What Science is Needed for Shelf Sea and Coastal Management through the 21st Century?

The UK Shelf Seas Workshop 2010 (Energy, Estuaries and Marine Planning, 22–23 March 2010) was held at the UK National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton discussed current knowledge of shelf sea science with special focus on the coastal zone.Over 40 participants attended the workshop from the UK Natural Environment Research Council research and collaborative centres, higher education institutions, industry, and government departments and agencies, representing a range of disciplines with interests in the coastal zone.

The programme was designed to stimulate debate between participants. Key topics included energy, estuaries, marine planning, and modelling.  Each topic was introduced by three short, provocative and contrasting talks from invited speakers.

Prof. Robert Nicholls (University of Southampton) introduced the meeting. Dr Ralf Weisse (GKSS Institute for Coastal Research, Germany) then gave an international perspective by describing the management challenges of the Elbe estuary and associated coast. Climate change is just one issue in estuarine and coastal management. Population and development also result in changing estuarine hydrography due to dredging and land claim.

Prof. Peter Stansby (Manchester University), Dr Judith Wolf (NOC, Liverpool) and Dr Icarus Allen (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) overviewed needs and opportunities for modelling in shelf seas. Prof. Roger Falconer (Cardiff University), Prof. AbuBakr Bahaj (UoS) and Dr Annie Linley (PML) spoke about marine energy impacts. Prof. David Prandle (consultant, formerly of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory), Dr Richard Whitehouse (HR Wallingford) and Prof. Mike Elliot (University of Hull) introduced the pressures and opportunities in estuaries. Finally, Stuart Rogers (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science), Dr Stephen Hull (ABPmer) and Dr Mel Austen (PML) illustrated how marine planning is undertaken.

Issues discussed during breakout sessions included the impact of uncertainty on planners, conflict between low-carbon energy versus environmental conservation, and, more technically, the pros and cons of process models versus large-scale whole systems models.

At the end of the first day, Prof. Andrew Watkinson (Director of the Living With Environmental Change programme and former Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, which funded the workshop) reflected on the ‘Coastal Simulator’ and other projects, the current UK funding situation and other relevant initiatives.  He urged the community to ‘self-organise’ across disciplinary boundaries and to raise the profile of marine issues/research among the public and scientific community.

During the workshop, several recurring themes were identified as research priorities. Data was always an issue whether unavailable, incomplete or unnecessarily repeated. More data are required but there is also a need to review and exploit what already exists, especially given the difficulty of establishing baselines from which to determine change.  

More specifically, the impact of marine energy technology within the natural system is poorly understood on larger scales, especially on flow, sediments and water quality and consequently on ecological systems. Estuaries are also a high-priority research area with many unsolved problems in understanding sediment transport, which needs to be better modelled. The discussion of marine planning also highlighted the need to include social scientists when communicating research because what is acceptable to the public in the coastal zone can influence decision makers and thence the direction of research.

In conclusion, the workshop provided a platform for the cross-disciplinary discussion of issues within coastal and shelf sea areas, and a basis for future discussions and research collaborations. It is accredited to the UK Living with Environmental Change Programme, which brings together 20 UK partner organisations that fund, undertake and use environmental research, including research councils, government and business.