harry williams

Dr. Harry Williams
Professor
Department of Geography
University of North Texas
1155 Union Circle, #305279
Denton, TX 76203, USA

Editorial Board Member, Journal of Coastal Research

Phone: (940) 565-3317
Fax: (940) 369-7550
E-mail: HarryF.Williams@unt.edu

Harry Williams CV
Faculty Information System

Harry Williams
UNT Geography
UNT

Harry Williams...Research
About me Research Courses Students Publications
Rita Irene monolith
Aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Holly Beach, Louisiana.       Hurricane Irene washover fan, Assateague Is.      Hurricane Ike storm surge sedimentation

I’m interested in a wide variety of geomorphology topics, but in recent years my research focus has been on hurricane storm surge sedimentation. I study modern hurricane washover deposits and how they change the geomorphology of coastal environments. I also study paleo-washover deposits preserved within coastal marshes (paleotempestology), because they form a valuable sedimentary record of prehistoric hurricane strikes that can be used for improved assessment of risk; for example, paleotempestology studies can help to answer questions such as, “How often will a hurricane like Katrina strike the Gulf coast? Will global warming result in more frequent and more intense hurricane strikes?” "Can vertical marsh growth keep pace with rising sea level?" Recent projects include the character, magnitude and preservation of washover deposits of hurricanes Audrey (1957), Rita (2005) and Ike (2008) in Texas and Louisiana; the contribution of hurricane washover sedimentation to coastal marsh growth in Texas and Louisiana; characteristics of washover fans and terraces deposited by Hurricane Irene (2011) in New York, Virginia and North Carolina; a paleotempestology study of a 600-year sedimentary record of hurricane strikes in a beach ridge plain in Louisiana; a paleotempestology study of a 8000-year sedimentary record of typhoon strikes at two coastal marsh sites on the Gulf of Thailand; a paleotempestology study on the coast of Vietnam
; the magnitude and distribution of Hurricane Harvey flood sedimentation in Texas coastal marshes.
Recent Research Projects (#2, 5, 9, 10, 11 & 12 were graduate thesis research projects):
1. Hurricane Harvey Flood Sedimentation in Southeastern Texas  coastal marshes.
2.
Evaluating Sea-level Rise Hazards on Coastal Archaeological Sites, Trinity Bay, Texas.
3. A Tentative Record of Mid-Holocene Sea-Level Highstand and Barrier Overwash from the Cam River Mouth, Vietnam.
4. Assessing the effectiveness of coastal foredune barriers in reducing hurricane washover sedimentation.
5. Deriving spatial and temporal patterns of coastal marsh aggradation from hurricane storm surge marker beds.
6. Geologic records of Holocene typhoon strikes on the Gulf of Thailand coast.
7. Contrasting styles of Hurricane Irene washover sedimentation on three east coast barrier islands: Cape Lookout, North Carolina; Assateague Island, Virginia; and Fire Island, New York.
8. GIS-based analysis of foundation repairs and soil conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. 
9. Field-based monitoring of sediment runoff from natural gas well sites in Denton County, Texas. 
10. GPS-based analysis of shoreline change, 1995-2005, Mad Island Marsh Preserve, Matagorda County, Texas. 
11. Impact of urbanization on storm response of White Rock Creek, Dallas. 
12.
GIS modeling of wetlands elevation change in response to projected sea level rise, Trinity Bay, Texas.