Dr. Gary Zarillo's Research 

Dr. Zarillo has an educational background in marine geology, physical oceanography and applied statistics.  His professional experience ranges from academic institutions to consulting and industry.  He has completed applied and basic research in coastal processes, including prediction of sediment transport in shallow marine and estuarine environments, hydraulics of tidal inlets, dynamics of barrier islands and response of the coast to sea-level rise.  He also has extensive experience in the application of statistics to geophysical problems. Courses taught include those on marine sedimentation, geological oceanography, coastal and estuarine processes and remote sensing.

Dr. Zarillo’s area of research interests are in the physical and sedimentary processes of estuarine, coastal and continental shelf environments. He and his graduate students conduct studies of estuarine hydrodynamics and salinity regime, sediment dispersal from dredge spoil disposal sites, long-term wave climate, sand sources for beach nourishment, wave-driven sand transport on the barrier island shoreface and inlet sediment dynamics.

Research projects include:

IRL model
Wadden Sea model
Sebastian Inlet
Long Island

Moriches Inlet
Hudson River model
FIT Service
Lake Jesup

Information Clearinghouse

Selected Publications

• Zarillo, G.A. and D. Resio, 1996. The Florida wave forecast system. Florida Sea Grant College Program.
• Zarillo, G.A. and C.R. Surak, 1995. Hydrodynamics and salinity model of the Indian River Lagoon. St. Johns River Water Management District, pg. 146.
• Zarillo, G.A. and C.R. Surak, 1995. Evaluation of submerged reef performance at Vero Beach, Florida using a numerical modeling scheme. Indian River County Public Utilities.
• Zarillo, G.A. and T.S. Bacchus, 1992. Application of seismic profile measurements to sand source studies. In: R.A. Geyer (editor), Handbook of Geophysical Exploration at Sea, 2nd Ed., Hard Minerals, CRC Press Inc. pp. 241–258.
• Zarillo, G.A. and J.T. Liu. 1990. “Shoreface building and maintenance: The role of tidal inlets. Journal of Coastal Res. 6, pp. 111–120.
• Zarillo, G.A. and J. Liu, 1988. Resolving components of the upper shoreface of a wave-dominated coast using empirical orthogonal functions. Marine Geology, 82, pp. 169–186.
• Zarillo, G.A. and M.J. Park, 1987. Prediction of sediment transport in a tide-dominated environment using a numerical model. Journal of Coastal Res., 3, pp. 429–444.
• Zarillo, G.A., 1985. Tidal dynamics and substrate response in a salt marsh estuary. Marine Geology, 67, pp. 13–35.