Savannah Atchley has been investigating coastal marsh resilience at the VCR on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Her work combines fieldwork, modeling, and remote sensing.

Megan Blumstein and environmental science graduate students led a bioblitz at Morven, a hands on event to find and identify as many species as possible. Photo credits: Sofia Hardesty

Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Brideau on successfully defending her dissertation!! 🎉Lauren gave an excellent talk discussing her research conducted at the Long-term Ecological Research station on the eastern shore of Virginia.

Congratulations Sayali and Dr. Kathleen Schiro on publishing in Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences! 🎊 They researched mesoscale convective systems, clusters of thunderstorms that can grow to hundreds of kilometers across and produce much of the world's heavy rainfall.

Congratulations to Dr. Ethan Kadiyala on passing his dissertation defense!! 🎉 Ethan's research focuses on costal ecosystems, particularly population dynamics across space and time.

Shore to Summit: UVA’s Field Research Stations This article features research at Morven Farm, Blandy Experimental Farm, and The Coastal Research Center news.research.virginia.edu/2…

PhD student Sophia Wood has been working with the Perseverance rover science team investigating the geologic history of Jezero crater, the landing site of Perseverance. Photos: Sophia working at the Perseverance Ace hub in Mission Control and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

Marine ecosystems in peril: Time to prepare for super El Niño. New paper contributed by Dr. Scott Doney - pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.26…

This summer, PhD student Chris Oxley worked with Isabelle Benson, an REU student coming from Bates College. They studied why the Sulfur Boring Sponge, a major parasite of oysters, lives as a parasite in some locations but grows into a massive free-living form in other locations.

Congratulations to Dr. Tyler Barnes on defending his dissertation! 🎉 Tyler has accepted a position at Appalachian State university within the department of Geological and Environmental Sciences! 🎊

"At UVA’s Morven Sustainability Lab, students, professors and researchers test drones that could reimagine farming." Article by Zeina Mohammed from UVA Today. Hear from Dr. Manuel Lerdau in the full article - news.virginia.edu/content/dr… Photo credit: Contributed photos

Here are some highlights from PhD student Mirella Shaban's field season! Mirella studies micrometeorology within urban Artic landscapes. These photos show installing (1) and programming (2) particulate matter sensors, Artic tundra (3), and research team (4).

Our researchers have been partnering with ESCC to support students in their science program through 10-week research internships at the Coastal Research Center and VCR-LTER. Graduate student Luke Groff is pictured inspiring a new generation of research scientists.

Lauren Brideau is collaborating with Sarah Karpanty from Virginia Tech on a shorebird project at the VCR using long-term data. Their goal is to monitor declining red knot populations during their spring migration on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Full article - wvtf.org/news/2026-06-10/tra…

Congratulations to Mirella Shaban on giving her department seminar!! Her work highlights the importance of urban microclimate and air quality in Utqiagvik, Alaska.

Peter M. Groffman, Professor, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center Brooklyn College Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences “Evidence, causes, and consequences of declining nitrogen availability in terrestrial ecosystems” Thursday, March 26, 3:30 PM-4:30PM, Clark 108

Scientists from UVA and NASA invite the public to help monitor plant health around the world - Story by Sandy Hausman featuring Manuel Lerdau Link - wvtf.org/news/2026-02-24/sci… Photo Credit: NASA