The School of Oceanography (SOO) held its first coastal field methods summer school from July 1st to July 10th at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology at Tongji University. The focus of this summer school centered on the topic of “Human impacts to coastal systems”. The program covered theory, methods, and emerging technologies that can enable us to better understand how we are affecting our fragile coastlines.

Group photo of participants and instructors during the first day of the summer school, July 1^st, (SJTU Xuhui campus). Photo credit: Anqi Xie.

The summer school featured three instructors coming from diverse, but complementary coastal research backgrounds: Associate Professor and organizer Bradley Weymer from SJTU, Professor Daidu Fan from Tongji University, and Research Professor Yining Chen from the Second Institute of Oceanography. A total of 11 students from 9 different institutions participated in the summer school.

Dean Meng Zhou delivering the opening speech on July 1^st. Photo credit: Anqi Xie.

The opening ceremony on July 1st was addressed by Professor Meng Zhou, Dean of the School of Oceanography at SJTU. He expressed gratitude to the invited professors and welcomed all participants. Emphasizing the pivotal role of fieldwork, Professor Zhou encouraged enhanced collaboration among participants and institutions through the summer school.

During the summer school, participants first learned theoretical knowledge and techniques in the classroom and laboratory. The lectures, delivered from the perspectives of ecology, sedimentology, biology, and hydrogeology, included: “Coastal Wetlands and Blue Carbon” by Professor Yining Chen. “Introduction to tidal flat sedimentology and biology,” and “Core scanning methods and data interpretation” by Professor Daidu Fan. “Basic principles of applied near-surface geophysics including ground penetrating radar,” and “Human impacts to coastal systems and land reclamation activities” by Associate Professor Bradley Weymer. Laboratory instruction included: “Basics of core description” by Professor Bradley Weymer.

View of Nanhui tidal beach. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer

Group photo of participants and instructors (Nanhui tidal beach, July 4^th.) Photo credit: Daidu Fan

Participants employing GPR system on Nanhui tidal beach, July 5^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer.

Participants digging a trench on Nanhui tidal beach, July 5^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer.

Group photo of participants after the fieldwork in Lingang, July 5^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer

Participants collecting sediment with a Russian corer on Nanhui tidal beach, July 6^th. Photo credit: Yingting Shen

Participants taking vegetation samples on Nanhui tidal beach, July 6^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer

Participants taking vegetation samples on Nanhui tidal beach, July 6^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer

Following the theoretical teaching, participants went to the study area at the Nanhui tidal beach in Lingang, along the south flank of the Yangtze River. Field investigations were conducted on sedimentary structures, biogeomorphology, and vegetation species distribution. Students also conducted geophysical ground penetrating radar surveys, trench excavations, sediment coring with a Russian corer, vegetation sampling and beach elevation profile measurements using real time kinematics (RTK) – GPS technology.

Participants engaging in lively discussions about field data, July 5^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer

Group photo of participants and instructors after the fieldwork in Lingang, July 7^th Tongji University, (State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology). Photo credit: Yiqing Wang.

After the field investigations, Postdoctoral researcher Jiangfeng Su provided instruction on the processing and interpretation of core scanning data. Professor Bradley Weymer along with Qiyue Gu (TA) taught the processing and interpretation of GPR data. Under the guidance of Professor Yining Chen, participants analyzed and processed the elevation data and vegetation samples. Additionally, Professor Bradley Weymer covered the methods of grain size analysis, which the participants applied in the laboratory to analyze the depositional history of cores previously collected from the Nanhui tidal beach.

Participant presenting findings of their field investigations, July 10^th. Photo credit: Bradley Weymer

On the morning of July 10th participants presented findings from their field investigations. Professors Bradley Weymer, Daidu Fan and Yining Chen attended the session, listening to the participants’ reports and engaging in lively discussions. Following the presentations, the professors expressed their gratitude to all participating students of the summer school. They praised the active participation of all students throughout the program and encouraged the next generation of coastal researchers to collaborate and exchange ideas across disciplines to address real-life questions. Lastly, the professors awarded course certificates to all students who participated in the summer school, marking the successful conclusion of the program.

Group photo of participants and instructors at the conclusion of the summer school on July, 10^th (School of Oceanography – SJTU). Photo credit: Linyan Ren.