UNCW: Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences

05/14/2026

Congratulations to our students who earned the GEOINT Certificate, accredited by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF)!

We are proud to recognize their hard work and achievement in geospatial intelligence.

Some of our certificate recipients are pictured here:

First photo, from left to right: Georgia Boggess, August Taber, and Dylan White
Second photo: Emily Waite

Congratulations to all of our GEOINT students!

04/27/2026

THESIS DEFENSE ANNOUNCEMENT!

BS Geology/Oceanography student Dylan White will defend his Honors Thesis on Wednesday, April 29th at 10 AM in DeLoach Hall room 113.

Dylan's thesis is titled "Links between Tectonic Deformation and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment in Baffin Bay after the Last Glacial Maximum".

His Thesis Committee includes EOS Professors Peter Haproff, Shannon Klotsko, and Scott Nooner.

04/27/2026

THESIS DEFENSE ANNOUNCEMENT!

BS Geology student Abaigeal Sims-Clark will defend her Honors Thesis on Thursday, April 30 at 9:30 AM in DeLoach Hall room 222.

Abaigeal's thesis is titled "Testing the role of strike-slip versus normal-slip along a major terrane boundary in the North Carolina Eastern Piedmont".

Abaigeal is advised by EOS Professor David Blake.

04/27/2026

Recent M.S. Geoscience graduate Luke Bumgarner is the lead author on a new paper titled "Unveiling Ancient Nile Channels in Qena, Egypt: A Spaceborne Imagery Approach Using Google Earth Engine", published in the journal "Remote Sensing".

Co-authors include Luke's MS advisor, EOS Professor Eman Ghoneim, as well as Dr. Mike Benedetti, Dr. Peng Gao, and MS student Phil Cross.

See the paper at: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18081184

The Nile River has played a central role in Egypt’s historical and cultural development, shaping ancient civilizations and settlement patterns. However, its course has changed dynamically over millennia, leaving behind buried channels and geomorphological features that are critical for reconstruct...

04/23/2026

Congratulations to EOS Professor Eman Ghoneim, who's research was recently featured in National Geographic!

The article highlights Dr. Ghoneim's and colleagues' discovery of an abandoned branch of the Nile River linked to ancient Egyptian settlement patterns.

See the article at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/mystery-obsession-how-gize-pyramids-built

For 5,000 years scholars, generals, and mystics have been fascinated by the Egyptian pyramids. That obsession persists in the modern age.

04/22/2026

Big congratulations to MS Geoscience student Mira Anderberg, who successfully passed her Thesis Defense yesterday at CMS!

Mira's thesis is titled "Mapping beyond the 1700 CE tsunami sand extent using grainsize and foraminifera analysis in coastal Central Washington".

Mira is advised by EOS Professor Andrea Hawkes.

04/20/2026

EOS Professor Zijun Yang is the first author of a recently published chapter in the text "Agricultural Applications of Earth Observation" titled "Monitoring crop phenology with remote sensing".

See the chapter at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-38345-8.00002-8

04/10/2026

Undergraduate students in the course Prehistoric Life (GLY 135) recently visited outcrops of the fossiliferous Peedee Formation, a Cretaceous shallow marine deposit exposed in the Carolinas.

Prehistoric Life is taught by Senior Lecturer Patti Mason.

04/09/2026

THESIS DEFENSE ANNOUNCEMENT!

MS Geoscience student Mira Anderberg will defend her thesis on Tuesday, April 21 at 1:30 PM in the CMS Auditorium and via Zoom (see info in the image).

Mira's thesis is titled "Mapping Beyond the 1700 CE Tsunami Sand Extent Using Grain Size and Foraminifera Analysis in Central Coastal Washington".

Mira is advised by EOS Professor Andrea Hawkes.

04/08/2026

THESIS DEFENSE ANNOUNCEMENT!

MS Geoscience student Madison Gerdes will defend her thesis on Friday, April 24th at 10 AM in DeLoach Hall room 105 and via Zoom (see info in the flyer).

Madison's thesis is titled "Saltwater intrusion drives ghost forest formation and threatens Bald Cypress trees in Smith Creek, Wilmington, North Carolina".

Madison is advised by EOS Professor Andrea Hawkes.