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
Jennette’s Pier and CSI Use Spotter Buoys to Enhance Wave Energy Development
By Vega Sproul and Cora McQuaid.The Coastal Studies Institute has an ongoing relationship with NC Aquariums’ Jennette’s Pier for many years. Located just five miles apart, CSI, in partnership with Jennette’s Pier, operates a renewable ocean energy testing site at the...
NCROEP Researchers From NC State CORE Lab Test Underwater Kites
The North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) promotes collaborative research across its partner institutions, and there is currently a lot of excitement surrounding an ongoing project in the Control and Optimization for Renewables and Energy Efficiency...
Students Reflect on Their Semester Experiences at the Coast
In January 2021, sixteen ECU students arrived at the ECU Outer Banks Campus for the second annual Semester Experience at the Coast. In his welcome address to the students, Dean Reide Corbett emphasized the unique opportunity they had to take face-to-face courses on...
Latest Episode of Meet the Scientist Airs June 3
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a scientist? Or are you curious about what research takes place on the ECU Outer Banks Campus? If you answered “YES!” to either of these questions, you should tune in to our monthly, live-streamed video series Meet the...
Desalinated Water Coming Soon to a Pier Near You
It’s the final countdown to the DRINK stage of the $3.3M Waves to Water Prize! The competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), requires contestants to build wave-powered desalination systems that...
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Rachel Gittman
All along it has seemed that Dr. Rachel Gittman’s career path has had an element of intersection. During her schooling, she studied terrestrial then marine environments. As a consultant, she often experienced the tug between scientific fact and human want. Now in...
Spring 2021 Newsletter Available Now
We are proud to announce the Spring 2021 issue of the ECU Integrated Coastal Programs Newsletter, CoastLines. Stay up to date on the research, education, and outreach programs of ECU ICP and the Coastal Studies Institute.
Researchers Share Updates on National Shrimp Day
These days it seems there is a particular day devoted to celebrating almost anything that comes to mind. While some holidays, like the recent observance of Mother’s Day, are widely recognized, today’s event is likely more obscure to most, though no less relevant to us...
CSI To Participate in KidsFest Adventure May 7-17
After a brief hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County (CYP)'s KidsFest has returned in 2021! This year's iteration of the event, advertised as Kidsfest Adventure, will be a self-guided activity hunt taking...
Lagomasino Co-Authors Five Papers This Spring
While the pandemic may have slowed some research around the world, it certainly did not keep Dr. David Lagomasino from keeping busy this spring. Between the end of January and the beginning of April, Lagomasino was listed as a co-author for five recently published...