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Professor Iris Moeller

Professor of Geography 1966 (Geography)
MUSEUM BUILDING
      
Profile Photo

Professor Iris Moeller

Professor of Geography 1966 (Geography)
MUSEUM BUILDING

 moelleri@tcd.ie

 3531896 2661


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.
Iris Möller, Karen O"Leary, Balancing conservation and human access to nature: the impact of a constructed causeway on water levels and sedimentation, North Bull Island, Ireland, Cambridge Prisms Coastal Futures, 3, 2025, pe9 - e9, pe9-e9 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Jennifer Clarke, Iris Möller, Monitoring alongshore variability in aeolian sand transport for a better understanding of dune vulnerability to storm surge impact, Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment, 49, (4), 2025, p323 - 343, p323-343 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Juliet Rounce, Iris Möller, Andrew J. Manning, Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon in an Irish salt marsh (Rogerstown Estuary), Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 197, (8), 2025, p899 - 899, p899-899 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Abbie Nugent, Iris Möller, Assessing the critical role of upper beach morphology for storm impact predictions " A case study on Dollymount Strand, Ireland, Regional Studies in Marine Science, 91, 2025, p104599 - 104599, p104599-104599 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
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
Iris Möller, Review: The Coastal Atlas of Ireland, Irish Geography, 55, (1), 2023, 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
  

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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

  


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