IDOS 151d ago

Often overlooked, yet after water the most used resource on the planet: SAND. Watch the first episode of our series "Meet our PhDs" at IDOS and meet Dennis Schüpf. More than a billion people live in coastal areas, most of which are built up and maintained using sand, mainly supplied by rivers and tidal currents. In the coastal environment, sand acts as a natural barrier at the boundary between land and sea, connecting terrestrial and marine ecosystems and stabilising the coastline. So how do increasingly shrinking sand resources shape coastal adaptation process in long-term? Dennis Schüpf explores this fascinating question in his doctoral thesis. Far from being a static material, sand is a mobile, limited, and contested resource that plays a central role in how coastlines evolve and in how societies adapt to climate change and sea-level rise. By looking at sediment dynamics alongside governance and adaptation strategies, this research highlights why coastal adaptation requires thinking beyond fixed technocratic solutions and Watch the video for a short glimpse into how rethinking sand informs my broader work on resilient and equitable coastal futures.