Alberto Canestrelli
· Associate ProfessorUniversity of Florida · Civil and Coastal Engineering
Active 2007–2026
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About
Alberto Canestrelli is an Associate Professor at the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment at the University of Florida. He joined UF in December 2017 after earning his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, followed by two postdoctoral positions at Boston University and Penn State University. His primary research focus is on the numerical modeling of coastal and estuarine hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. Professor Canestrelli's ultimate goal is to understand the mechanisms governing the evolution of natural and man-influenced environments.
Research topics
- Geology
- Environmental science
- Ecology
- Oceanography
- Remote sensing
- Computer Science
- Geometry
- Fishery
- Geomorphology
- Mathematics
Selected publications
Salt Marsh Dynamics in a Period of Accelerated Sea Level Rise
Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface · 2020 · 206 citations
Abstract Salt marshes are dynamic systems able to laterally expand, contract, and vertically accrete in response to sea level rise. Here, we present the grand challenges that need to be addressed to fully characterize marsh morphodynamics. The review focuses on physical processes and quantitative models. Without predictive models, it is impossible to determine the future marsh evolution under accelerated sea level rise. In these models, one of the challenges is to resolve both horizontal and ver…
Remote Sensing · 2021 · 43 citations
This study evaluates the skills of two types of drone-based point clouds, derived from LiDAR and photogrammetric techniques, in estimating ground elevation, vegetation height, and vegetation density on a highly vegetated salt marsh. The proposed formulation is calibrated and tested using data measured on a Spartina alterniflora-dominated salt marsh in Little Sapelo Island, USA. The method produces high-resolution (ground sampling distance = 0.40 m) maps of ground elevation and vegetation charact…
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms · 2020 · 39 citations
ABSTRACT Salt marshes are transitional zones between ocean and land, which act as natural buffers against coastal hazards. The survival of salt marshes is governed by the rate of organic and inorganic deposition, which strongly depends on vegetation characteristics, such as height and density. Vegetation also favours the dissipation of wind waves and storm surges. For these reasons, an accurate description of both ground elevation and vegetation characteristics in salt marshes is critical for th…
Estuaries and Coasts · 2021 · 27 citations
Faunal engineering stimulates landscape-scale accretion in southeastern US salt marshes
Nature Communications · 2023-02-16 · 24 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract The fate of coastal ecosystems depends on their ability to keep pace with sea-level rise—yet projections of accretion widely ignore effects of engineering fauna. Here, we quantify effects of the mussel , Geukensia demissa , on southeastern US saltmarsh accretion. Multi-season and -tidal stage surveys, in combination with field experiments, reveal that deposition is 2.8-10.7-times greater on mussel aggregations than any other marsh location. Our Delft-3D-BIVALVES model further predicts t…
Frequent coauthors
- 19 shared
Sergio Fagherazzi
Boston University
- 14 shared
Daniele Pinton
University of Florida
- 12 shared
William Nardin
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
- 12 shared
Stefano Lanzoni
University of Padua
- 7 shared
Rudy Slingerland
Pennsylvania State University
- 6 shared
Eleuterio F. Toro
- 6 shared
Douglas A. Edmonds
Indiana University
- 5 shared
Viyaktha Hithaishi Hewageegana
Education
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Padova
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