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Marine science professor published in two science magazines

Zhixiong Shen, assistant professor of marine science at Coastal Carolina University, has had two articles published in two major science magazines within one week this past spring.

Shen collaborated with eight researchers to write an article for Nature magazine, an international journal of science. The article “Climatic control of Mississippi River flood hazard amplified by river engineering” was published April 4, 2018.

Seven days later, Shen’s second article titled “Anatomy of Mississippi Delta growth and its implications for coastal restoration” was published in the April 11 edition of Science Advances magazine in collaboration with four other researchers.

Both stories are related to his field research, which focuses on the Mississippi River. His scholarly interest in this area of study was sparked by one of the greatest natural disasters in American history.

“My graduation from Tulane University was right after Hurricane Katrina in 2005,” said Shen. “Katrina was a major turning point in the study of the Mississippi River Delta because it really showed how vulnerable the delta is to natural hazards.” In 2007, he began researching in the Mississippi River Delta.

A native of China, Shen earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Liverpool in England. He then attended Tulane University in New Orleans, La., for his postdoctoral work. In 2014, Shen joined the CCU faculty as an assistant professor of marine science. He teaches courses in marine geology, coastal hazards and introductory marine science.

The article in Nature explains the flooding history of the Mississippi River going back 500 years and reveals findings about the effects of climate variations on the river. This project was started in 2015.

Shen’s Science Advances article is about how the Mississippi River Delta is losing land at an exceptionally fast rate. The study examines how the delta was built and concludes ways that it can be sustained in the future. This project began in 2009, and Shen received funding from CCU’s College of Science.

Although Shen has written several research pieces, this was the first time he was ever published in either Nature or Science Advances, which are two very selective journals. To read the Nature article, click here. The Science Advances article can be found here.

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