A Coastal-marine geologist from the Woods Hole Science Center, Jeff Williams, spoke to Class III students at the Earth Day Lecture in Wigglesworth Hall. Mr. Williams’ presentation focused on the “coastal crisis” in the United States. He included coastal hazards that put human life and ecosystems at risk; the geologic and human factors causing coastal erosion; the increasing population growth along our coasts; and the 2005 storms that devastated the Gulf Coast states.

Jeff Williams is a senior research coastal-marine geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He is involved in studies of the geologic history and processes of coastal, estuarine, wetland, and inner continental shelf regions. He has published more than 200 research papers and reports and has been a member on more than a dozen high-level national and state science committees.

Mr. Williams’ predicted that the sea level will continue to rise at an accelerated pace, causing more flooding and coastal erosion. He believes that the intensity of storms hitting the United States in 2006 will be the same as we experienced in 2005.