James Hench | Scholars@Duke

James Hench
Associate Professor of Oceanography

Research in my lab focuses on fluid dynamics in the coastal ocean and its effects on transport processes. We use field measurements, computational models, and theoretical analyses to understand fundamental physical processes in these systems. We also work extensively on interdisciplinary problems that have a significant physical component to better understand the effects of water motion on the geochemistry, biology, and ecology of shallow marine systems.

Much of our research is on coral reef hydrodynamics and our lab leads the Physical Oceanographic component of the Moorea Coral Reef LTER project

Current projects include: 1) wave-driven circulation and exchange in coral reef, lagoon, and pass systems; 2) extreme events and their effects on coral reef systems; 3) understanding the effects of rough bottoms such as corals on circulation and scalar mixing; 4) the impact of stratification on vertical mixing in a highly stratified wind-driven estuary; 5) larval transport around a coral reef island; 6) sponge excurrents; and 7) the effects of wave forcing on corallivory.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Associate Professor of Oceanography, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment 2016
Assistant Professor, Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment 2013
Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering 2018

Contact Information

135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516
jim.hench@duke.edu (650) 759-6639
Hench Lab
Moorea Coral Reef LTER site

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2002
- M.S., Stanford University 1992
- B.S., North Carolina State University 1991
Duke Appointment History
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering 2015 - 2018
- Assistant Professor of Oceanography, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment 2009 - 2016
Recognition
In the News
- JUL 17, 2018 Pratt School of Engineering
  
  At Beaufort, the Ocean Is For Engineering Study, Too
- APR 6, 2015 BBC News
  
  Sailor rescued: How do you survive 66 days lost at sea?
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Research
  - France (Country)
  - United States of America (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Into uncharted waters: understanding and predicting water movement and fluxes over coral reef atolls of the future awarded by Tetiaroa Society 2016 - 2020
- Collaborative Research: Relating topographic Complexity and Circulation Patterns on Coral Reefs from Colony-Scale to Ree awarded by National Science Foundation 2014 - 2019
- Blue Waters Fellowship - University of Illinois - Walter Torres awarded by University of Illinois at Urbana--Champaign 2018 - 2019
- Assessment of the Frequency and Duration of Hypoxic Events in the lower Neuse River Estuary awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2015 - 2017
- A SAFE vessel: Advancing research capabilities to the Gulf Stream awarded by National Science Foundation 2013 - 2014
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Collin, A, Ramambason, C, Pastol, Y, Casella, E, Rovere, A, Thiault, L, Espiau, B, Siu, G, Lerouvreur, F, Nakamura, N, Hench, JL, Schmitt, RJ, Holbrook, SJ, Troyer, M, and Davies, N. "Very high resolution mapping of coral reef state using airborne bathymetric LiDAR surface-intensity and drone imagery." International Journal of Remote Sensing 39, no. 17 (September 2, 2018): 5676-5688. Full Text
  - Safaie, A, Silbiger, NJ, McClanahan, TR, Pawlak, G, Barshis, DJ, Hench, JL, Rogers, JS, Williams, GJ, and Davis, KA. "Author Correction: High frequency temperature variability reduces the risk of coral bleaching." Nature Communications 9, no. 1 (June 5, 2018): 2244-null. Full Text
  - Safaie, A, Silbiger, NJ, McClanahan, TR, Pawlak, G, Barshis, DJ, Hench, JL, Rogers, JS, Williams, GJ, and Davis, KA. "High frequency temperature variability reduces the risk of coral bleaching." Nature Communications 9, no. 1 (April 26, 2018): 1671-null. Full Text
  - "Interaction of Waves with Idealized High-Relief Bottom Roughness." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 123, no. 4 (April 1, 2018): 3038-3059. Full Text
  - Collin, A, Hench, JL, Pastol, Y, Planes, S, Thiault, L, Schmitt, RJ, Holbrook, SJ, Davies, N, and Troyer, M. "High resolution topobathymetry using a Pleiades-1 triplet: Moorea Island in 3D." Remote Sensing of Environment 208 (April 2018): 109-119. Full Text
  - Sridharan, VK, Monismith, SG, Fong, DA, and Hench, JL. "One-Dimensional Particle Tracking with Streamline Preserving Junctions for Flows in Channel Networks." Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 144, no. 2 (February 2018): 04017063-04017063. Full Text
  - Herdman, LMM, Hench, JL, Fringer, O, and Monismith, SG. "Behavior of a wave-driven buoyant surface jet on a coral reef." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122, no. 5 (May 2017): 4088-4109. Full Text
  - "Mapping coral reefs using consumer-grade drones and structure from motion photogrammetry techniques." Coral Reefs 36, no. 1 (March 1, 2017): 269-275. Full Text
  - "Assessment of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) as a Source of Dissolved Radium and Nutrients to Moorea (French Polynesia) Coastal Waters." Estuaries and Coasts 39, no. 6 (November 1, 2016): 1651-1668. Full Text
  - Davies, N, Field, D, Gavaghan, D, Holbrook, SJ, Planes, S, Troyer, M, Bonsall, M, Claudet, J, Roderick, G, Schmitt, RJ, Zettler, LA, Berteaux, V, Bossin, HC, Cabasse, C, Collin, A, Deck, J, Dell, T, Dunne, J, Gates, R, Harfoot, M, Hench, JL, Hopuare, M, Kirch, P, Kotoulas, G, Kosenkov, A, Kusenko, A, Leichter, JJ, Lenihan, H, Magoulas, A, Martinez, N, Meyer, C, Stoll, B, Swalla, B, Tartakovsky, DM, Murphy, HT, Turyshev, S, Valdvinos, F, Williams, R, Wood, S, and IDEA Consortium, . "Simulating social-ecological systems: the Island Digital Ecosystem Avatars (IDEA) consortium." Gigascience 5 (January 2016): 14-null. Full Text
  - "Hydrodynamics influence coral performance through simultaneous direct and indirect effects." Ecology 96, no. 6 (June 1, 2015): 1540-1549. Full Text
  - Lenihan, HS, Hench, JL, Holbrook, SJ, Schmitt, RJ, and Potoski, M. "Hydrodynamics influence coral performance through simultaneous direct and indirect effects." Ecology 96, no. 6 (June 2015): 1540-1549. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Herdman, LMM, Hench, JL, and Monismith, SG. "Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia)." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 120, no. 2 (February 2015): 1233-1252. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Leichter, J, Alldredge, A, Bernardi, G, Brooks, A, Carlson, C, Carpenter, R, Edmunds, P, Fewings, M, Hanson, K, Hench, J, Holbrook, S, Nelson, C, Schmitt, R, Toonen, R, Washburn, L, and Wyatt, A. "Biological and physical interactions on a tropical island coral reef: Transport and retention processes on Moorea, French Polynesia." Oceanography 26, no. 3 (September 1, 2013): 52-63. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Monismith, SG, Herdman, LMM, Ahmerkamp, S, and Hench, JL. "Wave Transformation and Wave-Driven Flow across a Steep Coral Reef." Journal of Physical Oceanography 43, no. 7 (July 2013): 1356-1379. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Hench, JL, and Rosman, JH. "Observations of spatial flow patterns at the coral colony scale on a shallow reef flat." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 118, no. 3 (March 2013): 1142-1156. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Leichter, JJ, Stokes, MD, Hench, JL, Witting, J, and Washburn, L. "The island-scale internal wave climate of Moorea, French Polynesia." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 117, no. C6 (June 2012): n/a-n/a. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Wong, SHC, Santoro, AE, Nidzieko, NJ, Hench, JL, and Boehm, AB. "Coupled physical, chemical, and microbiological measurements suggest a connection between internal waves and surf zone water quality in the Southern California Bight." Continental Shelf Research 34 (February 2012): 64-78. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Monismith, SG, Davis, KA, Shellenbarger, GG, Hench, JL, Nidzieko, NJ, Santoro, AE, Reidenbach, MA, Rosman, JH, Holtzman, R, Martens, CS, Lindquist, NL, Southwell, MW, and Geninf, A. "Flow effects on benthic grazing on phytoplankton by a Caribbean reef." Limnology and Oceanography 55, no. 5 (September 2010): 1881-1892. Full Text
  - Hench, JL, and Rosman, JH. "Analysis of Bottom-Track and Compass Error in a Self-Contained Acoustic Doppler Diver Navigation Console." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 27, no. 7 (July 2010): 1229-1238. Full Text
  - Nidzieko, NJ, Hench, JL, and Monismith, SG. "Lateral Circulation in Well-Mixed and Stratified Estuarine Flows with Curvature." Journal of Physical Oceanography 39, no. 4 (April 2009): 831-851. Full Text
  - Monismith, SG, Hench, JL, Fong, DA, Nidzieko, NJ, Fleenor, WE, Doyle, LP, and Schladow, SG. "Thermal Variability in a Tidal River." Estuaries and Coasts 32, no. 1 (January 2009): 100-110. Full Text
  - Hench, JL, Leichter, JJ, and Monismith, SG. "Episodic circulation and exchange in a wave-driven coral reef and lagoon system." Limnology and Oceanography 53, no. 6 (November 2008): 2681-2694. Full Text
  - Lenihan, HS, Adjeroud, M, Kotchen, MJ, Hench, JL, and Nakamura, T. "Reef structure regulates small-scale spatial variation in coral bleaching." Marine Ecology Progress Series 370 (October 28, 2008): 127-141. Full Text
  - Rosman, JH, Hench, JL, Koseff, JR, and Monismith, SG. "Extracting Reynolds Stresses from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler Measurements in Wave-Dominated Environments." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 25, no. 2 (February 2008): 286-306. Full Text
  - Lenihan, HS, Adjeroud, M, Kotchen, MJ, Hench, JL, and Nakamura, T. "How reef structure regulates small-scale spatial variation in coral bleaching." Marine Ecology Progress Series 370 (2008): 127-141. (Academic Article)
  - Nidzieko, NJ, Fong, DA, and Hench, JL. "Comparison of Reynolds Stress Estimates Derived from Standard and Fast-Ping ADCPs." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 23, no. 6 (June 2006): 854-861. Full Text
  - Carr, SD, Hench, JL, Luettich, RA, Forward, RB, and Tankersley, RA. "Spatial patterns in the ovigerous Callinectes sapidus spawning migration: results from a coupled behavioral-physical model." Marine Ecology Progress Series 294 (2005): 213-226. Full Text
  - Hench, JL, Forward, RB, Carr, SD, Rittschof, D, and Luettich, RA. "Testing a selective tidal-stream transport model: Observations of female blue crab (Callinectes sapidus ) vertical migration during the spawning season." Limnology and Oceanography 49, no. 5 (September 2004): 1857-1870. Full Text
  - Carr, SD, Tankersley, RA, Hench, JL, Forward, RB, and Luettich, RA. "Movement patterns and trajectories of ovigerous blue crabs Callinectes sapidus during the spawning migration." Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 60, no. 4 (August 2004): 567-579. Full Text
  - "Transient tidal circulation and momentum balances at a shallow inlet." Journal of Physical Oceanography 33, no. 4 (April 1, 2003): 913-932. Full Text
  - Hench, JL, and Luettich, RA. "Transient Tidal Circulation and Momentum Balances at a Shallow Inlet." Journal of Physical Oceanography 33, no. 4 (April 2003): 913-932. Full Text
  - Brix, H, Hench, J, Johnson, H, Johnston, S, Polton, J, Roughan, M, and Testor, P. "An International Perspective on Graduate Education in Physical Oceanography." Oceanography 16, no. 3 (2003): 128-133. Full Text
  - Brix, H, Hench, JL, Johnson, HL, Johnston, TMS, Polton, J, Roughan, M, and Testor, P. "An international perspective on graduate education in physical oceanography." Oceanography 16, no. 3 (2003): 128-133. (Academic Article)
  - Hench, JL, Blanton, BO, and Luettich, RA. "Lateral dynamic analysis and classification of barotropic tidal inlets." Continental Shelf Research 22, no. 18-19 (December 2002): 2615-2631. Full Text
  - Hench, JL, Blanton, BO, and Luettich Jr, RA. "Lateral dynamic analysis and classification of barotropic tidal inlets." Continental Shelf Research 22, no. 18/19 (2002): 2615-2631. (Academic Article)
  - Moisander, PH, Hench, JL, Kononen, K, and Paerl, HW. "Small-scale shear effects on heterocystous cyanobacteria." Limnology and Oceanography 47, no. 1 (January 2002): 108-119. Full Text
  - Hench, JL, Luettich, RA, and Bircher, JT. "A Portable Retractable ADCP Boom-Mount for Small Boats." Estuaries 23, no. 3 (June 2000): 392-392. Full Text
  - "Tidal inlet circulation: observations, model skill and momentum balances." Proceedings of the International Conference on Estuarine and Coastal Modeling (January 1, 2000): 811-826.
  - Blanton, , Amft, , Luettich Jr, , Hench, , and Churchill, . "Tidal and subtidal fluctuations in temperature, salinity and pressure for the winter 1996 larval ingress experiment-Beaufort Inlet, NC." Fisheries Oceanography 8, no. s2 (December 1999): 134-152. Full Text
  - Churchill, , Forward, , Luettich, , Hench, , Hettler, , Crowder, , and Blanton, . "Circulation and larval fish transport within a tidally dominated estuary." Fisheries Oceanography 8, no. s2 (December 1999): 173-189. Full Text
  - Churchill, JH, Hench, JL, Luettich, RA, Blanton, JO, and Werner, FE. "Flood Tide Circulation near Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina: Implications for Larval Recruitment." Estuaries 22, no. 4 (December 1999): 1057-1057. Full Text
  - Luettich Jr, , Hench, , Fulcher, , Werner, , Blanton, , and Churchill, . "BAROTROPIC TIDAL AND WIND-DRIVEN LARVAL TRANSPORT IN THE VICINITY OF A BARRIER ISLAND INLET." Fisheries Oceanography 8, no. s2 (December 1999): 190-209. Full Text
  - "Tidal circulation and larval transport through a Barrier Island inlet." Proceedings of the International Conference on Estuarine and Coastal Modeling (December 1, 1997): 849-863.
  - "Analysis and application of Eulerian finite element methods for the transport equation." Proceedings of the International Conference on Estuarine and Coastal Modeling (December 1, 1997): 138-152.
  - Collin, A, and Hench, JL. "Towards Deeper Measurements of Tropical Reefscape Structure Using the WorldView-2 Spaceborne Sensor(Published online)." Remote Sensing 4, no. 5: 1425-1447. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Davis, KA, Leichter, JJ, Hench, JL, and Monismith, SG. "Effects of western boundary current dynamics on the internal wave field of the Southeast Florida shelf(Published online)." Journal of Geophysical Research 113, no. C9. Full Text
  - Edmunds, PJ, McIlroy, SE, Adjeroud, M, Ang, P, Bergman, JL, Carpenter, RC, Coffroth, MA, Fujimura, AG, Hench, JL, Holbrook, SJ, Leichter, JJ, Muko, S, Nakajima, Y, Nakamura, M, Paris, CB, Schmitt, RJ, Sutthacheep, M, Toonen, RJ, Sakai, K, Suzuki, G, Washburn, L, Wyatt, ASJ, and Mitarai, S. "Critical Information Gaps Impeding Understanding of the Role of Larval Connectivity Among Coral Reef Islands in an Era of Global Change(Published online)." Frontiers in Marine Science 5. Full Text
  - Rosman, JH, and Hench, JL. "A framework for understanding drag parameterizations for coral reefs(Published online)." Journal of Geophysical Research 116, no. C8. Full Text
- Conference Papers
  - Guo, T, Capra, A, Troyer, M, Gruen, A, Brooks, AJ, Hench, JL, Schmitt, RJ, Holbrook, SJ, and Dubbini, M. "ACCURACY ASSESSMENT OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAMMETRIC THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELLING FOR CORAL REEFS(Published online)." : Copernicus GmbH,. Full Text
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

In the News

Global Scholarship

Research

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Conference Papers

Recent Courses