Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

B.A. Humboldt State University, Geology 1983
B.S. Humboldt State University, Oceanography 1983
M.S. North Carolina State University, Marine Geology 1985
Ph.D. North Carolina State University, Marine Sedimentology 1990

Local Pages:

Sedimentology Lab

Research Interests and Projects

Sedimentary processes on continental margins, processes of stratigraphic sequence formation, coastal and barrier island geology, rates and processes of shoreline change, Quaternary sea level history, barrier island formation and stratigraphy, anthropogenic impacts on the coastal zone, biological modification of the sedimentary record, benthic habitat assessment.

Current Projects:

LTER: Georgia Coastal Ecosystem Research. NSF
Late Quaternary Framework of the Waipaoa Continental Margin: Quantifying Mass Fluxes and Event Stratigraphy for Integrated Source-to-Sink Studies. NSF.
Field Assessment and Simulation of Shading from Alternative Dock Construction Materials. GA Coastal Zone Management Program.
Assessing Shoreline Change and Coastal Hazards for the Georgia Coast. GA Sea Grant.
Threatened Archaeological, Historic and Cultural Resources of the Georgia Coast: Identification, Prioritization and Management using GIS Technology, Phase II. GA Coastal Zone Management Program.
Quantifying the Impact of Recreational and Commercial Usage of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway on the Natural Resources of Georgia. GA Coastal Zone Management Program.
Providing a Temporal Framework for Ossabaw Island in Support of Physical and Social Science Research. Ossabaw Island Foundation.
GIS and Field-Based Documentation of Armored Estuarine Shorelines in Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Remote Bathymetric Measurements with NCAM. Savannah River National Laboratory/DOE.

Courses

Coastal Geology and Coastal Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Introduction to Coastal Oceanography, Savannah State University.
Pre-service teachers Science Practicum, Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Natural History and Environmental Management of the Georgia Coast, Georgia Southern University.
Summer Field Course in Oceanography, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

Adjunct Appointments

Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

University of Georgia

Dept. of Marine Sciences

Savannah State University

Dept. of Marine Sciences

Selected Publications

Alexander, C. and H. Lee. 2009. Sediment Accumulation on the Southern California Bight Continental Margin During the Twentieth Century in: Earth Science in the Urban Ocean: The Southern California Continental Borderland, H. Lee and B. Normark (editors), GSA Special Paper 454, Ch. 2.4, p. 69-88.

Alexander, C.R., Walsh, J.P., and A. Orpin. 2009. Modern Sediment Dispersal and Accumulation on the Outer Poverty Continental Margin, North Island, New Zealand. Marine Geology, in press.

Alexander, C.R. (special issue editor). 2008. Coastal and Marine Geology of the Southeastern United States. Southeastern Geology, 45(3).

Jackson, C., Alexander, C. and D. Bush. 2007. Backbarrier Shoreline Change History: Cumberland Island, Georgia, 1857-2002, Southeastern Geology, 45:73-85.

Walsh, J.P., Alexander, C.R., Gerber, T., Orpin, A R. and B.W. Sumners. 2007. Demise of a submarine canyon? Evidence for highstand infilling on the Waipaoa River continental margin, New Zealand, Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L20606, doi:10.1029/2007GL031142.

Alexander, C.R., Lee, R.F., Burton, D.T. and L.W. Hall, Jr. 2005. An integrated case study for evaluating the impacts of an oil refinery effluent on aquatic biota in the Delaware River: Sediment core studies. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment,11:861–877.

Gulick, S., Goff, J., Austin, Jr., J., Alexander, Jr., C., Nordfjord, S. and C. Fulthorpe. 2005. Basal Inflection-Controlled Shelf-edge Wedges off New Jersey Track Sea-Level Fall. Geology, 33:429-432.

Furukawa, Y., Smith, A., Kostka, J., Watkins, J. and C. Alexander. 2004. Quantification of Macrobenthic Effects on Diagenesis Using a Multicomponent Inverse Model in Salt Marsh Sediments. Limnology and Oceanography, 49:2058-2072.

Langley, S, C. Alexander, D. Bush and C. Jackson. 2003. Modernizing Shoreline Change Analysis in Georgia Using Topographic Survey Sheets in a GIS Environment. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 38:168-177.

Blanton, J., H. Seim, C. Alexander, J. Amft and G. Kineke. 2003. Transport of Salt and Sediments in a Curving Channel of a Coastal plain Estuary: Satilla river, GA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 57:993–1006.

Jahnke, R.A., Alexander, C.R. and J.E. Kostka. 2003. Advective Pore Water Input of Nutrients to the Satilla River Estuary, Georgia, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 56:641-653..

Alexander, C.R. and C. Venherm. 2003. Modern sedimentary processes in the Santa Monica, California continental margin: sediment accumulation, mixing and budget. Marine Environmental Research, 56:177-204.

Smith, L.M., Alexander, C.R. and A.E. Jennings. 2002. Sediment Accumulation in East Greenland Fjords and on the Continental Shelves Adjacent to the Denmark Strait Based on 210Pb Geochronology. The Arctic, 55:109-122.

Chiarenzelli, J., Alexander, C., Isley, A. and R. Scrudato. 2001. Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Non-Accumulating, Century-Old Sediments: Sources, Signatures and Mechanisms of Introduction. Environmental Science and Technology, 35:3280-3286.

Alexander, C., Smith, R., Loganathan, B., Ertel, J., Windom, H. and R. Lee. 1999. Pollution History of the Savannah River Estuary and Comparisons with Baltic Sea Pollution History. Limnologica, 29:267-273.

Alexander, C. and H. Windom. 1999. Quantification of Natural Backgrounds and Anthropogenic Contaminants in a Pristine Arctic Environment: The Anadyr River Basin, Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 38:276-284.

Alexander, C. and A. Simoneau. 1999. Spatial Variability in Sedimentary Processes on the Eel River Continental Slope. Marine Geology, 154:243-254.

Sommerfield, C.K., Nittrouer, C.A. and C.R. Alexander. 1999. 7Be as a Tracer of Flood Sedimentation on the Northern California Continental Margin. Continental Shelf Research, 19:335-361.

Alexander, C., Davis, R. and J. Henry (eds.). 1998. Tidalites: Processes & Products. SEPM Special Publication No. 61, 176 p.

Lent, R. and C. Alexander. 1997. Mercury Accumulation in Devils Lake, North Dakota -Effects of Environmental Variation in Closed-Basin Lakes on Mercury Chronologies. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 98: 275-296.

Alexander, C.R., Smith, R., Schropp, S., Calder, F. and H. Windom. 1993. The Historical Record of Metal Enrichment in Two Florida Estuaries. Estuaries, 16: 627-637.

Alexander, C.R., Nittrouer, C.A., DeMaster, D.J., Park, Y.A. and S.C. Park. 1991. Macrotidal Mudflats of the Southwestern Korean Coast: A Model For the Interpretation of Intertidal Deposits. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 61: 805-824.

Alexander, C.R., Nittrouer, C.A. and D.J. DeMaster. 1991. Sediment Accumulation in a Modern Epicontinental Shelf Setting: The Yellow Sea. Marine Geology, 98: 51-72.

Alexander, Jr., C.R., Nittrouer C.A. and D.J. DeMaster. 1986. High-resolution seismic stratigraphy and its sedimentological interpretation on the Amazon continental shelf. Continental Shelf Research, 6:337-357.