Jim’s work is all about living in the Coastal Zone, working with the dynamic forces of waves, currents, winds, and sea level rise. These forces transport silt, sand, and cobble and constantly shape and re-shape coastal landforms, such as beaches, dunes, barrier beaches and coastal banks. This is a dynamic environment that requires an understanding of the processes that drive coastal landform changes if we are to live in harmony with the coast.
Jim O’Connell been working professionally as a coastal geologist & coastal land-use specialist for close to 30 years. jimoconnell28@gmail.com or 781-588-0502.
Presently he is a Coastal Geologist/Coastal Land-use Specialist and principal with Coastal Advisory Services, a small consulting firm on the south shore of Massachusetts offering specialist services on coastal erosion control alternatives; coastal landform delineations; and expert testimony on a variety of coastal-related issues.
Jim has worked as a coastal geologist and coastal processes specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency; University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program on the Island of Kauai; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Sea Grant Program; Cape Cod Cooperative Extension; Cape Cod Commission; Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management; and, the Town of Scituate as their Conservation Agent.
For the past 15 years Jim has been serving on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization the Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc., owners in-trust of a 4.5 mile long barrier beach. He was also recently appointed to the newly formed state Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage Task Force.
Jim was also a member of the Marshfield Conservation Commission, and member of the Board of Directors of the North & South Rivers Watershed Association, National Coastal Society, and the N.E. Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association.
If you are looking for help with your beach front property challenges, you have come to the right person. Contact Jim at jimoconnell28@gmail.com or 781-588-0502.
——————————————————————————————-More background on Jim.
Jim O’Connell is a Coastal Geologist and Coastal Land-use Specialist with Coastal Erosion Advisory Services located along the South Shore of Masachusetts in the seaside village of Brant Rock. Jim is also principle of the firm.
Jim’s specialty is providing a detailed report outlining a state-of-the-art common sense approcah to protecting shorefront property, while allowing coastal landforms, such as coastal dunes, coastal banks/bluffs, barrier beaches and coastal beaches to provide their beneficial functions.
Coastal Erosion Advisory Service offers unbiased, technical reviews & analyses of coastal landform systems, including coastal erosion control alternatives, each alternative’s benefits and potential detriments on the shore & shorefront property, and their applicability to state & local coastal regulations.
Expert testimony relating to a proposed project and its effects on the beneficial functions of coastal landforms and regulatory compliance is also provided.
Presentations (powerpoint) on the formation and evolution of shoreline landforms, coastal processes, shoreline erosion, sea level rise, coastal storm impacts and various coastal erosion control alternatives, with actual site examples, are available. Presentations focus on a requested shoreline area of interest.
Coastal ‘Field Trips’, general or tailored to a secific issue, are also available.
Jim has over 20 years experience in the coastal geology and coastal hazards field.
Jim recently returned to Massachusetts after 2 wonderous years as a Coastal Land-use Specialist on the beautiful Island of Kauai, Hawaii (The Garden Island). There he worked for the University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program and Kauai County assisting in generating a coastal construction setback Ordinance based on coastal erosion rates.
He served as the Coastal Processes Specialist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Sea Grant Program and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension for 10 years between 1998 and 2008. Prior to that he served a year with the Cape Cod Commission as the Marine Resources Specialist, and 13 prior years (1985-1998) with the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program as the Coastal Geologist & Coastal Hazards Coordinator.
Jim is an avid sea and surf kayaker, scuba diver, spear-fisherman, recreational lobsterman and fisherman.
Please contact Jim at JimOConnell28@gmail.com or (781) 588-0502 to set-up a consultation to discuss shoreline issues, such as coastal erosion at your site, potential coastal erosion control alternatives, sea level rise, coastal storm impacts and project-applicable state and local shoreline regulatory requirements.
Otherwise you’ll more than likely see Jim walking your local beach, kayak-surfing a local surf break, or leisurely paddling along the nearshore – relaxing or fishing.
One of his favorite passtimes is to walk & document pre- and post-storm impacts on coastal landforms and buildings along the shore. He had the pleasure of living in a shorefront house during the infamous Blizzard of ’78 — Massachusetts’ 100-year storm.
Aloha! & Malama Pono!
Coastal Advisory Services 