Areas of Research:
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Marine Biology:
- Invertebrate ecology (Mr. Berkowitz, Dr. Dame, Dr. Koepfler, Dr. Walters)
- Microbial and plankton ecology (Dr. Koepfler)
- Nekton ecology and behavior, including:
- Estuarine and coastal fish (Dr. Abel, Dr. Young)
- Marine mammals (Dr. Young)
- Sea turtles (Dr. Koepfler)
- Sharks (Dr. Abel)
- Physiological ecology of marine organisms (Dr. Abel)
- Salt marsh and wetland restoration ecology (Dr. Walters)
- Systems ecology, particularly in salt marshes and estuaries (Dr. Dame, Dr. Koepfler, Dr. Walters, Dr. Young)
Faculty:
- Dr. Daniel Abel (Assistant Professor) has research interests in the fields of shark biology and environmental science. He also has a national reputation for his innovative work in the development of techniques for teaching critical thinking skills to students. He is the co-author of the textbooks Environmental Issues and Issues in Oceanography.
- Mr. Stephen Berkowitz (Senior Instructor) is a biological oceanographer specializing in marine zooplankton distribution, taxonomy, and ecology. He has participated in long-term projects involving Antarctic krill and zooplankton.
- Dr. Richard Dame (Palmetto Professor of Science), a marine and estuarine ecologist, focuses on the influence of oysters and mussels on estuarine ecosystems. Widely published and internationally recognized for his research, he is the originator of the South Carolina Educational Television (SC-ETV) series "Oceans and Man". For two years, he served as Invited Director of the Ecosystem Studies Program at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. He also holds the first awarded chair of South Carolina's prestigious Palmetto Professorship culminating with a presentation entitled "From the Forest to the Sea: South Carolina's Productive Estuaries".
- Dr. Eric Koepfler's (Associate Professor) expertise is in the field of microbial ecology. He has conducted research in both benthic and pelagic systems ranging from freshwater (James River in Virginia) to hypersaline benthic (Laguna Madre in Texas) environments. His specific research interest is in the examination of microbial involvement in carbon production, food web dynamics, and biogeochemical nutrient cycling. He is presently researching microbial community response to maturation of tidal marsh creek systems associated with sea level rise.
- Dr. Keith Walters (Associate Professor) is a marine ecologist currently studying invertebrate population and community ecology within estuarine systems. A former Fulbright scholar, Dr. Walters' research experiences range from investigating arctic sea-ice communities in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to subtropical seagrass systems in Brisbane, Australia. Recent research interests include wetland restoration, salt marsh plant-animal interactions, copepod metapopulation processes, and marine snow dynamics
- Ms. Erin Wolfe (Instructor) is a biological oceanographer. Her research interests include the recruitment of juvenile organisms into salt marsh ecosystems.
- Dr. Robert Young (Department Chair, Associate Professor) is a biological oceanographer. His research interests include the ecology and behavior of fishes and bottlenose dolphins in coastal, estuarine, and salt marsh systems. He is also the director of the Rising Tide Project, which promotes research collaboration between faculty, undergraduates, and local science teachers.
Marine Chemistry:
- Biogeochemical cycling and speciation of metals (Dr. Lewis)
- Environmental chemistry (Dr. Guentzel, Dr. Libes)
- Seasonal hypoxia (Dr. Lewis, Dr. Libes)
- Mercury and trace element biogeochemistry and ecotoxicology (Dr. Guentzel)
- Marine and freshwater pollution and best management practices for watersheds (Dr. Libes)
Faculty:
- Dr. Joseph Bennett (Instructor) is an analytical chemist and laboratory quality assurance specialist. He is the Technical Director of the Environmental Quality Lab, which is located on campus and is certified by the state of South Carolina to perform water quality measurements. Dr. Bennett has developed and directed analytical chemistry laboratories and associated quality assurance programs in academic, commercial, and government laboratories. He conducts research in the application of analytical chemistry to the solution of environmental problems.
- Dr. Jane Guentzel (Associate Professor) is a marine and environmental chemist whose research focuses on: 1) the biogeochemistry of mercury and other trace elements in aquatic systems, 2) the influence of atmospheric deposition and transport on the cycling of mercury and trace elements in these systems, 3) the influence of chemical speciation on the behavior of mercury and other trace metals in aquatic and atmospheric environments, 4) methods development for the analysis of mercury and other trace elements using ultra-clean techniques.
- Dr. Brent Lewis (Associate Professor) is a marine and environmental chemist. His research focuses on the biogeochemical cycling and chemical speciation of metals in marine and freshwater environments. Current research projects include a study of seasonal changes in redox conditions and metal fractionation in freshwater wetlands and the application of voltammetric microelectrodes for studies in local saltmarsh sediments. He is also collaborating with researchers at the University of Delaware to study seasonal hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay.
- Dr. Susan Libes (Professor), a marine and environmental chemist, conducts research on aquatic and marine pollution. She also is the Program Director of the Environmental Quality Lab, which is certified by the state of South Carolina to perform water quality measurements. This laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Libes, is used to train students for careers in environmental chemistry and marine analytical technology. Dr. Libes also is the author of a textbook in marine chemistry that is used in graduate and undergraduate programs worldwide.
Marine Geology:
- Coastal processes, beach erosion, and shoreline migration (Dr. Gayes, Dr. Harris, Dr. Wright)
- Geologic development and sedimentology of coastal, shelf, and wetland environments (Dr. Gayes, Dr. Harris, Dr. Wright)
- Geoarcheology (Dr. Harris)
Faculty:
- Dr. Paul Gayes (Palmetto Professor of Marine Science and Geology) is a coastal oceanographer active in studies of the evolution of coastal systems on a range of time and spatial scales. He is Director of Coastal Carolina’s Center for Marine and Wetland Studies. He is currently involved in numerous framework geologic studies, investigations of the behavior and impacts of nourished beaches, study of nearshore hardbottom habitats and inner shelf resources and relative sea level change. Present study areas include the beaches and inner shelf along the east coast.
- Dr. Scott Harris' (Associate Professor) expertise is in coastal geology, particularly stratigraphy, geomorphology, geoarchaeology, and evolution of the coastal plain and continental shelf. He joins the faculty after working with the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey on a South Carolina coastal erosion project. Dr. Harris is encouraging and welcoming students to participate in the scientific study and analysis of the coastal zone.
- Dr. Douglas Nelson (Dean of the College of Natural & Applied Sciences, Professor) conducts applied and basic research in coastal sediments, beach erosion studies and offshore mineral resource assessment. The geology of wetlands has also become a recent focus of interest. He is a leader in developing techniques that use size and shape of sand grains to trace their transport history and in applying these methods to unravel complex sequences of coastal changes. He pursues international research with colleagues in Italy and Mexico.
- Dr. Eric Wright (Associate Professor) is a marine and coastal geologist. His research interests focus on the geologic development and sedimentology of coastal, shelf and wetland environments.
Physical Oceanography:
- Gulf Stream Dynamics (Dr. Gilman)
- Estuarine and Continental Shelf Processes (Dr. Keiner)
- Ocean/atmosphere interactions, including hurricanes, El Nino, and coastal weather patterns (Dr. Gilman)
- Remote Sensing (Dr. Gilman, Dr. Keiner)
Faculty:
- Dr. Craig Gilman's (Associate Professor) research interests lie in the interdisciplinary field of atmosphere/ocean dynamics and satellite oceanography. Several of his recent research projects encompass Gulf Stream dynamics, hurricane formation, and impacts of El Nino.
- Dr. Louis Keiner 's (Associate Professor) research interests lie in the areas of satellite remote sensing and coastal ocean dynamics. He is currently involved in projects dealing with the analysis of oceanic chlorophyll concentrations and sea surface temperatures off the South Carolina coast, the use of neural network algorithms to analyze satellite data, and the current dynamics of coastal inlets.
Science Education:
- Critical thinking in the environmental sciences (Dr. Abel)
- Experiential science programs for teachers (Dr. Libes, Dr. Young)
- Active Learning in Physical Oceanography (Dr. Keiner)
- The use of Computer Simulations in teaching Physical Oceanography (Dr. Gilman, Dr. Keiner)
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