My research is concerned primarily with the behavior of coastal sedimentary systems and especially the fate of fine-grained sediment particles. My students and I are doing field work to study the transportation of fine-grained sediments in rivers and estuaries, shore changes and the partitioning of sediment particles at the shoreline, and the deposition of sediments and sedimentary evolution in coastal environments. Research into elements of coastal hydrology and the character of changes in relative sea level are included in these studies. For example, we are studying the evolution of Long Island Sound, the coastal processes at the south shore of Long Island, and the processes of resuspension and deposition of fine-grained sediments.

Much of this research is directly applicable to problems of coastal zone management. I am interested in applying my research to the problems of shore erosion, the dispersion of contaminants, siltation, dredging and disposal of the dredged sediments, and marine mining.