Overview
Profile summary
Senior Research Consultant for the Coastal Marine Applied Research (CMAR) consultancy group.
Kit has been a consultant for CMAR since October 2015. Since then he has worked on coastal processes consultancy projects relating to engineering and major infrastructure (for example, rail and power stations), coastal flooding, coastal erosion, beach safety, and marine renewable energy impact assessment, with the projects spanning England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Cape Verde. Kit's research and consultancy projects often involve numerical modelling of coastal processes and forecasting of coastal hazards such as flooding and rip currents. Since 2015, Kit has worked with many of the NGOs involved in UK coastal management, including Royal National Lifeboat Institution, National Trust, Natural England, and Duchy of Cornwall, and Environment Agency.
In 2015 Kit completed a PhD investigating the effects of wave energy extraction on waves, beach morphology, and coastal water-users. He has a wide range of analytical and fieldwork experience, including completing around 100 topographic beach surveys, assisting in multiple storm response surveys, conducting social research, and statistical analysis and modelling. He has authored 6 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 conference papers, and has presented at 5 international conferences. Prior to his PhD, Kit worked as an assistant coastal modeller at a consultancy in New Zealand, focusing on beach response to submerged structures.
Impact fellow for the 5-year NERC funded SWEEP project
Since March 2017, Kit is also an impact fellow on the SWEEP project (The South West Partnership for Environment and Economic Prosperity). Within this role, Kit and Dr Tim Poate have developed a coastal overtopping warning system for the south west of England and south Wales. SWEEP is one of only two awards made under the new NERC Environmental Science Impact Programme. Funded for £5million from 2017-23, SWEEP seeks to use NERC and related research to generate economic and/or social improvements in the South West while also enhancing the natural capital of the region. Uniting the University of Exeter, Plymouth University and Plymouth Marine Labs, the programme started in February 2017 and has brought together over 40 businesses and policy decision makers who have contributed a further £11m in co-funding.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 14 Life Below Water
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 2 Active
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ARISE: Natural adaptation of coral reef islands to sea-level rise offering opportunities for ongoing human occupation (ARISE)
Masselink, G. (PI - Principal Investigator), Scott, T. (CoI - Co-Investigator), Conley, D. (CoI - Co-Investigator), Poate, T. (CoI - Co-Investigator), Stokes, C. (CoI - Co-Investigator) & Brodie, L. (CoI - Co-Investigator)
25/09/23 → 30/12/28
Project: Research
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Advancing Rip Current forecasts for beach locations across South Africa
Masselink, G. (CoI - Co-Investigator), Scott, T. (CoI - Co-Investigator), Stokes, C. (PI - Principal Investigator) & Biermann, L. (CoI - Co-Investigator)
1/05/24 → 31/03/27
Project: Research
Research output
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Tidally Driven Topographic Eddies Exploited by Manta Feeding Aggregations
Cairns, H., Conley, D., Stokes, C., Scott, T. & Hosegood, P., 1 Aug 2026, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 336, 109854.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Tidal Modulation of Topographic Eddies Drives Marine Megafauna Aggregations
Cairns, H., Conley, D., Hosegood, P. & Stokes, C., 5 Mar 2026, Coastal Dynamics 2025. Springer , Vol. 1. p. 584-589 6 p. ( Coastal Research Library (COASTALRL, volume 41)).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceedings published in a book
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Climate Adaptation for a Natural Atoll Island in the Maldives - Predicting the Long-Term Morphological Response of Coral Islands to Sea Level Rise and the Effect of Hazard Mitigation Strategies
Roelvink, F. E., Masselink, G., Stokes, C. & McCall, R. T., Apr 2025, In: Earth's Future. 13, 4, e2024EF005576.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Investigating appropriate artificial intelligence approaches to reliably predict coastal wave overtopping and identify process contributions
McGlade, M., Valiente, N., Brown, J. M., Stokes, C. & Poate, T., 1 Apr 2025, In: Ocean Modelling. 194, 1, 102510.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Downloads (Pure) -
Multi-decadal gravel beach dynamics in the United Kingdom and Ireland: Insights from satellite-derived shorelines
Konstantinou, A., Scott, T., Masselink, G., Stokes, C., Hamilton, T. & Castelle, B., 30 Sept 2025, In: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 50, 12, e70160.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure)
Media stories
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New Natural Hazards Research Research Reported from University of Plymouth (New insights into combined surfzone, embayment, and estuarine bathing hazards)
Masselink, G., Scott, T., Poate, T. & Stokes, C.
6/12/24
1 item of Media coverage
Media story
Datasets
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XBeach morphological modelling Maldives
Roelvink, F. E. (Creator), Masselink, G. (Contributor), Stokes, C. (Contributor) & McCall, R. T. (Contributor), ZENODO, 16 Jan 2024
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10495462, https://zenodo.org/records/10495462
Dataset
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XBeach morphological modelling Maldives
Roelvink, F. E. (Creator), Masselink, G. (Supervisor), Stokes, C. (Supervisor) & McCall, R. T. (Supervisor), ZENODO, 16 Jan 2024
Dataset
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Satellite-based shoreline detection: macrotidal high-energy coasts dataset
Konstantinou, A. (Creator), Scott, T. (Creator), Masselink, G. (Creator), Stokes, C. (Creator), Conley, D. (Creator) & Castelle, B. (Creator), ZENODO, 30 Nov 2022
Dataset
Theses
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COASTAL IMPACTS IN THE LEE OF A WAVE ENERGY SITE: WAVES, BEACH MORPHOLOGY AND WATER-USERS (WAVE HUB, CORNWALL, UK)
Stokes, C. (Author), Beaumont, E. (Director of Studies (First Supervisor)), Russell, P. (Other Supervisor) & Greaves, D. (Other Supervisor), 2015Student thesis: PhD
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