Dr Mark Edward Dickson

BSc(Hons) (Massey), PhD (Wollongong)

Senior Lecturer

In: Environment » Faculty of Science

Biography

I studied undergraduate Geography at Massey University before completing a PhD at the University of Wollongong on the evolution of rocky coasts around Lord Howe Island.

I worked briefly as a postdoc in Australia before moving to the University of Bristol to focus on rapidly eroding soft-rock coasts around Britain. It turns out that numerical models are particularly useful for addressing such concerns and I spent several subsequent years working with colleagues developing models that help us understand the historical evolution of eroding coasts and give insight into possible future changes under sea level rise and changing wave climates. I returned to NZ on a FRST Postdoctoral Fellowship and worked at NIWA for three years focussing on gravel shorelines, which are chronically eroding in many areas.

I joined the School of Environment in 2008.

Research | Current

Much of my research concerns eroding coasts, and likely future erosion patterns under sea level rise. I use a range of methods, including field surveys, process measurements, and numerical modelling. In recent research I have also studied depositional coasts, including prograded sand and chenier systems as well as sand/gravel deltas.

Teaching | Current

My main teaching responsibilities are in the following courses:

GEOG 351 (Coordinator), Dynamics of Coastal Systems

GEOG 746 (Coordinator), Dynamic Coasts

GEOG 262 (Coordinator), Geomorphology and Landscape Development

GEOG 330, Research methods in Physical Geography

Postgraduate supervision

Current postgraduate students

Hironori Matsumoto, PhD

Kathryn Davies, PhD

Kathryn Longstaff, MSc

Andrew Allison, MSc

Javier Canete, MSc

Alanna Hollier, MSc

Postgraduate completions

Hiroki Ogawa, PhD

Amy Dougherty, PhD

Sam-Scott Kelly, MSc

Andrew Hutchinson, MSc

Vaughan Turner, MSc

Rachael Pentney, MSc

Farah Lodhawalla, MSc

Michael Kantor, MSc

Distinctions/Honours

2012 Lloyds Science of Risk Prize for this work:

Dawson, R. J. et al. Integrated analysis of risks of coastal flooding and cliff erosion under scenarios of long term change. Climatic Change 95, 249-288 (2009).

Areas of expertise

Coastal geomorphology, coastal management, coastal erosion under sea level rise, rocky shores, gravel coasts

Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)

Matsumoto, H., Dickson, M. E., & Masselink, G. (2017). Systematic analysis of rocky shore platform morphology at large spatial scale using LiDAR-derived digital elevation models. Geomorphology, 286, 45-57. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.03.011
Stephenson, W. J., Dickson, M. E., & Denys, P. H. (2017). New insights on the relative contributions of coastal processes and tectonics to shore platform development following the Kaikoura earthquake. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms10.1002/esp.4176
Salmond, J. A., Tadaki, M., & Dickson, M. (2017). Can big data tame a “naughty” world?. The Canadian Geographer/Le Geographe Canadien, 61 (1), 52-63. 10.1111/cag.12338
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/33677
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Jennifer Salmond
Matsumoto, H., Dickson, M. E., & Kench, P. S. (2016). An exploratory numerical model of rocky shore profile evolution. Geomorphology, 268, 98-109. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.05.017
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Paul Kench
Ogawa, H., Dickson, M. E., & Kench, P. S. (2016). Generalised observations of wave characteristics on near-horizontal shore platforms: Synthesis of six case studies from the North Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Geographer, 72 (2), 107-121. 10.1111/nzg.12121
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Paul Kench
Poate, T., Masselink, G., Austin, M., Dickson, M., & Kench, P. (2016). Observation of Wave Transformation on Macro-tidal Rocky Platforms. Journal of Coastal Research, 75 (sp1), 602-606. 10.2112/SI75-121.1
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Paul Kench
Matsumoto, H., Dickson, M. E., & Kench, P. S. (2016). Modelling the Development of Varied Shore Profile Geometry on Rocky Coasts. Journal of Coastal Research, 75 (Suppl 1), 597-601. Sydney, Australia: Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Inc.. 10.2112/SI75-120.1
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/33818
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Paul Kench
Dickson, M. E., & Perry, G. L. W. (2016). Identifying the controls on coastal cliff landslides using machine-learning approaches. Environmental Modelling and Software, 76, 117-127. 10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.10.029
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/33679
Other University of Auckland co-authors: George Perry