Presents detailed international case studies with a broad geographical range, with examples from California, New York, France, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the Seychelles, the Chagos Islands and Argentina, encouraging readers to think spatially while exposing them to a range of global coastal problems

At the convergence of the land and sea, coastal environments are some of the most dynamic and populated places on Earth. This book explains how the many varied forms of spatial analysis, including mapping, monitoring and modelling, can be applied to a range of coastal environments such as estuaries, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Presenting empirical geographical approaches to modelling, which draw on recent developments in remote sensing technology, geographical information science and spatial statistics, it provides the analytical tools to map, monitor and explain or predict coastal features.

With detailed case studies and accompanying online practical exercises, it is an ideal resource for undergraduate courses in spatial science. Taking a broad view of spatial analysis and covering basic and advanced analytical areas such as spatial data and geostatistics, it is also a useful reference for ecologists, geomorphologists, geographers and modellers interested in understanding coastal environments.

About the Author

Sarah M. Hamylton is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, where she specialises in the spatial analysis of coastal environments. Her research interests include the application of geospatial technology to tropical coastal environments. Her maps have helped establish marine protected areas, and her models of how climate change impacts coral reefs have informed national coastal policies.