News & Media
Research from the Coastal Ecogeomorphology Lab has been featured by local, national and international news outlets covering sea-level rise, coastal wetlands, ghost forests, saltwater intrusion and more.
Media Coverage
Media Coverage
2026
WVEC 13
Video coverage
REPORT EARTH
A Profound New Twist on Sea Level Rise
BLOOMBERG LAW NEWS
Climate Change Is Aiding Wood Stork Rebound, Interior Says
WAVY 10
Study finds that sea level rise is causing farmland loss on the Mid-Atlantic coast
DANIEL BACHMAN
Documentary — title/link to be added
CNN / CHRIS MOONEY
Title/link to be added
GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Sea-level rise starts taking over area farmland, VIMS researchers say
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
25,000 acres of farmland gone
VIRGINIA MERCURY
Title/link to be added
THE COOL DOWN
Article on the impacts of saltwater intrusion on coastal farms
EARTH.COM
Sea level rise is swallowing farmland much faster than expected
WHRO
Title/link to be added
2025
SCIENCE MAGAZINE
AI reveals vast “ghost forests” along U.S. coast
CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL
Purple marsh crabs are taking a bite out of carbon storage
CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL
As ghost forests multiply in Chesapeake Bay region, answers lag behind
ARS TECHNICA
Ghost forests are growing as sea levels rise
WITH GOOD REASON (NPR)
Title/link to be added
VIRGINIA FARM BUREAU
Video coverage
Nationally syndicated on PBS and RFD-TV
2024
THE WASHINGTON POST
Coverage of coastal erosion and wetland loss in Louisiana
PBS NEWSHOUR
Tipping Point
EOS — AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
As seas rise, marshes may still trap carbon and cool the planet
EASTERN SHORE POST
January 12, 2024 issue
LTER NETWORK NEWS
Barrier island retreat drives blue carbon losses
SIERRA MAGAZINE
Controlled burns aren’t just for the dry West. Swamps need fire too.
EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL
How scary are ghost forests?
VIRGINIA WILDLIFE MAGAZINE
Title/link to be added
2023
CBS MORNINGS
Ghost forests are a haunting new indicator of climate change in the U.S.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Climate Change Is Coming for a Chesapeake Bay Island. Is It Worth Saving?
PNAS FRONT MATTER
Front Matter feature
WITH GOOD REASON (NPR)
Migrating Marshes
WTKR
Ghost forests in the Chesapeake Bay: Striking indicator of climate change
WIRED
As Sea Levels Rise, the East Coast Is Also Sinking
CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL
For better or worse, invasive phragmites is here to stay
THE MESSENGER
Sea levels rise, coastal ecosystems drown
WBOC
Dr. Stephanie Stotts discusses saltwater intrusion
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Ghosts on the Chesapeake Bay: What can be done to bring dead forests back to life?
DAILY PRESS
Ghosts on the Chesapeake Bay: What can be done to bring dead forests back to life?
ABC NEWS
Video coverage
CBS RADIO NETWORK
Title/link to be added
HAKAI MAGAZINE
Title/link to be added
2022
USA TODAY
Sea level rise is not just a beachfront problem
USA TODAY
Muskrat hunter, tribal chief wrestles with habitat destruction and climate change
THE WASHINGTON POST
Interactive coverage of East Coast sea-level rise
CIRCLE OF BLUE
Dead tree standing: Saltwater threatens coastal forests and ecosystem services
EUROPEAN COMMISSION — SCIENCE FOR ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Sea-level-driven marsh migration can result in rapid net loss of carbon
CARBON BRIEF
Satellite images reveal global losses of tidal wetlands over past two decades
THE WASHINGTON POST
Ghost forests are creeping across North Carolina
WIRED
The Wetlands Are Drowning
THE NATIONAL (UAE)
Islanders hold on as their beloved home sinks into Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay
THE NATIONAL (UAE)
Video coverage
U.S. FOREST SERVICE
Ghost forests haunt Atlantic Coast
CGTN
Virginia’s coast rapidly changes with rising sea levels
CORNELL CENTER FOR CONSERVATION MEDIA
Title/link to be added
THE CAMBRIDGE SPY
Title/link to be added
GILBERT GAUL
Book project — additional information to be added
2021
SCIENCE
Marshes on the Move
WITH GOOD REASON (NPR)
Let’s Take a Walk: Goodwin Island
POPULAR SCIENCE
Coverage of ghost forests on the U.S. East Coast
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Why Ecologists Are Haunted by the Rapid Growth of Ghost Forests
THE STRAITS TIMES
Climate summit hopes: But will leaders deliver?
VOICE OF AMERICA
Helping nature heal itself in the face of climate change
CHESAPEAKE BAY MAGAZINE
Ghost Story
THE STATE
Title/link to be added
LTER NETWORK NEWS
Designing an experiment to withstand rising tides
2020
THE WASHINGTON POST
Loss of Louisiana marshes that protect New Orleans is “probably inevitable,” study finds
THE SCIENTIST
Climate Change Is Killing East Coast Forests
ATLAS OBSCURA
Coverage of Maryland’s ghost forests
DER TAGESSPIEGEL
Coverage of mangroves and sea-level rise
YALE CLIMATE CONNECTIONS
Ghost Forests Are an Eerie Sign of Sea-Level Rise
Syndicated on more than 600 radio stations
VIRGINIA MERCURY
On Virginia’s far Atlantic flank, a cherished store of salt marshes is being lost
SOUTHERN MARYLAND CHRONICLE
Driven by rising seas, threats to drinking water and crops from saltwater are growing in U.S.
2019
TIME
Ghost Forests Are Visceral Examples of the Advance of Climate Change
CNN
Disappearing island threatens to make its residents climate refugees
THE NEW YORK TIMES
As Sea Levels Rise, So Do Ghost Forests
POPULAR SCIENCE
Coverage of ghost forests and sea-level rise
NPR
Painting the “Ghost Forests” of the Mid-Atlantic Coast
NEWSY / SCRIPPS NEWS
Ghost Forest: Dying trees show climate change’s advance
BREITBART
Climate change caused British chips to shrink an inch, alarmists claim
WVTF
Climate change experiment fast-forwards Chesapeake Bay to the year 2100
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Coverage of Kirwan’s research and Presidential Early Career Award
DAILY PRESS
Coverage of VIMS scientists receiving presidential honors
EASTERN SHORE POST
Researcher awarded presidential honor for work on coastal marshes and sea-level rise
GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL
VIMS professor authors paper on land conversion from sea-level rise
GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL
VIMS scientist earns presidential commendation
WILLIAMSBURG-YORKTOWN DAILY
VIMS professor given Presidential Early Career Award for study on ghost forests, sea-level rise
THE VIRGINIA GAZETTE
William & Mary news coverage
CHESAPEAKE RESEARCH CONSORTIUM
East Coast Ghost Forests
CHESAPEAKE QUARTERLY
Feature coverage
DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL
Stories hidden in decomposing trunks of ghost forests along Delaware Bay
POETRY OF SCIENCE
Rising Marshes
LIVING BIRD
Title/link to be added
CHESAPEAKE RESEARCH CONSORTIUM
Additional coverage — title/link to be added
CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL
Title/link to be added
REUTERS
Title/link to be added
2018
BBC
Coverage of coastal wetlands and climate change
NEW SCIENTIST
England’s marshes may start to retreat and disappear in just 20 years
BREITBART
Coastal wetlands must migrate inland to survive climate change
ENVIROBITES
The Resilience of Coastal Wetlands: An Optimistic Look to the Future
2017
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Climate Change Before Your Eyes: Seas Rise and Trees Die
THE WEATHER CHANNEL
Climate change in New Jersey
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Title/link to be added
THE BOSTON GLOBE
Vital salt marshes are disappearing as sea levels rise
WHYY
Ghost forests signal what’s to come due to accelerating sea-level rise
BOSTON HERALD
Title/link to be added
DAILY PRESS
Coverage of VIMS salt marsh research
WINA
Losing Virginia marshlands
WVTF
Virginia’s barrier islands are on the move
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
“Everything is dying”: Virginia Beach marsh turns brown after Navy project
2016 and earlier
VIMS NEWS
Study predicts salt marshes will persist despite rising seas