Academics | Oceanography
Dr. William Ullman
Program Director
About Our Oceanography Program
Students in the Oceanography Program work on physical, geological, biological, and chemical problems in a variety of ocean environments. Historically, our program's strength has been estuarine, coastal, and continental shelf studies. While this focus will undoubtedly continue, issues relating to global environmental change are of increasing interest and importance, particularly research on physical and chemical interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean.
Who Are Our Faculty?
Many of our faculty members conduct part of their research on nearby estuaries such as the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. In fact, CMES efforts over the past 25 years have made the Delaware Bay one of the most extensively studied estuaries in the world. An integrated picture of the estuary is emerging from studies of its circulation, chemistry, sedimentary geology, and planktonic biology. The estuary's waters, salt marshes, and sediments provide sites for work on the cycling of trace metals, nutrients, and organic matter.
Students undertake research all around the mid-Atlantic region and beyond!
Our Work
Our interests go far beyond the coastal ocean, however. Faculty and students are investigating topics as diverse as the effects of water flow and sediment transport on the behavior of benthic organisms, investigations of past climate change using the geochemistry of marine sediments, to the development of microelectrode probes to diagnose the health of marine habitats. CMES scientists also are playing a lead role in managing the vast data sets produced by international environmental observing programs through the operation of OCEANIC — The Ocean Information Center.
Our Center for Remote Sensing is the focal point for cutting-edge research using satellites to study such problems as the impact of land-use changes on wetlands and estuarine health, to the effects of oceanic circulation on climate. Through the use of these space-age tools as well as more traditional shipboard and laboratory techniques, our scientists are making important discoveries about the vast waters that cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface.
Where We Work
In addition to the sophisticated classroom and laboratory facilities available at CMES, our students and faculty enjoy ready access to a great variety of marine ecosystems near the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. These systems include salt marshes, mudflats, the Delaware Estuary, and the Atlantic Ocean. Frequently, oceanographic research calls for CMES students and faculty to travel even farther afield to other states and countries and on oceanographic cruises in other seas.
For More Information
Click on the links below to find out more about us!
