The Coast
The coastal region includes wetlands, estuaries, cliffs, dunes, beaches, the surfzone and the continental shelf.
The Klamath River Mouth, Yurok Reservation. Photo by Stephen Saks. Annotation added.
Humans interact with coastal regions more than any other part of the ocean (e.g. fishing and aquaculture, recreation, transport).
Mural in the fishing town of Newport Oregon.
Coasts are often highly modified (e.g. resource extraction, harbor construction, pollution) and are vulnerable when unsustainable practices are implemented by growing human populations.
As climate change continues, coasts are increasingly threatened (e.g. sea level rise, changing storm conditions, ocean acidification).
Flooding at Imperial Beach, California. Photo by Serge Dedina.
Our group studies how waves, currents, and sediment transport interact with environmental management and ecological functioning, to build more resilient coasts.
The office on a good day.
Join Our Team!
Curious about joining our team?
We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated students and postdocs to join our team. Please check out our projects and lab philosophy. If our work interests you, check out our pages for prospective undergraduate and masters students, or postdoctoral researchers. CPH does not grant PhDs but Dr. Ludka can serve on PhD student committees.
Madison being curious.
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Land Acknowledgement
Cal Poly Humboldt is located on the present and ancestral Homeland and unceded territory of the Wiyot Tribe. Please donate to the Wiyot Tribe honor tax. We encourage direct giving to Tribes and Native-led efforts. Tribes and Nations in Humboldt County include Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, Wiyot, Yurok. We make this land acknowledgement in recognition that our words must be matched by action and approach. Please learn from Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy's lecture "What Good Is a Land Acknowledgment?"
Photo of Students in Trinidad Bay from CPH website.
Header Photo: The Klamath River Mouth, Yurok Reservation. Photo by Stephen Saks.