| Session Details | |
| Section | OS - Ocean Sciences |
| Session Title | Estuarine and Coastal Oceanography: Modelling, Observations, Physics and Biogeochemistry |
| Main Convener | Dr. Chai Heng Lim (University of Malaya, Malaysia) |
| Co-convener(s) | Prof. Sung Yong Kim (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, South) Prof. Emil Stanev (Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG), Germany) Dr. Atsushi Fujimura (University of Guam, Guam) |
| Session Description | Estuaries, coastal embayments and open coasts are highly influenced by anthropogenic activities. The economy, safety, resilience and health of coastal communities depend on an understanding of the complex interactions of physical, biological, chemical and geological processes in the coastal marine environment. These processes are often susceptible to various forcings of metocean systems as well as human intervention. Furthermore, changes in extreme weather and climate events and variability, including sea level rise trends, possible changes in storminess and weather patterns, and warmer ocean temperatures, will likely add additional pressure on coastal communities. Thus, a thorough understanding of these systems is essential to develop a sustainable action plan to preserve our coastal resources for future generation. Estuaries and coastal seas are areas strongly affected by tides, waves, currents, and their complex dynamic interactions. In addition, the characteristics of seafloor topography and properties of seabed materials in shallow water areas also control the resulting waves and current circulations. This session aims to gather studies and new research techniques, through physical and numerical modelling approaches as well as field observations, to better understand various processes in coastal and shelf seas. Processes may include hydrodynamics, transport of materials, morphodynamics and their interactions with the surrounding environments, ecosystems and coastal structures. The interactions with climate dynamics, biological and biogeochemical components will also be considered. Studies to improve knowledge on sea level variability, extreme events and human-induced changes are also welcome. Contributions on processes in wider regional or oceanic scale will be considered where they significantly influence processes in the estuaries and coastal regions. |