UNC Earth Marine and Environmental Sciences

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

Healthy coastal habitats don’t just look nice…they filter pollutants, buffer storms, and support resilient communities.T...
10/07/2026

Healthy coastal habitats don’t just look nice…they filter pollutants, buffer storms, and support resilient communities.

This Wednesday, October 8th at 1:00 PM, Anne Smiley (UNC-CH) joins our Field Site Seminar Series in the IMS Seminar Room to discuss “Coastal Habitat Management to Maintain Water Quality and Improve Resilience.”

🌊 What does it actually take to design a resilient coastline?Join us today at 1:00 PM in the IMS Seminar Room for our Fi...
10/01/2026

🌊 What does it actually take to design a resilient coastline?

Join us today at 1:00 PM in the IMS Seminar Room for our Field Site Seminar Series, featuring Chris Mack of Resilience & Coastal Solution, JMT Inc. His talk, “Designing Coastal Resilience: Lessons from Charleston’s Seawall and SC Living Shorelines,” explores real-world approaches to protecting our coasts.

🌎 What does it take to make geoscience education work for every student?Join us Wednesday, September 30th at 1:30 PM in ...
09/29/2026

🌎 What does it take to make geoscience education work for every student?

Join us Wednesday, September 30th at 1:30 PM in Mitchell Hall 005 for the EMES Colloquium Series, featuring Dr. Megan Plenge, Teaching Associate Professor in Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill.

Her talk, “Building Capacity in Geoscience Education: Faculty Development, Curricular Design, and Student Identity,” explores how faculty development and thoughtful course design can shape a more inclusive and effective learning experience in the geosciences.

🌊 What if the maps we trust to keep us safe don’t tell the whole story?Dr. Antonia Sebastian and the Flood Hydrology & H...
09/29/2026

🌊 What if the maps we trust to keep us safe don’t tell the whole story?

Dr. Antonia Sebastian and the Flood Hydrology & Hazards Laboratory were recently featured on PBS’s Sci NC. Their research examined 25 years of flooding in North Carolina — 78 events that flooded nearly 90,000 buildings — and found that almost half of those buildings were outside FEMA’s official flood zones.

The findings point to hidden risks that current flood maps may be missing, and the need for smarter planning and stronger community protection.

🎥 Watch the full segment: https://www.pbs.org/video/flooding-is-getting-worse-most-people-dont-know-the-risks-ujktno/

🏆 Congratulations to Dr. Antonia “Toni” Sebastian, recipient of the 2026 AGU Natural Hazards Early Career Award!Dr. Seba...
09/28/2026

🏆 Congratulations to Dr. Antonia “Toni” Sebastian, recipient of the 2026 AGU Natural Hazards Early Career Award!

Dr. Sebastian is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences and the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program (E3P). Her research applies interdisciplinary methods to understand how flood risks are evolving in response to changing human and environmental conditions, including recent work on climate and land use impacts on flood hazards in Eastern North Carolina and Southeast Texas.

The award will be presented at the AGU Honors Awards Ceremony during the AGU Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, December 7–11.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Sebastian on this well-deserved recognition!

🔗 Read more: https://ie.unc.edu/news/sebastian-receives-agus-natural-hazards-early-career-award/

🌊 What does it mean to “chase water and reimagine the possible”?Join us Thursday, September 24th at 1:00 PM in the IMS S...
09/23/2026

🌊 What does it mean to “chase water and reimagine the possible”?

Join us Thursday, September 24th at 1:00 PM in the IMS Seminar Room for our Field Site Seminar Series, featuring Tracy Fanara of Inspector Planet!

🔬 How do human-driven changes to coastal chemistry set methane free from the seafloor?Join us this Friday, September 18t...
09/17/2026

🔬 How do human-driven changes to coastal chemistry set methane free from the seafloor?

Join us this Friday, September 18th at 9AM (note: a special date/time for this session!) in the IMS Seminar Room for our Field Site Seminar Series, featuring Isabel Baker (UNC-CH) on anthropogenic redox reorganization and methane escape from coastal sediments.

Ever wonder if where you restore a marsh matters as much as how you restore it?That’s the question Rachel Gittman (ECU) ...
09/10/2026

Ever wonder if where you restore a marsh matters as much as how you restore it?

That’s the question Rachel Gittman (ECU) is digging into at today’s Field Site Seminar. She’ll walk us through how siting and design choices shape restoration outcomes for intertidal ecosystems — 1:00 PM in the IMS Seminar Room.

Can’t swing by in person? This seminar is also available via Zoom!

Save the date — our Fall Field Site Seminar Series lineup is here!Every Thursday at 1:00 in Seminar Room 222, join us fo...
09/09/2026

Save the date — our Fall Field Site Seminar Series lineup is here!

Every Thursday at 1:00 in Seminar Room 222, join us for talks from researchers and practitioners across coastal science — from harmful algal bloom monitoring to coastal resilience engineering to flood mapping. Can’t make it in person? Reach out to us for the Zoom link.

⚠️ Note: the September 18 talk with Isabel Baker is a special Friday session at 9AM, not our usual Thursday slot.

Full schedule and speaker lineup pictured above.

🌊 What can South Florida’s estuaries teach us about coastal ecosystems?Last week’s Field Site Seminar welcomed Chris Buz...
09/09/2026

🌊 What can South Florida’s estuaries teach us about coastal ecosystems?

Last week’s Field Site Seminar welcomed Chris Buzzelli of Coastal Ecosystems, LLC, who shared his work on the Greater Everglades and South Florida estuaries. Thank you for joining us!

The series isn’t slowing down…tomorrow’s seminar dives into intertidal ecosystems. Details coming soon, so keep an eye on our page!

Stay tuned for time and speaker info. 📬

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104 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC
27599

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