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Dr Seb Pitman

Contact

Department: School of Earth and Environment

Email: sebastian.pitman@canterbury.ac.nz

Direct Dial: +64 3 3693028

Office: Beatrice Tinsley Rm 227

Language: English

Seb is a coastal geomorphologist, with his primary interests being the study of mixed sediment beaches, and the study of hazardous rip currents.
About
Research / Creative works
Supervision
Networks
Methods & Equipment

Fields of Research

  • Rip currents
  • Swash processes
  • Coastal erosion
  • Beach dynamics
  • Storm response
  • Coastal flooding
  • Storm surge
  • Coastal groundwater
  • Sea level

Researcher Summary

My research on mixed sand gravel beach dynamics employs cutting edge technology such as UAV survey, Ground Penetrating Radar, and Coastal Imaging methods in order to understand contemporary processes. One exciting emerging aspect of this work is the impact of post-seismic sediment pulses to the beach, and the subsequent impact on surfzone morphodynamics.

My research on coastal hazards spans cross-disciplinary boundaries, encompassing physical measurement of surfzone morphodynamics, and the social aspects of drowning risk.

More recently, through a partnership with the UK's Royal National Lifeboat Institution, my research has considered human factors in rescue situations. This current research focus centers on the role of lifeguard preventative actions on beaches, and the subsequent impact of interventions on beach rescue statistics.

Subject Area: Disciplines

  • Earth Sciences: Geomorphology; Physical Geography
  • Coastal Research: Coastal oceanography and engineering

Resources

  • My Personal Website

Research/Scholarly/Creative Works

Journal Articles
  • Pitman SJ., Thompson K., Hart DE., Moran K., Gallop SL., Brander RW. and Wooler A. (2021) Beachgoers' ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situ. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 21(1): 115-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-115-2021.
  • Hart D., Pitman S. and Byun D-S. (2020) Earthquakes, coasts… and climate change? Multi-hazard opportunities, challenges and approaches for coastal cities.. Journal of Coastal Research (SI95): 819-823. http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI95-159.1.
  • Pitman SJ. (2019) Trends in the wear of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) in the UK 2009-2017. Injury Prevention http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043213.
  • Pitman SJ. and Lee D. (2019) Determining the accuracy of visual wave height observations and the perception of surf-zone hazards made by lifeguards. Journal of Coastal Research 35(4): 776-783. http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-18-00128.1.
  • Pitman SJ., Gallop SL. and Brander RW. (2019) Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? Frontiers for Young Minds 7 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frym.2019.00033.
  • Pitman SJ., Hart D. and Katurji M. (2019) Application of UAV techniques to expand beach research possibilities: A case study of coarse clastic beach cusps. Continental Shelf Research 184: 44-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2019.07.008.
  • Pitman SJ., Jol HM., Shulmeister J. and Hart DE. (2019) Storm response of a mixed sand gravel beach ridge plain under falling relative sea levels: A stratigraphic investigation using ground penetrating radar. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 44(8): 1610-1617. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.4598.
  • Pitman SJ., Wright M. and Hocken R. (2019) An analysis of lifejacket wear, environmental factors, and casualty activity on marine accident fatality rates. Safety Science 111: 234-242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.07.016.
  • Gallop S., Bryan K., Pitman SJ., Ranasinghe R., Sandwell D. and Harrison S. (2018) Rip current circulation and surf zone retention on a double barred beach. Marine Geology 405: 12-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2018.07.015.
  • Gallop SL., Woodward E., Brander RW. and Pitman SJ. (2016) Perceptions of rip current myths from the central south coast of England. Ocean and Coastal Management 119: 14-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.09.010.
  • Pitman S., Gallop SL., Haigh ID., Masselink G. and Ranasinghe R. (2016) Wave breaking patterns control rip current flow regimes and surfzone retention. Marine Geology 382: 176-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2016.10.016.
  • Pitman S. (1900) Response to RC1. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2020-244-ac1.
  • Pitman S. (1900) Response to RC2. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2020-244-ac2.
  • Pitman SJ., Thompson K., Hart DE., Moran K., Gallop SL., Brander RW. and Wooler A. (1900) Supplementary material to "Beachgoers’ ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situ". http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2020-244-supplement.
Chapters
  • Pitman S. (2020) What do you mean the field site is a nudist beach?! In Short AD; Brander RW (Ed.), Journal of Coastal Research Special Issue No 101: Stories from the field: 347-349.
  • Pitman SJ. (2014) Methods for field measurement and remote sensing of the swash zone. In Cook S; Clarke L; Nield J (Ed.), Geomorphological Techniques (Online Edition): 14.
Conference Contributions - Published
  • MacDonald K., Hart D. and Pitman S.. (2019) Can 1m of uplift offset 1m of Sea Level Rise? An investigation into the post-earthquake response of mixed sand and gravel beaches, Kaikoura, New Zealand. In New Zealand Coastal Society Annual Conference: 1.
  • Pitman SJ., Hart D. and Katurji M.. (2019) An investigation of mixed sediment beach cusp dynamics using UAV photogrammetry. In Proceedings of the Australasian Coasts & Ports Conference.
  • MacDonald K., Hart DE. and Pitman SJ.. (2018) The response of coastal and rivermouth environments to a major tectonic event in Kaikoura, New Zealand. In Waterways Conference for Freshwater Management: 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19584.28162.
  • Gallop SL., Bryan KR., Pitman SJ., Ranasinghe R. and Sandwell D.. (2016) Pulsations in surf zone currents on a high energy mesotidal beach in New Zealand. In Journal of Coastal Research 1(75): 378-382. http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI75-076.1.
  • Pitman S., Gallop SL., Haigh ID., Mahmoodi S., Masselink G. and Ranasinghe R.. (2016) Synthetic imagery for the automated detection of rip currents. In Journal of Coastal Research 75(2): 912-916. http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI75-183.1.
  • Gallop S., Bryan K., Pitman SJ., Ranasinghe R. and Sandwell D.. (2015) Rip current observations on a low-sloping dissipative beach. In Proceedings of the Australasian Coasts and Ports Conference.
Reports
  • Thompson K. (2019) Rip Current Perceptions of New Zealand Beach Users. In Rip Current Perceptions of New Zealand Beach Users. in: Pitman, S.J. and Hart, D.E. (eds), University of Canterbury. Commissioned by Surf Life Saving New Zealand. 39.
Conference Contributions - Other
  • Hart DE., Pitman S. and Byun D-S. (2019) Multi-hazard prone coasts: Where are we now & where to from here? Invercargill: New Zealand Coastal Society, 13-15 Nov 2019.
  • Pitman SJ. (2014) Rips and risk: An investigation of the hazard signature. Young Coastal scientists and Engineers Conference, 14 Apr 2014.
Oral Presentations
  • Pitman SJ. (2017) Saving Lives at Sea: How the RNLI uses data to prevent drowing. University of Southampton: When the Tide Comes In, 10 Oct 2017.
  • Pitman SJ. (2015) Morphological control of rip channel hazard signature. National Oceanography Centre, UK: GSNOCs Upgrade Talks.
  • Pitman SJ. (2015) Video imagery for rip current detection. Manchester: Young Coastal Scientist and Engineer’s Conference.
  • Pitman SJ. (2014) Formation, persistence and spacing of rip channels. Postgraduate Research in Marine and Earth Sciences.
  • Pitman SJ. (2014) Morphology of open coast rips. .
Theses / Dissertations
  • Pitman SJ. (2017) Wave breaking patterns as an indicator of rip current hazard. Southampton. University of Southampton.
  • Pitman SJ. (2013) Automated determination of wave run up from time-variance video images. Plymouth. University of Plymouth.

Student Supervision

Displaying all items.
    Current
  • PhD - Mulcahy N: Our fatal pastime: understanding environmental and social risk factors to inform the prevention of drowning and injury in New Zealand
  • Masters - McNabb T: Citizen science approaches to monitoring coastal change
  • Masters - Pahlen S: Visualizing coastal change south of the Banks Peninsula
  • Completed
  • Masters - MacDonald K: The geomorphological response of uplifted unconsolidated coastal environments, Kaikoura, New Zealand (2019)
  • Masters - Herangi T: An exposure assessment of infrastructure and lifelines to coastal hazards and climate change with the Thames-Coromandel District
  • Honours - Merfield G: Combining Quanitiative and Qualitative Analyses for a Better Understanding of New Zealand’s Extreme Sea Level Events in Relation to Storm Tracks
  • Honours - Phillips M: Re-evaluation of the Environment Canterbury storm ranking table and its implications on Southern Pegasus Bay
  • Summer Student - Thompson K: Perceptions of New Zealand beach users on rip currents

Affiliations

  • British Society for Geomorphology (Professional Organisation): Member
  • City and Guilds Institute (Professional Organisation): Membership
  • Higher Education Academy (Teaching/Research Organisation): Fellow

Key Methodologies

  • Coastal Imaging
  • Lagrangian drifters
  • Remote sensing
  • Ground penetrating radar
  • LiDAR
  • Topographic survey
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