Oceanographic & Coastal Processes
Research Focus AeaResearch Focus Area Overview
The coastal ocean, from the estuarine shoreline to the edge of the continental rise, is perhaps the most important and yet vulnerable areas of the world’s oceans. The chemical, physical, and biological processes that affect these coastal seas are intertwined and complex. Our researchers use interdisciplinary approaches, modeling and empirical, to obtain a quantitative understanding of these processes.

Research Labs

Marine Geochemistry & Coastal Dynamics
Lab

Oceanography & Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Ocean Lab

Coastal Engineering & Adaptation
Lab

Coastal Marine Processes & Geomorphology Lab

Ecology & Biogeochemistry
in Marine & Coastal
Systems Lab

Coasts & Oceans Observing
Lab
News
Lunching and Learning: CSI Faculty, Staff, and Students Come Together for Brown Bag Lunches
60-degree days in December? We’ll take them! Faculty, staff, and students enjoyed favorable weather conditions for the Coastal Studies Institute’s two most recent Brown Bag Lunches. During the first December session, Dr. Sid Mitra led a discussion called “Buzz: The...
Outer Banks Field Site Presents Capstone Research In Buxton
The Outer Banks Field Site is a semester-long, interdisciplinary residential learning experience for UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students hosted by the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) on the East Carolina University (ECU) Outer Banks Campus. Each fall, students from...
Semester Experience at the Coast Sailing Toward New Horizons
This Spring, ECU’s Outer Banks campus will host its third cohort of students to participate in the Semester Experience at the Coast program. While the undergraduate residential program is held each spring, much of the fall semester is spent coordinating and promoting...
Meet the Scientist Turns 1, Next InstallmenT Featuring Dr. Lela Schlenker Streams Nov. 18
Happy 1st Birthday, MTS! While 2020 threw us many curveballs, it also gave the CSI Education and Outreach team the chance to evaluate its current programming and the opportunity to create new content. One such program that was born from those trying times was CSI's...
CSI a Founding Partner of New Atlantic Marine Energy Center
It is no secret that the Coastal Studies Institute’s partnerships reach across the world. These partnerships contribute, at least in part, to the success of the institution, and CSI’s newest collaborative endeavor does not fall short of these lofty expectations. Late...
New Research Highlight Video: Long-term Impacts of Beach Nourishment on Shoreline Ecosystems
Beach replenishment is the practice of rebuilding and restoring the eroded beach back to some previous elevation and extent, has become one of the most popular solutions for coastal communities who face the growing problem of chronic beach erosion. . Sandy beaches...
Integrated Coastal Programs Celebrates Latinx Heritage Month
Known nationally as Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15- October 15 has been set aside each year to celebrate diverse Latin cultures and backgrounds, as well as the contributions of the Latinx community to American and global societies. More recently and popularly...
Postdoc Zaid Al-Attabi And Colleagues Publish New HF Radar Study
Featured photo: Al-Attabi and his colleagues used Doppler spectrum data from two HF radar systems located at the north coast of Cornwall, UK, as well as data from a directional wave buoy deployed off the north coast of Cornwall. The system has measured surface...
Updates from the Fisheries Ecology Lab
Members of Dr. Jim Morley’s Fisheries Ecology Lab have been hard at work this summer spending much of their time in the field at oyster leases in the Pamlico Sound. While one ECU student was busy listening to the soundscapes of oyster leases, another conducted...
Bridging the Gap
What comes to mind when you hear the word bridge? Do you think of a mechanism for connecting? Engineering? Maybe even water? In this case, Dr. Teresa Ryan is the bridge. And all the above references fit somewhere into her career too. Ryan, an associate professor in...