Richard A. Davis Jr is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida. He has spent the past 40 years studying coasts throughout the world. He specializes in beach/inlet/barrier island morphodynamics and Holocene history of coasts. Dr Davis is the author/editor of twelve previous volumes, most of which are on coastal topics.

Duncan M. FitzGerald is an Associate Professor in the Earth Science Department at Boston University. During the past 25 years he has studied the morphodynamics and hydraulics of tidal inlets, the stratigraphy and evolution of barrier systems, and sediment transport in estuaries. This research has taken him to coasts throughout the world resulting in numerous professional publications.