Mitchell Harley

Associate Professor Mitchell Harley is a leading expert in coastal erosion and hazards at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), specifically within the Faculty of Engineering and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His work combines innovative technologies like CoastSnap (a global citizen science initiative) and CoastSat (satellite imagery analysis) to advance coastal monitoring and forecasting.

• Education: BEng (Environmental) and BSc (Oceanography/Meteorology) from UNSW (2004), PhD in Civil Engineering (2009)
• Supervision: Currently mentoring 7 PhD/MPhil students in areas like AI for rip current detection and satellite shoreline modeling

Research Focus: Coastal erosion mechanisms, real-time hazard forecasting, and climate change impacts on shorelines. Key technologies include smartphone-based monitoring, satellite remote sensing, and machine learning.

Recent Publications (2022-2025) demonstrate expertise in:

• Multi-decadal shoreline prediction
• Wave climate downscaling
• Citizen science applications
• AI for coastal safety
• ENSO-driven erosion patterns
• High-resolution satellite monitoring

Scientific Recognition:

• CoastSnap: UN Ocean Decade Action
• Scientia Associate Professorship

Collaborations: Leads initiatives like the Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach Survey Program (50-year dataset) and Coastal Imaging Research Network. Advises on national Coastal Storm Hazard Warning Systems.