The Geological Society of London, as the oldest of such societies, is looked towards (not least by me) for leadership and excellence in Earth Sciences. Coastal and Shelf Sediment Transport is the 274th Special Publication of that learned society. The book continues the tradition of the Society through a compilation of selected recent studies on varying approaches used to tackle a complex and fundamentally important subject within a rapidly evolving sector of Earth Science. The book results from a stimulating conference held at the offices of the Geological Society on Piccadilly, some three years ago; a conference that I was fortunate enough to attend. Not all the papers presented at the meeting have been published, and the volume is quite slim by present standards (162 pages). Nevertheless, the 13 contributions (largely provided by researchers from the UK) have resulted in a volume that is better than the sum of its parts.
Two papers in particular have been most useful in guiding my own research interests: Vincent's paper on the uses and limitations of acoustical backscatter to measure sand in suspension is particularly timely given the expanding use (and mis-use) of ADCPs; and Aldridge's paper on the role of the interaction of the semi-diurnal overtides (M4 in particular) in controlling residual sediment transport in estuaries. Given such overtides are likely to change with rising sea level, it is quite possible that significant changes in estuarine and coastal morphology will result from this mechanism. The paper by Schmitt et al. on the application of swath surveying to bedform migration and sand transport is worthy of mention, as it moves beyond the production of colour imagery to the potential uses of the data behind the imagery. The paper of Cooper & McLaren on the application of Grain Trend Analysis to a Welsh embayment provides growing evidence that this highly-contentious method has perhaps come of age. It is gratifying to see that the second author has persevered in the face of heavy criticism (often from me) over a quarter of a century since the first papers on the subject were submitted for science review. The result is a valuable tool in sediment transport that appears highly effective when coupled with local experience.
In summary, this book provides examples of a variety of state-of-the-art techniques that are sophisticated within their own right but entirely complimentary. It is the combined use of such techniques that will advance our knowledge of coastal evolution in the face of climate change.
