People | James J. Corbett

• Education
• Research Interests
• Current Projects
• Research Group
• Teaching
• Publications
• Former Students
• Selected Reports
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• Ph.D., Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 1999.
• M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 1998.
• M.S., Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 1997.

Ship Traffic, Energy and Environment Model (STEEM)

Development and demonstration of ship routing model assigning port calls to empirical routing network for global ocean commerce. This work is being used to produce a set of baseline and forecast energy and emissions inventories for North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico), and as a basis for evaluating ship traffic characteristics under alternative technology-policy strategies to mitigate ship air pollution, whale-strikes and aquatic invasives. Collaborators: Chengfeng Wang, California Air Resources Board; Jeremy Firestone, UD CMES; James J. Winebrake, RIT

Environmental and energy performance measures in intermodal/multimodal transportation

Analysis of freight transport comparing land-side and water-side short-sea routes. This work develops a GIS -based model and optimization framework to evaluate emissions and energy use from alternate routing constraints using ocean-based foreign commerce, domestic freight, and intermodal networks. Collaborators: James J. Winebrake, RIT; Alex Farrell, UC Berkeley

Improving spatial representation and forecasting of shipping activity and emissions

We are developing methods to improve global-proxy representativeness in ship data used to infer activity and emissions in global gridded inventories. This work enables atmospheric modelers to perform in-depth uncertainty analysis of ship air emissions impacts. Gridded inventories using our best estimates are avialable, and a set of underlying global proxy data is derived from independent sources (ICOADS and AMVER and their combination) to model alternative inventory estimates.Collaborators: Chengfeng Wang, California Air Resources Board; Jeremy Firestone, UD CMES

Ship-Whale Encounters

Assessment of Commercial Vessel Traffic Characteristics and Ship Strike Probabilities of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) along the North Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and Canada. Through the production of spatially and temporally resolved probabilities of a whale strike for different types of commercial vessels, we aim to assist government management strategies that seek to reduce the risk of human factors that contribute to vessel collisions with right whales. Collaborators: Jeremy Firestone, UD CMES; Christopher Taggart, Dalhousie

Invasive Species

Consideration, assessment and modeling of risks posed by the introduction non-native stocks and species. The primary focus is on developing a ballast water discharge compliance and policy support model using linear programming to assist policy makers, ship operators and port managers in the implementation of the Ballast Water Convention and to consider alternative policy objectives. Collaborators: Jeremy Firestone, UD CMES; James J. Winebrake, RIT

Total fuel cycle emissions for marine transportation

Total Energy & Emissions Analysis for Marine Systems (TEAMS) model. This model adapts the GREET algorithm for onroad vehicles to evaluate energy use and emissions for alternative fuels in maritime transportation. Collaborators: James J. Winebrake, RIT

Staff

David S. Chapman, Associate Research Scientist, College of Marine Studies, Lewes, Delaware.

Current Research Assistants/Students

Catherine Barton, Ph.D. student, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Proposed Dissertation Title: Quantitative Analysis of Uncertainty in Equipment Leak Emissions and the Effect on Risk-Based Decision Making. Committee Member.

Mark Baylor, Ph.D. Student, CMES, Matriculated 2004, MBA, Drexel University.

Nicole Cass, Ph.D. Student, CMES, Matriculated 2001, B.S., Texas A&M University. Proposed Dissertation Title: Conceptual Model of Technology Policy for Non-Indigenous Species Introductions Via Balast Water.

Peter Gold, M.M.P. Student CMES, Matriculated 2001, M.S., Drexel University. Areas of Interest: Vulnerability assessment of ports using water quality data, EPA Water Quality Management (Mid-Atlantic Total Maximum Daily Loads).

Shannon Lyons,  Ph.D. Student CMES, Matriculated 2005, A.B. (Environmental Studies and Anthropology with a minor in Biology) Washington University in St. Louis; MEM (Coastal Environmental Management) Duke University, Areas of Interest: Marine mammal and endangered species conservation and behavior; mitigating anthropogenic threats to North Atlantic right whales, virtual population analysis.

Amit Mokashi, Ph.D. Student CMES, Matriculated 2006.

April Rouleau, M.M.P. Student CMES, Matriculated 2006, B.A. (Environmental Studies with a Concentration in Policy and Economics) Wellesley College, Areas of Interest: Ballast water management, marine commerce and transportation, ocean pollution regulation, whaling, sustainable fishing practices, aquaculture and genetically modified fish stocks, marine bioinvasions.

Melissa Theis, Ph.D. Student CMES, Matriculated 2001, B.A., University of Miami. Proposed Dissertation Title: Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges in the Marine Industry - Reducing Air Emissions from Container Vessels Through Industry-Based Policy Methods.

Haifeng Wang, Ph.D. Student CMES, Matriculated 2006.

MAST 802-010 Case Study in Ocean and Coastal Management

Problem-based learning course providing students experience in setting up, analyzing, and writing about complex interdisciplinary issues in coastal and ocean management. Students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds engage in real-world marine science and policy problems. Students apply disciplinary knowledge and develop synthesis skills within groups. Case designs will contain at least several disciplinary elements, including physical ocean science, biological oceanography, environmental assessment, economics, law, and policy.

MAST 663-010 Decision Tools for Policy Analysis

Develops quantitative decision-making skills for science and technology policy decisions. Covers decision-making under uncertainty, axioms of decision analysis, decision trees, influence diagrams sensitivity analysis, confidence intervals, value of information, and multi-attribute decision theory. Introduces life-cycle analysis, discounting and inflation, and benefit-cost decision frameworks.

MAST 664-010 Marine Transportation Policy

This course provides an overview of marine transportation policy and develops analytical techniques in the contexts of local, national, and international perspectives. Topics covered include: maritime transportation technology and projected fleet development; overview of policy frameworks affecting trade, safety, and environment; quantitative analysis of shipping business economics under policy constraints.

MAST 679-010 Shipping and Port Management

This course is a seminar to study the structure and management of the shipping industry and ports, policies for ocean commerce, international trade, and merchant marine. Topics covered include the history of shipping, technological changes in maritime transportation, United States policy, and international policy.

Wang, C., J.J. Corbett, and J. Firestone, Improving Spatial Representation of Global Ship Emissions Inventories, Environmental Science & Technology, 42(1), 193-199,2008.

Firestone, J., S.B. Lyons, C. Wang, and J.J. Corbett, Statistical Modeling of North Atlantic Right Whale Migration along the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, Biological Conservation, 141(1), 221-232, 2008.

Corbett, J.J., J.J. Winebrake, E.H. Green, P. Kasibhatla, V. Eyring, and A. Lauer, Mortality from Ship Emissions: A Global Assessment, Environmental Science & Technology, 41(24), 8512–8518, 2007. See journal cover and news article.

Wang, C., J.J. Corbett, and J.J. Winebrake, Cost-effectiveness of Reducing Ship Sulfur Emissions, Environmental Science & Technology, 41(24), 8233–8239, 2007.

Corbett, J.J., and J.J. Winebrake, Sustainable Movement of Goods: Energy and Environmental Implications of Trucks, Trains, Ships, and Planes, Environmental Management, November: p 8-12, 2007.  This article appears in the November 2007 issue of EM Magazine, a publication of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA; www.awma.org). To obtain copies and reprints, please contact A&WMA directly at 1-412-232-3444.

Wang, C., and J.J. Corbett, The Costs and Benefits of Reducing SO2 Emissions from Ships in the US West Coastal Waters, Transportation Research Part D, 12(8): p. 577-588, 2007.

Wang, C., J.J. Corbett, and J. Firestone, Modeling Energy Use and Emissions from North American Shipping: Application of the Ship Traffic, Energy, and Environment Model, Environmental Science and Technology, 41 (9), 3226-3232, 2007.

Winebrake, J.J., J.J. Corbett, and P.E. Meyer, Energy Use and Emissions from Marine Vessels: A Total Fuel Cycle Approach, Journal of Air and Waste Management, 57(January), 102-110, 2007.

Firestone, J. and J.J. Corbett, Coastal and Port Environments: International Legal and Policy Responses to Reduce Ballast Water Introductions of Potentially Invasive Species. Ocean Development and International Law, 36(3):291-316 (2005) .

Corbett, J.J., and H.W. Koehler, Considering Alternative Input Parameters In An Activity-Based Ship Fuel Consumption And Emissions Model, Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 109(D23303), 2004.

Corbett, J.J., and H.W. Koehler, Updated Emissions from Ocean Shipping, Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 108(D20), doi:10.1029/2003JD003751, 4650-4666, 2003.

Corbett, J.J., New Directions: Designing Ship Emissions and Impacts Research to Inform Both Science and Policy, Atmospheric Environment, 37(33): 4719-4721, 2003.

Farrell, A., D.W. Keith, and J.J. Corbett, A Strategy for Introducing Hydrogen into Transportation, Energy Policy, 31(13): 1357-1367, 2003.

Capaldo, K.P., J.J. Corbett, P. Kasibhatla, P. Fischbeck, S.N. Pandis, Effects of Ship Emissions on Sulphur Cycling and Radiative Climate Forcing Over the Ocean, Nature, 400, 743-746, 1999.

Corbett, J.J., P.S. Fischbeck, Emissions from Ships, Science 278(5339), 823-824, 1997.

Ph.D. Students Graduated

Chengfeng Wang, Air Pollution Specialist, Planning and Technical Support Division, California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board; University of Delaware Ph.D. 2005, Dissertation Title: A study of geographical characterization of ship traffic, emissions, and cost-effectiveness of reducing sulfur emissions from foreign waterborne commerce for the U.S. West Coast. Dissertation Chair.

Cynthia Stahl, U.S. EPA; Dissertation Title: Environmental Decision Analysis with Multi-criteria Integrated Resource Assessment (MIRA), University of Delaware Ph.D., May 2003. Committee Member.

Dohoon Kim, Senior. Fisheries Economist, Korea Maritime Institute;  Dissertation Title: Bioeconomic Analysis of Alternative Management Policies for the United States Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery, May 2003. Committee Member.

Steve Thur, Analyst, Natural Resource Damage Assessment Group National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Dissertation Title: Valuing Recreational Benefits in Coral Reefs Marine Protected Areas: An Application to the Bonaire National Marine Park, January 2004. Committee Member.

Chunling Chen, Dissertation Title: Game-theoretic Approaches to the Joint Management of Chub Mackerel in Northeast Asian Seas, February 2004. Committee Member.

Master's Students Graduated

Christine Miller, Planning & Communications Director, North Carolina Coastal Federation; Thesis: An Institutional Analysis of the Organizations Responsible for Aspects of Coastal Management on Two Eastern Caribbean Islands, M.S. Marine Policy, December 2003. Thesis Advisor.

Kinam Jeong, Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries; Thesis: Pilotage as a Measure for Preventing Accidental Oil Pollution in the Korean Straits, M.S. Marine Policy, May 2004. Thesis Advisor.

For complete list of publications, please click here.

Eyring, V., J.J. Corbett, D.S. Lee, J.J. Winebrake, Brief summary of the impact of ship emissions on atmospheric composition, climate, and human health; Health and Environment Sub-Group of the International Maritime Organization: London, UK, 6 November 2007.

Winebrake, J.J., and J.J. Corbett, Total Fuel Cycle Analysis for Container Ships: A Comparison of Residual Oil, Marine Gas Oil, and Marine Diesel Oil, submitted to Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) by Energy and Environmental Research Associates, Pittsford, NY, 2007.

Corbett, J.J., C. Wang, and J. Firestone, Estimation, Validation, And Forecasts Of Regional Commercial Marine Vessel Inventories, Final Report, State of California Air Resources Board and the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America, Sacramento, CA, 2007.

Corbett, J.J., and J.J. Winebrake, Scoping Paper on Emissions From Maritime Shipping Sector, edited by Energy and Environmental Research Associates, Joint Transportation Research Center, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and European Commission Ministries of Transport, Paris, 2007.

Corbett, J.J., C. Wang, J.J. Winebrake, and E. Green, Allocation and Forecasting of Global Ship Emissions, submitted as a formal Annex to submission to the International Maritime Organization, pp. 26, Clean Air Task Force and Friends of the Earth International, Boston, MA, 2007.

Corbett, J.J., J.J. Winebrake, J. Hatcher, and A.E. Farrell, Emissions Analysis of Freight Transport Comparing Land-Side and Water-Side Short-Sea Routes: Development and Demonstration of a Freight Routing and Emissions Analysis Tool (FREAT), U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Washington, DC, 2007.

Corbett, J.J., Environmental Impacts of Ocean Shipping in a Freight Context: A Summary of Current Assessments, Future Trends, and Approaches to Mitigation, report to Working Group on Transport, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris, 2006.

Corbett, J.J., J.J. Winebrake, and E. Green, Cargo on the Move through California: Evaluating Container Fee Impacts on Port Choice, report for Natural Resources Defense Council and Coalition for Clean Air, pp. 41, Energy and Environmental Research Associates, Pittsford, NY, 2006.

W.C. Edwards, K. Bolechowsky, J. Wang, J.F. Pelletier, A. Richard, J. Young, and J.J. Corbett, Marine Emission Inventory Study, Eastern Canada And Great Lakes, Final Report, edited by Levelton Engineering Ltd and Maritime Innovation, pp. 74, Transport Canada, Montreal, Quebec, 2006.

Corbett, J.J., J.J. Winebrake, and P. Woods, An Evaluation of Public-Private Incentives to Reduce Emissions from Regional Ferries: Synthesis Report, pp. 15, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey and University of Delaware, New Brunswick, NJ, 2005.

Corbett, J.J., Verification of Ship Emission Estimates with Monitoring Measurements to Improve Inventory and Modeling, pp. 47, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2004.

Corbett, J.J., and D.S. Chapman, Decision Framework for Emission Control Technology Selection, pp. 37, United State Maritime Administration, Washington, DC, 2003.

Corbett, J.J., Vessel Operator Engine Emissions Measurement Guide, Washington, DC, United States Maritime Administration, November 2002.

WestStart, J. Boesel, A. Farrell, D.H. Redman, J.J. Corbett, and J.J. Winebrake, Highway Ferry Integration Research: Analyzing Emissions and Emission Reduction Strategies for Passenger Ferries, WestStart report funded by The DOT Global Climate Change Task Force, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and The Gas Technology Institute, Alameda, CA, 2001.

Skjølsvik, K.O., A.B. Andersen, J.J. Corbett, J.M. Skjelvik, Study of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships (Report to International Maritime Organization), MARINTEK Sintef Group, Carnegie Mellon University, Center for Economic Analysis, and Det Norske Veritas, MT Report MT00-A23-038, Trondheim Norway, March 2000. Appendix here.

Corbett, J.J., and P.S. Fischbeck, Commercial Marine Emissions Inventory for EPA Category 2 and 3 Compression Ignition Marine Engines in United States Continental and Inland Waterways, U.S. EPA Task 1, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 1998.

Comparing Fuel Consumption, CO₂ and Other Emissions from International Shipping and Aircraft

Reconciling Past and Future Trends in Ship Work, Energy, Emissions 

BBC Radio 4 broadcast of Frontiers: Shipping Emissions,  12 December 2007