My primary research interests are in the Quaternary geology of Chesapeake Bay and the mid-Atlantic inner continental shelf and coastal plain. The studies have both academic and practical applications. High-resolution, seismic-reflection techniques provide data which are useful both in basic geologic studies and in prospecting for potentially minable resources of sand. Through developing a better understanding of the stratigraphy and depositional history of the coastal plain, we are better able to model the modes of occurrence of sand that might be used for beach nourishment or construction aggregate. And the detailed data from cores obtained in proving a sand resource also serve the general geological studies. The work also includes studies of the potential environmental consequesnces of marine sand mining. The influence of rising sea level on the geology and geomorphology of the coastal zone is another topic of interest.

With co-workers from the Center for Archaeological Research and the Department of Geology at the Williamsburg campus of William & Mary, I have been investigating the physical changes to Jamestown Island that have occurred since the beginning of the Holocene when humans first inhabited the region. The post-glacial rise in sea level and the resultant changes in or masking of local geomorphology, drowning of aquifers, growth of marshes, and modification of the river-estuary have had substantial influences on the regional environment.

[top]

Current Projects

• Field testing of an Environmental Method Protocol offshore Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Environmental Studies Relative to Potential Sand Mining in the Vicinity of the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

• Hobbs, C.H., III, 2004. Geological History of Chesapeake Bay. Quaternary Science Reviews.
• Hobbs, C.H., III, 2004. Continental Shelves. In A. Goudie, (ed) Encyclopedia of Geomorphology. Routledge Publishers, London and New York.
• Maa, J. P.Y., C.H. Hobbs, III, S.C. Kim, and E. Wei, 2004. Possible impacts on physical oceanpgraphic processes by cumulative sand mining offshore of Maryland and Delaware. Journal of Coastal Research.
• Johnson, G.H. and C.H. Hobbs, III. 2001. The Geology of Jamestown Island, Virginia. p. 9-79 in Brown, M.R., III (Principal Investigator) and Carson, C. (Senior Principal Investigator), Geological Development and Environmental Reconstruction of Jamestown Island. Jamestown Archaeological Assessment, 1992-1996. for Colonial National Historical Park, National Park Service. 192 p.
• Hobbs, C.H., III, R.J. Diaz, J.P.-Y. Maa, C.S. Hardaway, Jr. and B.S. Drucker, 2003. Physical, biological, and geological considerations for sand mining for breach nourishment. In, Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries, Proceedings, The Fifth International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment Processes, Coastal Sediments ‘03. CD-ROM, 12p. Abstract is 183-184 in Book of Abstracts of same symposium.
• Diaz, R.J., G.R. Cutter, Jr., and C.H. Hobbs, III, in press. Possible impacts on physical oceanpgraphic processes by cumulative sand mining offshore of Maryland and Delaware: PArt 2 - Biological Considerations. Journal of Coastal Research.
• Hobbs, C.H., III. 2002. An investigation of potential consequences of marine mining in shallow water: An example form the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. Journal of Coastal Research 18(1):94-101.
• Maa, J.P.-Y., C.H. Hobbs, III, and C.S. Hardaway, Jr., 2001. A Criterion for determining the Impact on shorelines Caused by Altering Wave Transformation. Journal of Coastal Research 17(1):107-113.
• Johnson, G.H., and C.H. Hobbs, III. 2001. The Geology of Jamestown Island, Virginia. p. 9-79 in Brown, M.R., III (Principal Investigator) and Carson, C. (Senior Principal Investigator), Geological Development and Environmental Reconstruction of Jamestown Island. Jamestown Archeological Assessment, 1992-1996. for Colonial National Historical Par, National Park Service. 192 p.
• Rowland, J., and Hobbs, C.H., and Mink, R., 2001. Geological databases associated with a federal/state cooperative program: The Alabama and Virginia Models (abs). Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program, 2001 Annual Meeting.
• Hobbs, C. H., III, D. A. Milligan, and C. S. Hardaway, Jr., 1999. Long-Term Trends and Short-Term Variability in Shoreline Change Rates: Southeastern Virginia. In: N. C. Krause and W. G. McDougal (eds.) Coastal Sediments 99, Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal Sediment Processes, 1268-1283.
• Hobbs, C. H., III, C. S. Hardaway, Jr., and C. R. Berquist, Jr., 1999. Submarine Sand Resources, Southeastern Virginia – Contributions from Year 9 and Year 10 of Virginia's Continental Margins Program. Marine Georesources and Geotechnology, 17:155-163. Republished from: G. Dellagiarino, L. A. Miller, and S. Doenges (eds.), 1998. Proceedings, fourth Symposium on Studies Related to Continental Margins – A Summary of Year-Nine and Year-Ten Activities, 54-61.
• Johnson, G. H., S. E. Kruse, A. W. Vaughn, J. K. Lucey, C. H. Hobbs, III, and D. S. Powars, 1998. Post-impact deformation associated with the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure in southeastern Virginia. Geology, 26(6):507-510.
• Maa, J. P.-Y. and C. H. Hobbs, III, 1998. Physical impact of waves on adjacent coasts resulting from dredging at Sandbridge Shoal, Virginia. Journal of Coastal Research, 14(2):525-536.
• Thieler, E.R., A.L. Brill, W.J. Cleary, C.H. Hobbs, III, and R.A. Gammisch, 1995. Geology of the Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina shoreface: Implications for the concept of shoreface profile equilibrium. Marine Geology, 126:271-287.
• Chen, Z.-Q., C.H. Hobbs, III, J.F. Wehmiller, and S.M. Kimball, 1995. Late Quaternary paleochannel systems on the continental shelf south of the Chesapeake Bay entrance. Journal of Coastal Research, 11(3):605-614.
• Hobbs, C.H., III, D.B. Blanton, R.A. Gammisch, and J. Broadwater, 1994. A marine archaeological reconnaissance using side-scan sonar, Jamestown Island, Virginia. Journal of Coastal Research, 10(2):351-359.

• MS501C - Introduction to Geological Oceanography
• MS698-04 - Tools and Techniques for Geological and Physical Oceanography

• Coastal Education and Research Foundation