Reide Corbett, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Coastal Studies Institute
Dean, Integrated Coastal Programs, ECU

Office: Room No. 340
850 NC 345, Wanchese, NC 27981

Phone: 252-475-5428
Email: corbettd@ecu.edu

Marine Geochemistry & Coastal Dynamics Lab Overview 

Bio

Reide Corbett was born and raised in coastal North Carolina. After receiving his Ph.D. in oceanography from Florida State University and spending a short time at Tulane University in New Orleans, he returned to North Carolina to join the faculty at ECU. He is now the Dean of Integrated Coastal Programs, the executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute, and a professor in the Department of Coastal Studies at ECU. Corbett is a coastal oceanographer and geochemist with an overall scientific interest in the geochemical and geomorphic dynamics of coastal and open ocean environments. Much of his research during the last two decades has focused on the delivery of constituents by submarine groundwater discharge and sediment dynamics across the continental margin. Corbett’s research has broadened through the years to include coastal change and geomorphic evolution across telescoping timescales.

Education

1999: Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography (Geochemistry); Florida State University

1996: M.S. in Chemical Oceanography (Geochemistry); Florida State University

1994: B.S. in Chemistry; Florida State University

Research Interests

My overall scientific interest is to better understand the cycling of biologically active constituents (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) in coastal and open ocean environments. In addition, I am interested in the role humans and nature play in shaping the coastal zone. Specific areas of my on-going research include those focused on: Sedimentary and geochemical processes in coastal environments Naturally-occurring radionuclides as tools for quantifying rates of sedimentary and biogeochemical processes Investigations of the discharge of groundwater into the coastal zone Deposition, remineralization and burial of carbon and nutrients in coastal margins Coastal Hazards.

Current Projects

Collaborative Research: REU Site: Resilience and Adaptation to Coastal Change Across Virtual Communities (C2-Virtual-C).  NSF REU Program. Co-PI with S. Moysey, Acosta-Colon (UPR), Lazar (Clemson) $119,310. 9/2020 – 9/2021.

CoPe: RCN: Building a Collaboratory for Coastal Adaptation over Space and Time (C-CoAST).  NSF CoPe-Coastlines and People. Senior Personnel, $499,864 to UNC-CH. 5/2020 – 5/2022.

Long-Term Impacts of Beach Nourishment on Shore Ecosystems: Insights from Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. PI with P. Paris, US Coastal Research Program through USACoE. $139,984. 11/2019 – 10/2021.

Monitoring long-term impacts of beach nourishment on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge ecosystems. US Fish and Wildlife Service, PI; $40,000.  9/2019 – 8/2024.

Monitoring Dynamics of the Oregon Inlet Terminal Groin. US Fish and Wildlife Service, PI; $100,000.  9/2019 – 8/2024.

2018 Hurricane Season: RAPID: Associated Priming of Carbon in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES), the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Gulf Stream. Co-PI with S. Mitra, E. Field.  NSF Chemical Oceanography. $101,532. 11/1/18-10/31/21.

Publications

Rey, A, D.R. Corbett, R.P. Mulligan.  Impacts of Hurricane Winds and Precipitation on Hydrodynamics in a Back-barrier Estuary. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 125, e2020JC016483. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016483

Kunkel, K.E., D.R. Easterling, A. Ballinger, S. Bililign, S.M. Champion, D.R. Corbett, K.D. Dello, J. Dissen, G.M. Lackmann, R.A. Luettich, Jr., L.B. Perry, W.A. Robinson, L.E. Stevens, B.C. Stewart, and A.J. Terando, 2020.  North Carolina Climate Science Report.  North Carolina Institute for Climate Sciences, 233 pp. https://ncics.org/nccsr

Grammatikopoulos, T., S. Howard, C. Alexander, K. Luciano, D. Mallinson, D.R. Corbett, J.P. Walsh, 2020.  Investigation of low-grade REE offshore sands from North and South Carolina, and Georgia, USA, using automated mineralogy.  J. Geochem. Explor. 208, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2019.106398.

Freeman, L.A., D.R. Corbett, A.M. Fitzgerald, D.A. Lemley, A. Quigg, C.N. Steppe, 2019.  Impacts of Urbanization on Estuarine Ecosystems and Water Quality.  Estuaries and Coasts. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00597-z.

Gold, R.D., C.B. DuRoss, J.E. Delano, R.W. Jibson, R.W. Briggs, S.A. Mahan, R.A. Williams, D. R. Corbett, 2019. Four major Holocene earthquakes on the Reelfoot fault recorded by sackungen in the New Madrid seismic zone, USA. JGR: Solid Earth, 124, 3105-2126. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB016806.

Null, K. D.R. Corbett, J. Crenshaw, R.N. Peterson, L.E. Peterson, W.B. Lyons, 2019.  Groundwater Discharge to the Western Antarctic Coastal Ocean. Polar Research, 38, 3497, http://dx.doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3497.

Witter, R., R. Briggs, S. Engelhart, G. Gelfenbaum, R. Hoehler, A. Nelson, S. La Selle, D.R. Corbett, K. Wallance, 2018.  Evidence for frequent, large tsunamis spanning locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust.  GSA Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1130/B32031.1.

Corbett, D.R., J.P. Walsh, P. Santschi, 2019.  Radioactive Nuclides. In Chemical Oceanography of the Gulf of Mexico. Eds. T. Bianchi and H. Bustos-Serrano. Texas A&M University Press.

Led by East Carolina University (ECU), The Coastal Studies Institute is a multi-institutional research and educational partnership of the UNC System including North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington, and Elizabeth City State University.

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CSI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Based at the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) advances inter-disciplinary marine energy solutions across UNC System partner colleges of engineering at NC State University, UNC Charlotte, and NC A&T University.  Click on the links below for more information.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

JENNETTE'S PIER WAVE ENERGY TEST CENTER

SMALL-SCALE WAVE TANK

ECU's Integrated Coastal Programs (ECU ICP) is a leader in coastal and marine research, education, and engagement.   ECU ICP includes the Coastal Studies Institute, ECU's Department of Coastal Studies, and ECU Diving and Water Safety.

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The faculty and staff at the Coastal Studies Institute come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, as well as departments and organizations including ECU Department of Biology, ECU Department of Coastal Studies, NC Sea Grant, the North Carolina Renewable Energy Program, and the UNC Institute for the Environment.

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Located on Roanoke Island along the banks of the second largest estuary
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