Daniel Friess
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
PhD in Coastal Geomorphology, University of Cambridge
BSc (Hons) 1st class in Environmental Biology, Imperial College London
Research Interests
Vulnerability of coastal wetlands to sea level rise
I have a large research interest in monitoring sediment-vegetation dynamics and surface elevation processes, and
how mangroves may respond to sea level rise. We have set up a number of Surface Elevation Tables in Singapore
to measure millimetre-scale change in intertidal surface elevation, and are contributing to a global network of
measurements. This work is in collaboration with Ken Krauss and Nicole Cormier at the US Geological Survey.
Mangrove restoration
The replanting and restoration of mangrove ecosystems is notoriously unsuccessful. I am working with the French
NGO Planete Urgence to identify cost-effective techniques to rapidly quantify restoration success at sites in
Sumatra, Indonesia. We will also be mapping future restoration sites (surface elevation and hydrodynamic
mapping with dGPS and ADVs) to predict where species-specific restoration will be most successful.
Remote sensing
My current remote sensing research is quantifying regional-scale drivers of mangrove loss in SE Asia, especially
Malaysia and Myanmar. I have utilised a variety of platforms to monitor both temperate and tropical coastal
wetlands, including satellite/airborne multispectral imagery (land cover change, NDVI), aerial photography
(shoreline analysis), airborne and terrestrial LiDAR (DEM mapping, geomorphological/volumetric change) and
differential GPS.
I cover many of the remote sensing and GIS tasks for the lab and the wider Department, including mapping of
habitat fragmentation for mangrove gene flow and terrestrial rainforest biodiversity studies.
Uncertainty and environmental policy
I am interested in causes of data and information uncertainty (poor methodology, poor traceability of the grey
literature, propagation of incorrect data) and how this affects the uptake of scientific information into ‘evidence-
based’ policy. I am particularly interested in uncertainty relating to large-scale ecosystem dynamics (i.e.
mangroves), and how robust methodologies such as remote sensing can reduce uncertainty and statistically
articulate error.
Supervised classification of mangroves in Langkawi
Mangrove restoration collaborators in Sumatra, Indonesia
Selected Publications
Friess DA and Webb EL. 2011. Bad data equals bad policy: how to trust rates of ecosystem loss when there is so
much uncertainty? Environmental Conservation 38: 1-5 doi:10.1017/S0376892911000026 click here
Friess DA, Spencer T, Möller I, Smith G and Thomson AG. 2008. Geomorphological Impacts of Managed
Realignment on the External Intertidal Zone. Proceedings of Littoral 2008, Venice, Italy
Friess DA, Spencer T and Möller I. 2008. Managed Realignment and the Re-establishment of Saltmarsh Habitat,
Freiston Shore, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. In: ProAct Network. The Role of Environmental Management
and Eco-Engineering in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. ProAct Network/United
Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. 124pp
Baxter JM, Buckley PJ and Wallace CJ. (eds). 2008. Marine Climate Change Impacts. Marine Climate Change
Impacts Partnership (contributor)
Friess DA, Spencer T, Smith GM, Moller I and Thomson AG. 2006. Thinking Outside the Box: Visualising the
External Impacts of Managed Realignment. Proceedings of Littoral 2006, Gdansk, Poland. Vol 6: 35-40
Interesting links
Surface Elevation Table network
www.pwrc.usgs.gov/set
Free Landsat imagery
www.landcover.org
Free GIS layers + software
www.diva-gis.org
Mangrove restoration
www.mangroveactionproject.org
Mangrove extent (FAO)
www.fao.org/forestry/mangrove/en
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance
www.sdwa.nus.edu.sg
My PhD research
www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/friess
Mangroves have decreased from 13% to 0.5% of Singapore’s land area
Chatting about mangroves with the Dutch Prime Minister
