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Earth Science

D-Index
44
Citations
13209
World Ranking
4593
National Ranking
1749

Overview

Matthew L. Kirwan is affiliated with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in the United States. Their research contributions span multiple domains within environmental science and earth and planetary sciences, focusing primarily on coastal wetland ecosystems and related environmental processes.

The scientist has authored papers covering a range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics, sediment processes, and coastal change mechanisms.

  • Global blue carbon accumulation in tidal wetlands increases with climate change (2020), National Science Review
  • Role of delta-front erosion in sustaining salt marshes under sea-level rise and fluvial sediment decline (2020), Limnology and Oceanography
  • Oxygen priming induced by elevated CO2 reduces carbon accumulation and methane emissions in coastal wetlands (2023), Nature Geoscience
  • Hidden vulnerability of US Atlantic coast to sea-level rise due to vertical land motion (2023), Nature Communications
  • Processes and mechanisms of coastal woody-plant mortality (2022), Global Change Biology

Kirwan frequently publishes in journals including Geophysical Research Letters, Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nature Geoscience, Limnology and Oceanography Letters, and Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences.

The scientist's main fields of study are Environmental Science and Earth and Planetary Sciences, with significant work in subfields such as Ecology, Earth-Surface Processes, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, and Global and Planetary Change.

Key topics of their research include:

  • Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
  • Coastal and Marine Dynamics
  • Aeolian processes and effects
  • Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
  • Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
  • Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
  • Marine and coastal plant biology

Frequent co-authors in Kirwan's publications include Alexander Smith, Stijn Temmerman, J. Patrick Megonigal, Keryn B. Gedan, and Tyler C. Messerschmidt.

Best Publications

  • Tidal wetland stability in the face of human impacts and sea-level rise

    Matthew L. Kirwan;J. Patrick Megonigal

  • The present and future role of coastal wetland vegetation in protecting shorelines: answering recent challenges to the paradigm

    Keryn B. Gedan;Matthew L. Kirwan;Eric Wolanski;Eric Wolanski;Edward B. Barbier

  • Future response of global coastal wetlands to sea-level rise

    Mark Schuerch;Mark Schuerch;Thomas Spencer;Stijn Temmerman;Matthew L Kirwan

  • Limits on the adaptability of coastal marshes to rising sea level

    Matthew L. Kirwan;Matthew L. Kirwan;Glenn R. Guntenspergen;Andrea D'Alpaos;James T. Morris

  • Overestimation of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise

    Matthew L. Kirwan;Stijn Temmerman;Emily E. Skeehan;Glenn R. Guntenspergen;Glenn R. Guntenspergen

  • Numerical models of salt marsh evolution: Ecological, geomorphic, and climatic factors

    Sergio Fagherazzi;Matthew Lynn Kirwan;Matthew Lynn Kirwan;Simon Marius Mudd;Glenn R. Guntenspergen

  • A coupled geomorphic and ecological model of tidal marsh evolution

    Matthew L. Kirwan;A. Brad Murray

  • Response of salt-marsh carbon accumulation to climate change

    Matthew L. Kirwan;Simon M. Mudd;Simon M. Mudd

  • Sea-level driven land conversion and the formation of ghost forests

    Matthew L. Kirwan;Keryn B. Gedan

  • Latitudinal trends in Spartina alterniflora productivity and the response of coastal marshes to global change

    Matthew L. Kirwan;Glenn R. Guntenspergen;James T. Morris

  • Biomorphodynamics: physical-biological feedbacks that shape landscapes

    A.B. Murray;Michiel Knaapen;Michiel Knaapen;M. Tal;M. Tal;M.L. Kirwan;M.L. Kirwan

  • Influence of tidal range on the stability of coastal marshland

    Matthew L. Kirwan;Matthew L. Kirwan;Glenn R. Guntenspergen

  • Spatially integrative metrics reveal hidden vulnerability of microtidal salt marshes

    Neil K. Ganju;Zafer Defne;Matthew L. Kirwan;Sergio Fagherazzi

  • Sea level driven marsh expansion in a coupled model of marsh erosion and migration

    Matthew L. Kirwan;David C. Walters;William G. Reay;Joel A. Carr

  • Coastal marsh response to historical and future sea-level acceleration

    Matthew Kirwan;Stijn Temmerman

  • Rapid wetland expansion during European settlement and its implication for marsh survival under modern sediment delivery rates

    Matthew L. Kirwan;A. Brad Murray;Jeffrey P. Donnelly;D. Reide Corbett

  • Enhanced decomposition offsets enhanced productivity and soil carbon accumulation in coastal wetlands responding to climate change

    Matthew Kirwan;Matthew Kirwan;L. K. Blum

  • Building land with a rising sea

    Stijn Temmerman;Matthew L. Kirwan

  • Temporary vegetation disturbance as an explanation for permanent loss of tidal wetlands

    Matthew L. Kirwan;A. Brad Murray;W. Sean Boyd

  • Vegetation recovery in tidal marshes reveals critical slowing down under increased inundation

    Jim van Belzen;Johan van de Koppel;Matthew L. Kirwan;Daphne van der Wal

  • Massive Upland to Wetland Conversion Compensated for Historical Marsh Loss in Chesapeake Bay, USA

    Nathalie W. Schieder;David C. Walters;Matthew L. Kirwan

  • RAPID WETLAND EXPANSION DURING EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR MARSH SURVIVAL UNDER MODERN SEDIMENT DELIVERY RATES

    Matthew L. Kirwan

Frequent Co-Authors

Glenn R. Guntenspergen
Glenn R. Guntenspergen United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Stijn Temmerman
Stijn Temmerman University of Antwerp
A. Brad Murray
A. Brad Murray Duke University
J. Patrick Megonigal
J. Patrick Megonigal Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Sergio Fagherazzi
Sergio Fagherazzi Boston University
Andrea D'Alpaos
Andrea D'Alpaos University of Padua
Jochen Hinkel
Jochen Hinkel Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Robert E. Kopp
Robert E. Kopp Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Robert J. Nicholls
Robert J. Nicholls University of East Anglia
Johan van de Koppel
Johan van de Koppel Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

For those interested in Earth Science, exploring complementary online degrees can expand career opportunities. Many professionals find value in interdisciplinary knowledge, such as pursuing an online masters degree in human resource management. This equips graduates with skills to manage scientific teams and projects effectively.

Online learning also opens doors for diverse student groups. For example, online degrees for seniors offer flexible pathways to continous education, enabling older learners to explore new scientific fields like Earth Science at their own pace.

Additionally, those interested in data curation and resource management within Earth Science may consider degrees related to information sciences. Accredited programs, especially an ala-accredited program, foster expertise in managing scientific literature and data repositories.

In this vein, a library science degree is another valuable option that teaches skills applicable to environmental information management and research support, bridging the gap between science and public access to information.

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