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Professor Iris Moeller

Professor of Geography 1966/Head of Dept (Geography)
MUSEUM BUILDING

 moelleri@tcd.ie

 3531896 2661


Biography

Prof Möller is a coastal geomorphologist who researches how physical and biological processes interact at the coast, particularly in the intertidal zone (the area between tidal high and low water). She uses these insights to work with others within and beyond the discipline of Geography to develop integrative solutions for a coastal environment in which people are protected from flooding and erosion whilst also taking advantage of the many benefits healthy ecosystems and dynamic coastal landforms, particularly coastal wetlands, have for humans. The monitoring and understanding of long-term coastal morphodynamics (the link between coastal landforms and the processes shaping them) forms a key component of her work, as does how we use these insights to adapt to a changed environmental future through climate change, sea-level rise, and altered storm frequency/severity. The coast is home to a vast array of different land forms that can rapidly change in response to external drivers, such as sea level rise, altered sediment fluxes, altered atmospheric composition, and human land use. Given the complexity of the coastal system, field observations are crucial in allowing theories to be verified and tested. Similarly, the ability to control conditions in the laboratory context or in numerical models is important in allowing theory to be developed. In recent years, Prof Möller has worked closely with specialists in deploying remote sensing methods via remotely controlled airborne vehicles (UAVs) and satellite (e.g. the Copernicus suite of Sentinels). Such methods allow the capture of frequent images of a rapidly changing environment without the logistical difficulties of working in treacherous terrain. Using all of these methods, Prof. Möller and her team and collaborators have led and contributed to a range of projects funded by national and international governmental funding agencies, including the European Union FP7 and Horizon 2020 Programmes, as well as the private sector and non-government organisations.
Solan, Martin, Spencer, Tom, Paterson, David M., Unsworth, Christopher A., Christie, Elizabeth K., Blight, Andrew J., Brown, Jenny, Brooks, Helen, Lichtman, I. Dougal, Wei, Xiaoyan, Li, Xiaorong, Thorne, Pete, Leyland, Julian, Godbold, Jasmin A., Thompson, Charlie, Williams, Megan E., Plater, Andrew, Moller, Iris, Amoudry, Laurent O., Biological"physical interactions are fundamental to understanding and managing coastal dynamics, Royal Society Open Science, 10, (7), 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Steinigeweg, Charlotte S., Löbel, Swantje, Schröder, Boris, Schoutens, Ken, Reents, Svenja, Evans, Ben R., Temmerman, Stijn, Bouma, Tjeerd J., Möller, Iris, Paul, Maike, Plant trait-mediated drag forces on seedlings of four tidal marsh pioneer species, Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Pétillon, Julien, McKinley, Emma, Alexander, Meghan, Adams, Janine B., Angelini, Christine, Balke, Thorsten, Griffin, John N., Bouma, Tjeerd, Hacker, Sally, He, Qiang, Hensel, Marc J.S., Ibáñez, Carles, Macreadie, Peter I., Martino, Simone, Sharps, Elwyn, Ballinger, Rhoda, de Battisti, Davide, Beaumont, Nicola, Burdon, Daryl, Daleo, Pedro, D'Alpaos, Andrea, Duggan-Edwards, Mollie, Garbutt, Angus, Jenkins, Stuart, Ladd, Cai J.T., Lewis, Heather, Mariotti, Giulio, McDermott, Osgur, Mills, Rachael, Möller, Iris, Nolte, Stefanie, Pagès, Jordi F., Silliman, Brian, Zhang, Liquan, Skov, Martin W., Top ten priorities for global saltmarsh restoration, conservation and ecosystem service research, Science of The Total Environment, 898, 2023, p165544 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Brooks, Helen, Moeller, Iris, Spencer, Tom, Royse, Katherine, Shear strength and erosion resistance of salt marsh substrates: Which method to use?, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 292, 2023, p108452 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Brooks, Helen, Moeller, Iris, Spencer, Tom, Royse, Katherine, Price, Simon, Kirkham, Matt, How strong are salt marshes? Geotechnical properties of coastal wetland soils, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Möller, Iris, Ionescu, Maria Smaranda, Constantinescu, Adriana Maria, Evans, Ben Richard, Scrieciu, Albert, Stanica, Adrian, Grosu, Dumitru, Bio-Physical Controls on Wave Transformation in Coastal Reed Beds: Insights From the Razelm-Sinoe Lagoon System, Romania, Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Tom Fairchild, William Bennett, Greg Smith, Brett Day, Martin Skov, Iris Möller, Nicola Beaumont, Harshinie Karunarathna, John Griffin, Coastal wetlands mitigate storm flooding and associated costs in estuaries, 2021, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Pollard J.A., Spencer, T., Brooks, S.M., Christie, E.K., and Möller, I, Understanding spatio-temporal barrier dynamics through the use of multiple shoreline proxies, Geomrphology, 2020, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107058], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Joshua Kiesel, Mark Schuerch, Elizabeth K. Christie, Iris Möller, Tom Spencer, Athanasios Vafeidis, Breach the dikes! How to design saltmarsh restoration schemes for mitigating coastal flooding., 2020, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Clementine Chirol, Helen Brooks, Simon Carr, Elizabeth Christie, Ben Evans, Jason Lynch, Iris Möller, Kate Royse, Kate Spencer, Tom Spencer, Effect of belowground structure on coastal wetland erosion resistance using X-Ray Computed Tomography, 2020, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 6
Möller, I and Spencer, T, 'Saltmarsh Restoration: An Introduction', Saltmarsh Restoration Handbook, Environment Agency, 2022, -, Conservation, restoration work, PUBLISHED
Ben R. Evans, Iris Möller, Tom Spencer, Topological and Morphological Controls on Morphodynamics of Salt Marsh Interiors, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9, (3), 2021, p311 - 332, Journal Article, PUBLISHED

  

Awards and Honours

Award Date
Fellow Royal Geographical Society 2018
Fellow of the British Society of Geomorphology (FBSG) October 2023