A thorough understanding of both the physical and the human sciences is important to the study of the spatial patterns and processes observed in terrestrial, coastal and marine systems set in the context of past, present and future social and economic developments. This includes multidisciplinary and integrated knowledge and understanding of: physical geography, coastal geomorphology, sediment dynamics, hydrodynamics, soil science, hydrology, plant and animal ecology, vegetation science, biogeography, landscape ecology, recreation and tourism studies, urban and human ecology, coastal engineering and spatial planning, coastal zone management, and marine resource management.

Environmental applications that make use of spatial information technology (IT) to c