Telephone: Newark (302) 831-2841, Lewes (302) 645-4226
http://www.ocean.udel.edu
http://www.geology.udel.edu
Faculty Listing: http://www.ocean.udel.edu/research/faculty.asp
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The College of Marine and Earth Studies (CMES) offers the
following graduate degree programs: Master’s degrees in Geology,
Marine Policy, Marine Studies, Ocean Engineering, and
Oceanography; a non-thesis Master of Marine Management
(M.M.M.) degree; and PhD degrees in Geology, Marine Studies,
Oceanography, and Ocean Engineering.
The goal of the college is to educate scholars who will provide
intellectual leadership in the areas of the geological sciences, marine
biosciences, marine policy, oceanography, and physical ocean science
and engineering. Graduates of the college are expected to understand
the complex interactions of these areas in real-world situations, in
addition to mastering advanced work in the area of their specialty.
The college has facilities in two locations: on the main campus
of the University in Newark and on the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in the
coastal city of Lewes at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. During the
academic year, courses are taught at both sites. Interactive television
linking the two sites minimizes the need for commuting between
campuses. Students may live at either location depending on the
nature of their research and the location of their advisor.
The college offers both field-oriented and laboratory-oriented
research programs that take advantage of easy access to the Atlantic
coast and Coastal Plain, the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, and
upland areas of the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains.
Additionally, there are many ongoing opportunities for research at a
variety of locations around the world.
RESEARCH CENTERS AND AFFILIATED RESOURCES
In addition to the several research centers housed within CMES,
there are also several programs that are affiliated with the college.
These include The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) and the
Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) .
DGS was established by an Act of the General Assembly in
1951 and is organized as an affiliated agency of the College of
Marine & Earth Studies. This arrangement reflects both the research
orientation of the Survey and the need for practical applications of
geology throughout the state. The Delaware Geological Survey's
mission is, by statute, geologic and hydrologic research and
exploration, and dissemination of information through publication
and public service. The goal of DGS is to provide objective scientific
geologic and hydrologic information, advice, and service to our
stakeholders. This goal is accomplished by conducting geologic,
hydrologic, and geologic hazard investigations and services and by
continuing development of our infrastructure through basic data
collection and computer-based data management and dissemination
programs. The scientific information is used to advise, inform, and
educate stakeholders about the important roles that the earth sciences
play in such topics as water resources, public health, agriculture,
economic development, land-use planning, environmental protection,
geologic hazards, energy and mineral resources, emergency planning,
response, and recovery, and recreation.
Survey programs are coordinated with a number of state
agencies, and the Survey serves, by statute, as the state’s cooperator
with such federal units as the U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals
Management Service, and the Delaware River Master. Liaison and
counsel are provided to other appropriate governmental and technical
units through various appointments held by the State Geologist and
other members of the scientific staff. The Delaware Geological
Survey Building was completed in 1989. Because of the physical
proximity of and collaboration between DGS and the Department of
Geological Sciences in Penny Hall, students benefit from association
with Survey geologists and their research projects. The Survey has
formal internship programs in geology and hydrology with
Geological Sciences and the Water Resources Center that provide
opportunities for students to conduct research and obtain practical
experience while working with Survey Scientists. Several survey
scientists also hold secondary appointments in Geological Sciences,
participate in teaching programs, and serve on graduate student
committees.
Originally formed by the International Council for Science
(ICSU) in 1957, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research
(SCOR) explores scientific questions about the ocean that often
require an interdisciplinary approach. SCOR was the first
interdisciplinary body formed by ICSU.
SCOR activities focus on promoting international cooperation in
planning and conducting oceanographic research, and solving
methodological and conceptual problems that hinder research.
Scientists from 35 nations participate in SCOR working groups and
steering committees. Approximately 250 scientists participate in
SCOR activities on a voluntary basis at any given time.
SCOR has been instrumental in the planning and coordination of
large-scale ocean research projects for long-term, complex natural
phenomena SCOR provides a mechanism to bring together
international scientists for this purpose.
RESEARCH FACILITIES
Robinson Hall, on the UD main campus in Newark, is CMES's
administrative base, housing two programs, Marine Policy and
Physical Ocean Science and Engineering. It is also home to two of
the college's five research centers. The Center for Remote Sensing
gathers and analyzes satellite data to yield valuable information about
oceanic properties and coastal resources, ranging from the dispersion
of oil slicks to global change in plant production. The Gerard J.
Mangone Center for Marine Policy, the first of its kind to be
established at an American university, conducts interdisciplinary
ocean and coastal policy research and education programs with a
variety of local, national, and international partners.
Penny Hall is also located on the main campus in Newark. It
houses undergraduate and graduate students in the geological
sciences. The department has ready access to an x-ray diffractometer,
paleomagnetic equipment, gas and liquid chromatographs, ground
penetrating radar, multichannel seismic equipment, a variety of
coring and drilling equipment, tripod mounted lidar, an electronic
total station, an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle equipped with
sidescan sonar and other sensors, and a variety of boats, including a
25-ft. vessel outfitted for geological research in the Delaware Bay.
Through its cooperative programs with several nearby institutions,
including the Delaware Geological Survey, the department has ready
access to nearly all other commonly used tools of geological and
geophysical research. The University of Delaware GIS laboratory is
also located in Penny Hall.
Also based in Newark, the Lammot du Pont Chemistry,
Biochemistry, and Marine Studies Laboratory provides state-of-theart,
contamination-free, "clean-lab" facilities for the study of trace
metals in marine waters and sediments. The nearby Delaware
Biotechnology Institute, a partnership among government, academia,
and industry to help establish Delaware as a center of excellence in
biotechnology and the life sciences, supports leading-edge
interdisciplinary research in genomics and proteomics, including
marine science initiatives.
Another major coastal research facility available at UD is the
College of Engineering's Ocean Engineering Lab in the Center for
Applied Coastal Research. CMES students may use the lab's flumes
and wave basins through a joint degree program offered by the
College of Marine and Earth Studies and the College of Engineering.
The lab contains such novel equipment as the directional wave basin
-- a 66-foot-long, 66-foot-wide, 3.3-foot-deep apparatus equipped
with 34 wave-generating paddles for simulating a realistic sea.
Faculty and students use the device to study the physics of waves and
the effectiveness of various coastal protection measures.
At the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes, on the shores of
Delaware Bay, CMES provides all the amenities for a thriving marine
research and teaching program, including offices, research and
teaching laboratories, classrooms, computer facilities, and a library.
Cannon and Smith laboratories are equipped with recirculating
seawater systems and controlled-environment rooms for maintaining
saltwater fish and plants. Cannon Lab also is home to two research
centers: the Center for Marine Environmental Genomics focuses on
deciphering the genetic code of marine organisms and determining
the role that specific genes play, while the Ocean Information Center
electronically archives a wide variety of marine data for use by
scientists around the world.
Smith Lab includes a shellfish hatchery, algal culture facilities,
fish aquaria, microbiology labs, and greenhouse space for halophyte
(salt-tolerant plant) research. It also houses the Center for Halophyte
Biotechnology, which is developing salt-tolerant plants for
agricultural use and wetlands restoration in collaboration with local
and international partners.
Two smaller laboratories in Lewes contain specialized research
facilities. Henlopen Lab, adjacent to Cape Henlopen State Park, is
home to one of the world's only tilting wind-wave tanks for studying
physical phenomena at the air-sea interface. The Pollution Ecology
Laboratory serves as supplemental space for marine geological
research.
The Adrian S. Hooper Marine Operations Building and harbor
support the seagoing research activities of the college. The harbor is
home port of the 146-foot Hugh R. Sharp research vessel. Several
smaller vessels are available for scientific exploration and sampling
in nearby Delaware Bay and coastal Atlantic waters.
