Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The complex processes impacting the lives of everyone on our planet are impossible to understand from the perspective of isolated fields. It takes combining the very best in Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences to measure, model and apply the knowledge we gain about the way the world works.

At University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences has brought together three leading departments to engender these kinds of essential and impactful collaborations. By bringing researchers together, the department is advancing understanding of the earth and ocean processes that govern our planet, shape diverse ecosystems, sustain life, and drive environmental change.

This new department is bringing new opportunities for discovery research and learning across the disciplines, with major projects ongoing in many areas.

The end of 2022 saw the launch of the NASA SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission to look at global hydrology. Researchers from the department have led the development of the sensor designed to map the flow of rivers around the globe, track sea level rise and observe the break of ice flows.

Coastal flooding, such as that seen during 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, sees land and sea interact in extremely complex ways. Researchers at UNC are working on understanding this compound hazard, allowing coastal cities to better manage and mitigate for such events.

Researchers are working to understand the die-off of oysters in coastal environments, a phenomenon that has been increasing in recent years due to changing weather patterns. Oyster dieoffs cause millions of dollars in economic losses each year. Both farmed and wild shellfish such as oysters are vital parts of coastal ecosystems, so rapid molecular tools are being developed to track these devastating bacterial and parasitic infections. Similar molecular tools can also be applied to track dangerous bacteria and viruses in coastal environments due to extreme storm events and King Tides. Exciting work is being conducted to pair the use of autonomous boats to capture samples in difficult conditions with molecular tools to track the fate of contaminants during these major storm events.

Researchers are also investigating the dynamics of water in the deep crust, to better understand processes in the subduction zone. Using scanning electron microscopes and other probes, it’s possible to determine these by looking at the ways water influences mineral transformation in rocks.

This work is just part of the many projects exploring the connections between the earth, ocean, and the environment. With so much exciting research, it’s also an inspiring place for graduate students – providing a dynamic and collaborative environment, and experiential learning across the many different research areas. With this new department just getting started, there’s plenty more to discover.