Coastal Geomorphology and Ecology Lab
Blackwater River - Robbins, Maryland Blackwater River and heavily ponded marshland near Robbins, Maryland. The Blackwater marshes are the best example of marsh loss anywhere on the U.S. Atlantic coast and a key study site for several lab members. Photo: Matt Kirwan
Goodwin Islands Shoreline Returning from a coring field trip on an eroding shoreline of Goodwin Island near Seaford, VA. (l to r) former lab members David Walters and Charlie Deaton, Matt Kirwan, MS student Nathalie Schieder. Photo: David Johnson
Dan Coleman - Plum Island Ph.D. Student Dan Coleman installing a turbidity sensor at his field site near Plum Island, Massachusetts. Coleman is attempting to relate turbidity to maximum possible marsh sediment deposition rates around the world. Photo: Josh Himmelstein
Kawainui-Hamakua The Kawainui-Hamakua marsh in Oahu, Hawaii formed inside the caldera of a volcano. Photo: Matt Kirwan
Ellen Herbert / David Nicks Postdoc Ellen Herbert and W&M student David Nicks teach a group of high school students about wetlands at their study site at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
Goodwin Islands Goodwin Islands near the confluence of the York River and Chesapeake Bay. MS student Nathalie Schieder is studying how fast marshes are invading ghost forests seen in the foreground of the photo. Photo: David Walters
Rosemary Walker Thomas Nelson CC student Rosemary Walker measuring plant heights on Mockhorn Island off the Atlantic coast of Virginia. Photo: Dan Coleman
SERC Infrastructure Infrastructure associated with a warming experiment at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center near Edgewater, Maryland where W&M student David Nicks and Postdoc Ellen Herbert are measuring the responses of marshes to simulated warming. Photo: Ellen Herbert
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Lab Director: Matthew Kirwan
Studying the formation and survival of coastal landscapes from geological and ecological perspectives.
Information for prospective students
I'm always interested in having graduate students, visiting scientists and undergraduate students participate in our research. Please [[v|kirwan,contact me directly]] to discuss your interests.