How do coastal experts communicate science? Insights from an international survey

The communication of coastal issues and other scientific themes relies on the efforts of scientists and other professional groups such as science communicators working in universities, research centres, media outlets, and museums. Coastal Geoscience and Engineering (CGE) is a scientific field that addresses crucial issues of risk related to natural hazardous processes such as beach erosion and coastal flooding. These concerns have become increasingly relevant in the current global scenario marked by socio-demographic development along coastal areas facing the effects of climate change. Furthermore, communication by scientists and engineers in this field can contribute to informed participatory decision-making. In this study, the objective was to quantify and characterize science communication activities by experts on CGE. Using emails from experts pooled from three international conferences on coastal dynamics, data was collected using an online questionnaire, between September 2022 and March 2023. Socio-demographic data and insights were obtained into experts’ practices and perspectives on communication, including frequency, formats, topics, motivations, and barriers.

The number of valid responses was 133, primarily researchers from Europe, North America, and Oceania, mostly male (n = 71, 53.4%), with a mean age of 45.4 (SD = 11.2). Results revealed that nearly all participants (≈ 95%) actively engage in public communication, which is a high number compared with other studied groups, where rates of scientists that did not engage in public communication range between 11% and 27%. For most of the analysed aspects of science communication in the current study, differences in opinion according to gender, age, and professional category were not significant. Notably, a preference was observed for direct interaction with audiences at local and regional scales, such as through lectures, talks, and seminars (74%), over indirect ways of communicating, like media and social media. This preference is likely related to the heightened familiarity many audiences hold on the communicated themes, with a focus on coastal risk (75%) and climate change impacts (69%), and the preferred audiences that include the public sector (55%) and school students (43%). These findings align with the prevalent altruistic motives for communication pointed out by respondents: to engage with society (76%) and to help citizens take informed decisions (68%). While the current study provides valuable insights into CGE communication, further research is necessary to delve deeper into the analysis and further enhance our understanding of this important interconnection between coastal experts and society.