News Release, Kansas Geological Survey, Nov. 8, 2001
LAWRENCE--An expert on the world's coastal zones, and the environmental pressures they are under, will discuss the importance of coastal zones in a public lecture next week at the University of Kansas.
Christopher Crossland will make a presentation on "The World's Coastal Zones: Why They are Important to Us" in the Apollo Auditorium of Nichols Hall on KU's west campus at 7 p.m., November 15. The presentation, sponsored by the scientific society Sigma Xi, is free and open to the public.
Crossland is the executive director of the Land-Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone Project, headquartered in the Netherlands A native of New Zealand, his career has focused on coral reefs, especially those in Australia. He will discuss the nature and importance of the world's coastal zones, the scientific challenges they face, and science-based methods of protecting and managing those areas. In particular, he will describe efforts from Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Coral reefs in much of the world have suffered severe declines the past decade and are the subject of increasing scientific concern.
Crossland's lecture is part of a four-day international workshop on coastal zone issues to be held in Lawrence. Thirty-five experts on coastal zone issues from around the world will discuss and model the environmental pressures facing bays, estuaries, and lagoons in the world's coastal areas.