Ian Walker

Biography

Ian Walker is a physical geographer and geomorphologist with expertise in sediment transport and erosion, aeolian and coastal geomorphology, environmental fluid dynamics, sand dunes, beach-dune interaction, and climatic variability and change impacts in the coastal zone. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto in Geography and Environmental Science and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Guelph, Canada. Dr. Walker joined UCSB in 2020 and previously held faculty positions at Arizona State University (2016-2020) and the University of Victoria, Canada (2000-2016). To date, he has authored over 85 scientific journal articles and book chapters and has given over 100 conference presentations, public talks, and media interviews. He has secured over $4M to support his research and student training programs, which often involve collaborative partnerships with local, state, and/or federal agencies. Dr. Walker is also a member of the editorial boards for *Earth Surface Processes & Landforms, Annals of the American Association of Geographers*, and the *Journal of Coastal Research*. Professor Walker teaches courses on introductory physical geography, geomorphology, close range remote sensing, and research development and he has directly supervised over 40 undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doc scholars to date.

Research

Professor Walker’s research examines sedimentary processes in coastal and inland landscapes using a variety of field- and lab-based methods to study sediment transport and flow dynamics over complex terrain, coastal erosion and beach-dune recovery, restoration of coastal dunes, sea-level changes (past and present) and coastal landscape evolution, sedimentological signatures of human activities, climate change impacts and adaptation, and planetary geology. Methods used include spatial-temporal change detection in sedimentary landscapes using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unpiloted aerial systems (UAS), field experiments of sediment transport and beach-dune morphodynamics, high-resolution microscopy, and sedimentological investigations of relict landscapes and archaeological sites. He also conducts research on the interactions between fluid turbulence, sediment transport, and bedform morphodynamics using wind tunnel simulations, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and particle imaging velocimetry (PIV). Dr. Walker's research has explored sedimentary landscapes around the world and current projects include a study at the Oceano Dunes involving development of a new foredune ecosystem as a dust emissions mitigation strategy in collaboration with the California Department of Parks & Recreation and a project with the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Humboldt Bay that examines the effectiveness of invasive plant removal for restoring coastal dune resilience to coastal erosion and sea-level rise.

Selected Publications

Walker, IJ, Turner, C, Hilgendorf, Z. 2021. Comparing UAS and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) methods for geomorphic change detection. Chapter 15 in: Frazier, AE and Singh, KK (eds), Fundamentals of Capturing and Processing Drone Imagery and Data. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis. 385 p.
ISBN: 9781000401950. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9780429283239.

Huff, AE, Nomikou, P, Thompson, LA, Hooft, EE, Walker, IJ. 2021. Applying Planetary Mapping Methods to Submarine Environments: Onshore-Offshore Geomorphology of Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo Volcanic Group, Greece. Journal of Maps, SI Geomorphological mapping tools for natural hazards. (https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2021.1880980).

Hilgendorf, Z, Marvin, MC, Turner, CM, Walker, IJ. 2021. Assessing geomorphic change in restored coastal dune ecosystems using a multi-platform aerial approach. Remote Sensing, 13, 354. (https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13030354).

Cheung, SY, Walker, IJ, Myint, S, Dorn, R. 2021. Assessing land degradation induced by recreational activities in Algodones Dunes, California. Journal of Arid Environments 185: 104334 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104334).

Walker, IJ. 2020. Aeolian (windblown) sand transport over beaches. Chapter 10. In Jackson, DWJ, and Short, A (eds). Sandy Beach Morphodynamics. 55 p. Elsevier. ISBN: 9780081029275 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102927-5.00010-2).

Nelson, L, Cade-Menun, BJ, Walker, IJ, Sanborn, P. 2020. Soil phosphorus dynamics across a Holocene chronosequence of aeolian sand dunes in a hypermaritime environment on Calvert Island, BC, Canada. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. July 2020, Vol. 3, Article 83. (https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00083).

Grilliot, MJ, Walker, IJ, Bauer, BO. 2019. The role of large woody debris in beach-dune interaction. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. (https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005120).

Smyth, TA, Hesp, PA, Walker, IJ, Wasklewicz, T, Gares, P, Smith, AB. 2019. Topographic change and numerically modelled near surface wind flow in a bowl blowout. Earth Surface Processes & Landforms. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.4625).

Lausanne, A, Fedje, D, Mackie, Q, Walker, IJ. 2019. Identifying potential geoarchaeological sites with high prospecting potential using aerial LIDAR imaging and GIS on Quadra Island, Canada. Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology. (https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2019.1659884).

Rader, AM, Pickart, A, Walker, IJ, Hesp, PA, Bauer, BO. 2018. Foredune morphodynamics and sediment budgets at seasonal to decadal scales: Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA. Geomorphology 318: 69-87 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.06.003).

Walker, IJ, Davidson-Arnott, RGD, Bauer, BO, Hesp, PA, Ollerhead, J, Delgado-Fernandez, I, Smyth, TAG. 2017. Scale-dependent perspectives on the geomorphology of beach-dune systems. Earth Science Reviews, 171: 220-253. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.04.011).

Eamer, JBR, Shugar, DH, Walker, IJ, Lian, O, Neudorf, CM. 2017. Distinguishing depositional setting for sandy deposits in coastal landscapes using grain shape. Journal of Sedimentary Research 87: 1-11. (http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2016.92)

Darke, IB, Walker, IJ, Hesp, PA. 2016. Beach-dune sediment budgets and dune morphodynamics following coastal dune restoration, Wickaninnish Dunes, Canada. Earth Surface Processes & Landforms, 41(10): 1370-1385 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.3910)

Barnard P, Short A, Harley M, Splinter K, Vitousek S, Turner I, Allan J, Banno M, Bryan K, Doria A, Hansen J, Kato S, Kuriyama Y, Randall-Goodwin E, Ruggiero P, Walker IJ, Heathfield D. Coastal vulnerability across the Pacific dominated by El Niño/Southern Oscillation. 2015. Nature Geoscience 8: 801–807. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2539).