I must first declare a personal land interest in this blog. The house where I have lived in Rose Bay and our current dwelling in Vaucluse, in eastern Sydney, were both the subject of 19th century land grants that have links to foreshore private and later public use. Read More

I recently attended a meeting of the Advisory Board of the new Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program (VCMP).This program was established last year as a partnership between the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Deakin and Melbourne universities Read More

Since the mid-1980s, it has become increasingly established that climate change will impact the lives of Australians, on the economy and the health of environmental assets. The interconnected functioning of natural processes requires us to look beyond the settler view of exploitation of nature. To do this we must somehow enshrine in law, such as through a Charter of Rights for Nature, the protection and restoration of valued natural assets vital to the nation’s long-term wellbeing. Read More

I recently attended the 18th Biennial Australian New Zealand Geomorphology Group conference in delightful Inverloch in the south Gippsland region of Victoria. This conference is held at a place in either Australia or New Zealand where there are exciting geomorphic features. Inverloch was no exception. It was a privilege to be invited this time to give the key note on “Public Policy and the Law: the influence of geomorphology”. I dedicated this talk to the late John Chappell. His wife, Helen, was at the conference dinner and spoke about John with great feeling; I was asked to give the response on behalf of the Group, another tremendous privilege to honour this great man. Read More

Two important documents about the River Murray were released last week (23 Jan and 2 Feb.). First, the Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission completed its report investigating the operations and effectiveness of the Murray-Darling Basin system. Second, on World Wetlands Day a new book about the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth was launched. These are both significant as the coastal area around the Murray Mouth is at the ‘end of the drain’ for Australia’s largest river catchment. The Royal Commission notes, “It is now more likely that warnings are sounded, and heeded, that ‘rivers die from their mouths’ ”. Read More

It is very interesting to follow Coastal Zone Management initiatives in other countries. I have been following developments in India during 2018 and in late December their federal government introduced a national regulation which deserves our further attention. It appears possible in India for the federal government to provide direction to all state governments and agencies. At this stage I am not clear as to how effective will be the implementation of this new regulation. If the Indian government is allowing the increased development of coastal areas of high populations density to encourage economic development, then many Indians may well have a front row seat to experience "enjoying the beauty of the mighty seas " when it is brought to their door by sea level rise. Read More

Sea fog has been a regular occurrence this summer in Sydney Harbour. To hear fog horns sounding in the middle of the day is a rare experience. From our verandah we can see the fog as it rolls through the Heads into Middle Harbour. It seems to stall and bulge up as a mound still attached to the sea surface. We saw this on 17 December and again last Friday. The fog then expands down the Harbour and over the cliffs into Vaucluse along the lines of our local valley and streets. Later in the afternoon it dissipates. Read More

During this past year, I have had the opportunity of working once again with Don Wright, formerly a colleague at Sydney University now based in Florida. Don and colleagues have been involved in producing collaborative reports in the USA through the Coastal Environmental Research Committee of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA). Read More

Ever since my undergraduate days, I have been fascinated by pits in sand deposits around the eastern suburbs of Sydney. I grew up in Rose Bay. Trevor Langford-Smith had me digging a pit in the backyard of our home in Roberts Street. Read More

Many years ago in travelling across coastal Texas I encountered washover fans. These extensive sand flats occurred behind Mustang and Padre barrier islands. Read More