Garden Lecture

How the Great Lakes Drive Coastal Erosion

Luke Zoet, Associate Professor, UW Madison Department of Geoscience,  recipient of UW Madison’s 2025 Distinguished Teachers Award

The Great Lakes are not static landscapes; they are powerful, dynamic systems capable of rapidly reshaping their shores. Along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan coastline, this force is on full display. Much of our local coastal landscape is comprised of tall bluffs made of soft sediments. When water levels are high, wave action can erode the base of the bluffs which drives bluff retreat. In this talk we will examine the causes, processes, and implications of coastal erosion in Wisconsin along the Lake Michigan shore.

Professor Zoet studies glacial processes, using tools of geophysics and geology, rock mechanics and geotechnical analysis. He combines field study with computational lab testing to test and develop theoretical treatments that can be applied in the field. Professor Zoet also works on coastal erosion processes in the Great Lakes.