SMAST DEOS Seminar: "Coastal Cities: Managing Urban Impacts Below the Waterline" by Katherine Dafforn

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Seminar Announcement

Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences

"Coastal Cities: Managing Urban Impacts Below the Waterline"

Katherine Dafforn
Distinguished Professor and Director of the Stone Living Lab, UMass Boston

Wednesday, April 29, 2026
12:30 - 1:30 pm
SMAST E 101-103 and via Zoom

Abstract:

Coastal cities are increasingly shaped by human activity, yet many of the impacts occur below the waterline. My research has focused on understanding how urban stressors such as artificial structures, stormwater, and industrial pollution impact on marine ecosystems, and how we can design solutions to mitigate these impacts. Artificial structures like seawalls, pilings and pontoons tend to create featureless surfaces that lack the complexity of natural habitats, reduce biodiversity, and create a niche for invasive species. Through the Living Seawalls project in Australia, I’ve worked with collaborators to develop and test eco-engineered panels that add habitat complexity and support native species. These panels have now been installed in more than 10 countries around the world and are providing insight into how different geometries perform under different environmental conditions. Through this project I have also explored how ecological principles can inform port design to reduce the risk of marine invasions, using biosecurity research to guide infrastructure planning. Other stressors associated with coastal cities include the contaminants introduced by stormwater. My work on the structural and functional impacts of contaminants has included measuring the responses of macro- and micro-organisms to stormwater. In collaboration with the City of Sydney, I’ve also investigated whether sediment-dwelling organisms (bioturbators) can help remediate stormwater-contaminated sediments by enhancing microbial processes. Industrial pollution is another persistent stressor, and I’ve been using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect changes in benthic communities and assess ecosystem health. In my talk I’ll also introduce the work of the Stone Living Lab in Boston, where we are applying nature-based approaches to build coastal resilience with the support of different government, community and industry stakeholders. Together, these projects aim to inform sustainable design and management of urban coastal environments.

Join Meeting

https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270

Note: Meeting ID and passcode required. Email contact to obtain.

For additional information, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu

SMAST East 101-103 : 836 S. Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford MA 02744
Callie Rumbut
c.rumbut@umassd.edu
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270