Leanne Hartley

Name: Leanne Hartley
Job: Coastal engineer
Area of work: Coastal and marine
Employer: Halcrow
Qualifications: MEng civil and coastal engineering, University of Plymouth

I chose coastal engineering because the interaction of the sea and the coast is complex. Finding the right solution involves thinking outside the box and applying all aspects of civil engineering.

Protecting the coast

I’m working for the Environment Agency on a strategy for coast protection on the east coast of England. Tasks include extent of erosion modelling (modelling the future shoreline based on current erosion, and planning suitable protection) and defence standards assessment (calculating whether existing sea defences are likely to fail and the probable consequences).

I’m also working on a sea-defences project tender and producing a pre-feasibility assessment for a marina development. I’ve just started a project in Saudi Arabia, designing the shoreline and edge protection for an entire city – at the moment it’s just a desert!

Assessing a lighthouse

One of my most memorable tasks was assessing whether a lighthouse was in danger of falling into the sea. The assessment showed that the current trend of erosion is likely to continue and that it may be lost to the sea within the next 50 years. Our recommendation was to construct a new lighthouse further inland, as defending it at its present exposed location would be unsustainable and might transfer the problem along the coastline.