Coastal geomorphologist Professor Patrick Hesp has been awarded the Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Award by the The New Zealand Geographical Society, in recognition of his outstanding research into changing coastal environments.

Professor Hesp, Strategic Professor in Coastal Studies at Flinders University, is one of the world’s foremost scholars on sand dune formation and change, and his studies provide crucial predictions about the likely impact of climate change on dune formation.

“It’s surprising how little is still known about the formation and behaviour of dunes, particularly the rates of vegetation colonisation, and changes due to climate change, but with climate scientists predicting declining rainfall over southern Australia in coming years, it is important to find out,” Professor Hesp says.

Using coloured smoke bombs and strategically placed wind sensors, together with flying drones, sophisticated 3-D modelling software, and aerial photography, Professor Hesp and his colleagues have been modelling the factors that drive dune formation and dune destruction.

Professor Hesp will be presented with his award at the Annual General Meeting of The New Zealand Geographical Society in Dunedin on 12 October 2017.

Professor Hesp has also been invited to deliver a keynote address on his ‘Ten Commandments of Coastal Management’ at the Southeast Asian Geography Association conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 28 November to 1 December 2017.