Open lectures as part of a mentoring visit by Professor Patrick A. Hesp of Flinders University

12 03 2025

The Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies at UW invites you to attend an open lectures to be delivered on 26 and 27 March 2025 by Professor Patrick A. Hesp of Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia).

The lecture entitled “Geomorphological (Coastal) Extreme Processes” will provide an overview of the various extreme events/processes taking place in the coastal zone of the seas and oceans. Their causes and effects will be discussed. The processes to be addressed will mainly include rapid and short-term processes, such as storm surges, tsunamis, landslides, fires, hurricanes/cyclones, extreme waves, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods.

The event will take place on 26 March from 13:15 to 14:45, at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies UW, Krakowskie Przedmieście Street 30 (room 111, 1st floor).

The lecture entitled “New challenges in Aeolian Geomorphology research” will present the types of coastal dunes and their distribution on Earth and against this background, the speaker will present the research challenges facing the discipline of aeolian geomorphology. The main focus will be on the formation, dynamics, geomorphology and evolution of coastal dunes. An overview will be provided on contemporary active and established frontal dunes (which form a natural barrier protecting the land from storm inundation), parabolic dunes, transgressive sand covers, and dune fields. The variability of these forms will be discussed in relation to coastal and beach dynamics and climate. Within this context, some of the main challenges facing aeolian research in the coastal zone of the seas and oceans will be discussed. These include the study of the impact of sea level rise on the functioning of coastal environments, the impact of climate change on dune field dynamics, as well as vegetation processes within these fields, the relationship between sediment supply, and coastal dune development. The challenges facing aeolian geomorphology do not end by merely posing the questions above, but also with establishing research methods so that we have a good understanding of factors controlling coastal changes.

The event will take place on 27 March from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies UW, Krakowskie Przedmieście Street 30 (room 102, first floor).

* * *

Patrick Alan Hesp is a Strategic Professor at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; as a world-renowned aeolian geomorphologist, he has been researching the determinants and effects of aeolian processes in the coastal zone of the seas and oceans. He conducts research worldwide and is an expert in coastal dune geomorphology. As part of the Beach and Dune Systems Laboratory (BEADS, https://sites.flinders.edu.au/beach-and-dune-systems/) at Flinders University, he has carried out many research projects, including some in Poland. He has worked at universities in New South Wales (Western Australia), Singapore, the USA, and New Zealand; he has been a visiting professor in South Africa, Namibia, Israel, the Netherlands, China, Brazil, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, and France. He has been an advisor to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Geomarine P/L, and the Rottnest Island Authority. In 2023, he received the ISAR Distinguished Career Award from the International Society for Aeolian Research, in recognition of his long and fruitful work in geomorphology.