J.P. Walsh

J.P. Walsh is a Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO). He leads the COAST Lab (Coastal and Ocean Analysis of Sediments and Transport Lab), focusing on sediment dynamics, coastal hazards, and human impacts on marine environments. His work spans global field sites, including the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, France, and the Caribbean.

• Education: Colgate University (B.A. Geology, 1995), Stony Brook University (M.S. Marine Science, 1997), University of Washington (Ph.D. Oceanography, 2001), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Postdoc, 2001-2003).

Research interests include coastal processes and hazards, estuarine and delta dynamics, continental-margin sedimentation, and marine plastic pollution. The COAST Lab employs GIS, sediment coring, seafloor mapping, and field measurements to study sedimentary systems from river mouths to ocean basins.

Walsh's projects include NSF RAPID funding to assess Hurricane Florence's impact on North Carolina's seafloor (2018), collaborations mapping coastal habitat changes in the Philippines with the USAID Fish Right Program, and ongoing studies of microplastic accumulation in Narragansett Bay with Ph.D. student Victoria Fulfer. He has mentored students such as Emily Hall (Philippines mangroves/seagrasses), Isabel Whaling (Rhode Island barrier beaches), and Ian Conery (coastal sand management in NC).