Apologies for cross-posting
Call for Papers - Conference, Loughborough University, UK, 22nd-23rd April 
2010:
All at Sea? Synergies between past and present coastal processes and ecology
Organisers: Dr D. B. Ryves, Professor N. J. Anderson & Dr P.J. Wood 

Coastal zones are dynamic systems. They are high-energy environments 
exhibiting rapid spatial and temporal change and are constantly evolving. The 
complex interaction of physical processes operating on both short (e.g. tides, 
fluvial input of nutrients and sediment) and longer-term timescales (e.g. 
climate & sea level change) form the driving force for many of the biological, 
chemical and sedimentological processes that occur in these systems. Coastal 
zones are unique in their steep gradation of conditions (e.g. salinity) which 
produce distinctive ecological communities. 

In recent years human impact has seriously altered many of these coastal 
systems resulting in issues such as eutrophication, over-exploitation of 
resources and pollution catching media attention. Such major anthropogenic 
changes make it increasingly difficult to understand the already complex 
natural physical processes and ecological changes operating within the coastal 
zone. These complex issues must be dealt with before we can begin to use 
these archives as palaeo-records for understanding the past, for which they 
offer great potential to integrate the independent terrestrial and marine 
records of past climatic and environmental change. By understanding the past 
in these terms we can provide valuable context for investigating recent and 
future change. 

This conference aims to address the following questions: 
1. How do physical, biological and chemical processes in the coastal zone 
impact ecological communities and how do these communities change and 
evolve over time? 
2. Can we successfully isolate natural environmental change from human 
impact in modern and recent coastal systems? 
3. How can we most effectively apply complex contemporary ecological 
information to improve our interpretation of palaeo-records? 
4. How can we integrate complex contemporary ecological data with time-
averaged palaeo-data to improve policy and management of coastal ecological 
systems and future predictions under changing climate? 

This conference will be composed of four sessions entitled: 
1. The contemporary coastal zone: physical, biological and chemical impacts 
on ecology. 
2. Assessment of the strength of climatic and environmental change 
inferences from palaeoecological investigations. 
3. Formation of the palaeo-record in high-energy environments: chronology, 
taphonomy and diagenesis 
4. Integrating contemporary and palaeo datasets from the coastal zone: 
synthesis and visions for the future. 

Abstract deadline: 31st January 2010
For more information and registration details see: 
(http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/gy/allatsea/) or e-mail 
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