As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at VIMS, Dr. Kirwan integrates studies on how coupled physical, biological, and anthropogenic processes influence the formation and survival of large scale landscapes, and patterns of response to climate change. He works mainly in salt marshes and other coastal environments, where knowledge of these ecogeomorphic feedbacks is often important for human welfare and ecosystem management. Kirwan’s work currently focuses on applying concepts of ecogeomorphology to better understand: 1) carbon-climate feedbacks in the coastal zone, 2) the response of wetlands to sea level rise, enhanced CO2, and elevated temperatures, and 3) how humans influence wetlands through upland land use change and its effect on wetland migration and sediment delivery to the coast.