Adam SWITZER
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Asian School of the Environment
Faculty Representative
NRF Fellow
Phone:
(+65) 6592 1762
Fax:
(+65) 6794 3846
Email:
aswitzer@ntu.edu.sg
Office Location:
N2-01c-44
Additional Website:
Research Group:
- Tectonics, Climate
Team:
Research:
Adam Switzer’s main research interest lies in using coastal stratigraphy to define the recurrence interval of catastrophic marine inundation events (tsunami or large storms). His most significant contributions to the field include:
- The first study of modern storm deposits from the Australian southeast coast;
- The recognition that immature heavy mineral suites in coastal sandsheets may indicate tsunami deposition rather than storm deposition in coastal settings;
- The recognition of an erosional signature of large scale washover of coastal dunes using Ground Penetrating Radar;
- Initial evaluation of the sedimentary processes associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on the southeast coast of India a definitive review and re-analysis of large boulder accumulations in coastal settings on the southeast Australian coast.
Teaching:
When I was an undergraduate I experienced the full spectrum of teachers. Fortunately, those who stand out in my memory have particular attributes in common and it is these that I take as a baseline of my teaching philosophy. My mentors presented their subjects in a way that caught my interest, as a student. They challenged my thinking, clarified difficult concepts and led me through complex areas of the topics I studied. Of particular note most of them used contemporary examples that placed my knowledge into context so that its relevance was apparent. By employing this philosophy I primarily view myself as an educator, rather than as a lecturer who simply delivers information to students. When developing a curriculum or interacting with students I am conscious of the diversity of the student body in any class. I consistently get good teaching evaluations and I received the SPMS teaching award in 2010. I make an effort to take note of the feedback from students, as it has been vital to the development of my teaching style. On thing I recently focussed on is the pacing of lectures and the importance of teaching a few concepts well rather than overwhelming students with mountains of information.
Education:
- PhD: University of Wollongong, Australia, 2005
- BSc: University of Wollongong, Australia, 1999
Professional Experience:
- 2007 - 2009 Centenary Research Assistant Professor, The University of Hong Kong
- 2005 - 2007 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, The University of Hong Kong
- 2005 Cheung Kong Endeavour Australia Fellow, The University of Hong Kong
- 2003 Associate Lecturer, University of Wollongong, Australia
- 2000 - 2004 Casual academic, University of Wollongong, Australia
Professional Activities:
- Guest editor of two special issues in high impact journals; Quaternary International (2010) and Quaternary Science Reviews (2012).
- Developer, primary proponent and co-leader of UNESCO-IUGS backed project IGCP588
- Preparing for coastal change Involving more than 250 scientists globally.
University Service:
- EOS Outreach committee
- DES/EOS Safety committee
- DES Curriculum development committee
Courses Taught:
- ES7009 - Living with coastal processes and hazards
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ES8005 - Environmental Earth Systems Science
- ES7001 - Natural Hazards, Climate Change and Society
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ES8001 - Natural Hazards, Climate Change and Society
Honours and Awards:
- SPMS Teaching award 2011
- Singapore NRF Fellow 2010
- Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowship 2005
Publications:
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(2018). Can the risk of coastal hazards be better communicated?. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 27, 439-450.
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(2017). High-frequency Coastal Overwash Deposits from Phra Thong Island, Thailand. Scientific Reports. 7,
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(2017). Half-metre sea-level fluctuations on centennial timescales from mid-Holocene corals of Southeast Asia. Nature Communications. 8(14387),
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(2016). Lead in the western South China Sea: Evidence of atmospheric deposition and upwelling. Geophysical Research Letters. 43(9), 4490-4499.
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(2016). Repeat Storm Surge Disasters of Typhoon Haiyan and Its 1897 Predecessor in the Philippines. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 97(1), 31-48.
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(2016). How heterogeneous coseismic slip affects regional probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment: A case study in the South China Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 121(8), 6250–6272.
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(2016). Lead isotope exchange between dissolved and fluvial particulate matter: a laboratory study from the Johor River estuary. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A-Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences. 374(2081),
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(2016). A century long sedimentary record of anthropogenic lead (Pb), Pb isotopes and other trace metals in Singapore. Environmental Pollution. 213, 446-459.
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(2015). Isotopic record of lead in Singapore Straits during the last 50 years: Spatial and temporal variations. Marine Chemistry. 168, 49-59.
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(2015). A historical typhoon database for the southern and eastern Chinese coastal regions, 1951 to 2012. Ocean & Coastal Management. 108(SI), 109-115.
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(2015). Ground penetrating radar examination of thin tsunami beds - A case study from Phra Thong Island, Thailand. Sedimentary Geology. 329, 149-165.
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(2015). What caused the mysterious eighteenth century tsunami that struck the southwest Taiwan coast?. Geophysical Research Letters. 42(20), 8498-8506.
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(2014). Thin-bed Ground-Penetrating Radar analysis of preserved modern and palaeotsunami deposits from Phra Thong Island, Thailand. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar.
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(2014). Integrating different records to assess coastal hazards at multicentury timescales. Journal of Coastal Research. 723-729.
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(2014). A preliminary study of the distribution, sizes and orientations of large reef-top coral boulders deposited by extreme waves at Makemo Atoll, French Polynesia. Journal of Coastal Research. 272-277.
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(2014). Examination of ice filled fish crates using High-Frequency Ground Penetrating Radar - contraband detection. 15th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). 983-988.
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(2014). Volcanic tsunami: a review of source mechanisms, past events and hazards in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea). Natural Hazards. 70, 447-470.
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(2013). Ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of formerly mined coastal sand in central Vietnam: a rapid, non-invasive method for investigating the extent and impact of mined areas. Journal on Geological and Earth Sciences. 1, 36-45.
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(2013). Laboratory techniques for geomorphologists: an introduction. Treatise on Geomorphology. 14, 222–223.
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(2013). Methods and techniques for the modern geomorphologist: an introduction to the volume. Treatise on Geomorphology. 14, 1–5.
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(2013). Techniques and methods for the field: an introduction and commentary. Treatise on Geomorphology. 14, 105–109.
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(2013). Cross-continent comparison of high-resolution Holocene climate records from southern Australia-Deciphering the impacts of far-field teleconnections. Earth-Science Reviews. 121, 55-72.
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(2013). Measuring and analyzing particle size in a geomorphic context. Treatise on Geomorphology. 14, 224–242.
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(2013). A comparison of the post-storm recovery of two sandy beaches on Hong Kong Island, southern China. Quaternary International. 304, 163-175.
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(2012). Bedding structures in Indian tsunami deposits that provide clues to the dynamics of tsunami inundation. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 361, 61-77.
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(2012). The role of sea-level rise, monsoonal discharge and the palaeo-landscape in the early Holocene evolution of the Pearl River delta, southern China. Quaternary Science Reviews.
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(2011). Coral communities of Hong Kong: Long-lived corals in a marginal reef environment. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 426, 185-196.
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(2011). Developing a historical tropical cyclone database for the northern South China Sea. ADGEO. 1951-2010.
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(2011). On the Possible Origins of an Unusual (Mid to Late Holocene) Coastal Deposit, Old Punt Bay, South-East Australia. Geographical Research. 49, 408-430.
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(2011). Temporal Distributions of Anthropogenic Al, Zn, and Pb in Hong Kong Porites Coral during the Last Two Centuries. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 63, 508-515.
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(2010). Written records of historical tsunamis in the northeastern South China Sea – challenges associated with developing a new integrated database. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science. 10, 1793-1806.
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(2010). Burial of organic carbon in Holocene sediments of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) and Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuaries. Marine Chemistry. 123, 1-10.
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(2010). Geomorphic evidence for mid–late Holocene higher sea level from southeastern Australia. Quaternary International. 221, 13-22.
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(2010). The Holocene infill of Lake Conjola, a narrow incised valley system on the southeast coast of Australia. Quaternary International. 221, 23-35.
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(2010). Competing mechanisms for boulder deposition on the southeast Australian coast. Geomorphology. 114, 42-54.
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(2010). Sediment source-to-sink, human influences and paleoenvironmental reconstruction in the coastal zone of East and Southeast Asia. Quaternary International. 230, 1-2.
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(2008). An evolutionary model for the Holocene formation of the Pearl River delta, China. The Holocene. 19, 129-142.
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(2008). Setup, Deposition, and Sedimentary Characteristics of Two Storm Overwash Deposits, Abrahams Bosom Beach, Southeastern Australia. Journal of Coastal Research. 189-200.
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(2007). Erosion and sedimentation in Kalpakkam (N Tamil Nadu, India) from the 26th December 2004 tsunami. Marine GeologyMarine Geology. 240, 65-75.
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(2006). Investigation of large-scale washover of a small barrier system on the southeast Australian coast using ground penetrating radar. Sedimentary GeologySedimentary Geology. 183, 145-156.
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(2005). Sea level, storm, or tsunami: Enigmatic sand sheet deposits in a sheltered coastal embayment from southeastern New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Coastal ResearchJournal of Coastal Research. 21, 655-663.
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(2001). Sea-level and environmental changes since the last interglacial in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia: an overview. Quaternary International. 83-5, 19-46.
Publications:
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(2017). Relative Sea Level Proxy Records From Fossil Coral Microatolls In Western Borneo, South China Sea: Sea-level Stability By 7 Ka And Possible Holocene Faulting.. Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 14th Annual Meeting.