The place where ocean meets land has long been inspiration for poets, artists, scientists and beach lovers. It is the subject of Waves and Beaches, a classic guide to the stirring science of sand, surf and waves, written in 1963 by engineer, scientist and adventurer Willard Bascom. A newly revised edition of Waves and Beaches has just been published, that updates the book’s relevance in this time of climate change. It spotlights the ongoing transformations to our coastal cities, sea-going vessels, energy supplies and global commerce as populations adapt to changing climates. What will this mean to waves and beaches, and what effects are we already seeing?
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Willard Bascom’s student and collaborator Kim McCoy, who co-authored this latest version of Waves and Beaches.
Kim McCoy's ocean research began where the land and sea merge - with surf zone wave dynamics and continues today with the coastal effects of climate change. Expeditions from the tropics to polar oceans with multinational academic, commercial and governmental institutions helped Kim pioneer advances in instrumentation, underwater communications, autonomous underwater vehicles and free-diving.
- KBOO