Coastal and marine systems are dynamic and important areas to study; after all over 70% of the earth’s surface is ocean and more than half of the world’s population lives within 60 km of the coast. Coastal and marine systems are strongly impacted by anthropogenic forces and thus our research is often directed at understanding how these systems respond to human influences. In addition, coastal areas worldwide are highly susceptible to global climate change. Many of our studies are interdisciplinary - topics include: elemental nutrient cycling in coastal waters and the open ocean, the marine record of climate change, the geomorphology of salt marshes and beaches, and the effect of sea-level rise and sediment transport on coastal systems. We study these processes at a range of spatial scales from measurements at the micron level to large global scale models. Our research takes place both locally and globally along the land-ocean continuum from coastal watersheds and receiving waters to the deep sea.
ES/GE507 Dynamical Oceanography
ES533 Quantitative Geomorphology
ES541 Coastal Processes
ES543 Estuaries and Nearshore Systems
ES545/546 Tropical Oceanography of the Caribbean Sea
ES576 Aquatic Geochemistry
ES623 Marine Biogeochemistry
ES825 Advanced Topics in Marine Geosciences
Note: A complete list of our departmental course offerings is available here.
Landform Evolution of a Nutrient Enriched Salt marsh (Fagherazzi, FitzGerald, Fulweiler)
Disturbance, Succession, and Ecosystem State Change at the Virginia Coast Reserve (Fagherazzi)
Variations of salt marsh area in the intertidal zone produced by climate change (Fagherazzi)
Evolution of tidal channels in muddy coastlines and tidal flats (Fagherazzi)
Morphodynamics and sedimentology of tidal bars in deltas and estuaries (Fagherazzi)
Plum Island evolution and the Merrimack Embayment transgression (FitzGerald, Hein)
Brazil strand plain as climate recorders (FitzGerald, Hein)
Egypt, Wadi Gawasis bay and sea level history (FitzGerald, Hein)
Tidal creek and marsh pool evolution of New England saltmarshes (FitzGerald, Wilson)
Marsh platform dissection in South Carolina as a response to sea level rise: eco-physical mechanisms of sediment erosion (FitzGerald, Hughes, Mahadevan, Wilson)
Geomorphic evolution of the Boston Harbor Islands (FitzGerald, Hughes)
Mechanisms of wetland loss in coastal Louisiana and its effects on tidal hydraulics and barrier disintegration (FitzGerald, Howes)
Environmental Controls of Nitrogen Fixation and Denitrification in Marine Sediments (Fulweiler)
Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Nitrogen Cycling (Fulweiler)
Lateral mixing in the ocean on scales of 1-10 km (Mahadevan)
Estimating oceanic biological production from satellite ocean color (Mahadevan)
Modeling ocean eddies and nutrient supply for phytoplankton (Mahadevan)
Understanding the influence of retreating sea ice on Arctic Ocean ecosystems (Mahadevan)