The Un-natural Evolution of Sandy Coastlines

Sandy coastlines represent highly dynamic regions that include beaches and coastal dunes that serve as a buffer against wave runup and inundation during storm events. Shaped by natural processes such as wind, waves, and tides these areas evolve through short periods of intense erosion followed by longer periods of recovery when the system is able to recover. Serving as a complicating factor, humans act as significant agents of coastal change on developed shorelines where initiatives such as beach nourishment and manual dune construction can drastically alter the morphology from its natural state. In this talk, we will look at data from North Carolina and Florida to assess the interannual scale impact of anthropogenic activity and how to better capture the dynamic nature of these regions in storm inundation forecasting systems. Following that, a survey of new studies being conducted on the east end of Long Island (Montauk and Orient) will be introduced to show how these processes are impacting local areas.

Pending for 1 PDH Credit Hour

Bio: Michael Itzkin is an assistant professor at Stony Brook University in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. His research focuses on coastal geomorphology with a particular interest in areas that have been shaped by anthropogenic actions (i..e, beach nourishment, dune grass plantings, beach scraping, etc.). To address these questions, his group employs a mixture of remote sensing, numerical modeling, and field observations to characterize past and future morphologies. He received his Ph.D. in 2021 from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and served as a Mendenhall Fellow at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center from 2021 to 2025 before starting at Stony Brook. A native Long Islander and Stony Brook Alum, Michael is excited to study the dynamic shorelines in the New York region.

Buffet Dinner with the Presentation

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

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Please note the change of address for this event - it will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Stony Brook.

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If you are interested in sponsoring the bar, please contact us at LIAPGPres@gmail.com