Coastal GeoTools Call for Abstracts
Due September 28, 2026
Questions? Contact hamilton.smillie@noaa.gov
Navigating a Changing Coast: Strengthening State, Local, and Tribal Resilience with Emerging Geospatial Technologies
You are invited to submit abstracts of 300 words or less for the 2027 Coastal GeoTools Conference, held in Charleston, South Carolina, from January 25 to 27, 2027. Abstracts must be submitted via the online submission form by September 28, 2026. Presenters are responsible for all expenses related to preparing and presenting their papers. Additionally, all presenters must pay registration fees and attend the conference in person.
Submitted abstracts will undergo peer review, and acceptance emails will be sent in late October.
Accepted abstracts will be included in the conference proceedings exactly as submitted; therefore, presenters must edit and finalize their abstracts before submission.
Session Types
Traditional Oral Presentation: Prefer a classic style? Submit an abstract to give a 20-minute presentation. Similar topics will be grouped into 60- or 90-minute sessions.
Short and Sweet Presentation: Ready to change it up? Submit an abstract to present your story in 10 minutes or less with minimal text. Use this opportunity to be creative and experiment with presentation techniques. Similar topics will be grouped into 60- or 90-minute sessions.
Tools Spotlight: Have a cool online tool to highlight? Submit an abstract to provide a 30-minute, stand alone, interactive tool demonstration.
Conference Tracks
Abstracts should profile the applied use of data, tools, partnerships, and training to enhance coastal resilience. Sessions will be organized within the following tracks:
1. Coastal Risk and Resilience
- What we are looking for: Submissions covering coastal hazards, inundation, flooding, water levels, and storms. This track includes emergency response, risk assessment, and strategies for at-risk communities, as well as climate adaptation strategies, such as community-led migration or relocation.
2. Advances in Technology and Artificial Intelligence (or Technological Impacts)
- What we are looking for: Submissions demonstrating how emerging technologies are shaping coastal management. Topics include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Geospatial AI, deep learning, big data, and remote sensing. This track also includes the application of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems and drones, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality.
3. Coastal Ecosystems and Nature-Based Solutions
- What we are looking for: Submissions detailing approaches to natural resource management and land use planning. Key topics include habitat conservation, wetland and benthic mapping, ecosystem services, and the implementation of nature-based solutions to protect coastal environments.
4. The Blue Economy, Socioeconomics, and Ocean Planning
- What we are looking for: This track includes socioeconomic applications such as mapping social and economic values, calculating return on investment, and combining biophysical data with socioeconomic data. It also broadly covers marine spatial planning, ocean mapping, permitting, and emerging topics like deep-seabed mining.
5. Data Management, Access, and Sovereignty
- What we are looking for: Submissions covering best practices and challenges around data access, governance, policies, and standards. A specific focus of this track includes Indigenous knowledge, data sovereignty, and the assurance of equitable access to data.