mitigate the effects of
climate change, particularly sea level rise.