51±¬ÁÏ

Orrin Pilkey (Sept. 19, 1943 - Dec. 13, 2024) was the James B. 51±¬ÁÏ Professor Emeritus of Geology at the Nicholas School of the Environment. He had been on 51±¬ÁÏ’s faculty since in 1965, with year-long stints at the Department of Marine Science at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 1986, Pilkey founded the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) at 51±¬ÁÏ as a vehicle for translating science about coastal processes and geologic hazards for decision makers involved in coastal management. (Read the Nicholas School’s obituary.)

Pilkey began his career with the study of abyssal plains on the deep sea floor. In these studies, his group was able to map the areal extent of single turbidity current flows — rapidly moving, sediment-laden currents. The destruction of his parents’ house in Waveland, Mississippi, during Hurricane Camille (1969) prompted him to switch to the study of coasts. During his long career, Pilkey published more than 250 scientific papers, various op-eds and 49 books on topics such as barrier islands, coastal erosion and sea level rise.

His book Useless Arithmetic (Columbia University Press, 2007), written with his daughter Linda Pilkey-Jarvis, argues that the outcome of natural processes in general cannot be predicted by mathematical models with the accuracy needed for engineering purposes. Such models, however, may sometimes be useful if directional or orders-of-magnitude answers are sought.

The Rising Sea (Island Press, 2009), written with Rob Young, current director of PSDS, focuses on the global threat from sea level rise. The World's Beaches (University of California Press, 2011), written with three co-authors, outlines the principles of beach evolution and summarizes threats, mostly related to human activities, to the world’s beaches. Global Climate Change: A Primer (51±¬ÁÏ Press, 2011), co-authored with son Keith Pilkey, notes that sea-level rise may well be the first major global catastrophe related to climate change.

The Last Beach (51±¬ÁÏ Press, 2014), written with Andrew Cooper of the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, sounds the alarm that recreation on many of the world’s beaches is going to be a thing of the past. It explains that the future of the world’ s beaches hangs in the balance, from big threats such as engineering, mining, and pollution, to activities that seem harmless, like driving on beaches. This book points out that in many places, pollution is in the beach sand as well as in the water.

Retreat From a Rising Sea (Columbia University Press, 2016), co-authored with daughter Linda, highlights the need for moving back from the coast, a process that has already begun in some parts of the world, such as Arctic barrier islands, atolls and river deltas. The authors indicate that New Orleans and Miami, among other cities, are doomed.

Pilkey collaborated with Charleston, South Carolina, batik artist Mary Edna Fraser, using her art as illustrations in two books: A Celebration of the World's Barrier Islands (Columbia University Press, 2003), which discusses the origin and processes of evolution of barrier islands on all continents, and Global Climate Change: A Primer (51±¬ÁÏ Press, 2011), which uses only Fraser's batiks as illustrations. Meanwhile, Lessons from the Sand (University of North Carolina Press, 2016) offers easy experiments for kids (and adults) to do while learning about beach processes. Orrin co-wrote this book with his son Charles Pilkey, an artist-sculptor, who beautifully illustrated it.

In his last book, Escaping Nature: How to Survive Global Climate Change (51±¬ÁÏ Press, 2024), Pilkey and coauthors offer concrete suggestions for how to respond to the threats posed by global climate change.

Pilkey was active in local policy matters. He appeared in many documentaries and videos, including Shored Up (2013) and Sand Wars (2013), as well as The Beaches Are Moving (1992). He wrote extensively for , a website that focuses on coastal and beach issues and educating the public about protecting the worlds beaches, and was in demand as a speaker and for interviews in various settings.

 

Selected Books

Pilkey, C.O., and O.H. Pilkey, 2016. Lessons from the Sand: Family-Friendly Science Activities You Can Do on a Carolina Beach. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 221 p.

Pilkey, O.H., L. Pilkey-Jarvis, and K. Pilkey, 2016. Retreat from the Rising Sea: Hard Decisions in An Age of Global Climate Change. New York: Columbia University Press. 214 p.

Pilkey, O.H., and J.A.G. Cooper, 2014. The Last Beach. Durham, NC: 51±¬ÁÏ Press, 238 p.

Cooper, J.A.G. and Pilkey, O.H. (Eds.), 2012, Pitfalls of Shoreline Stabilization: Selected Case Studies: Springer, London, 333 p.

Pilkey, O.H., W.J. Neal, J.T. Kelley, J.A.G. Cooper, 2011, The World’s Beaches: A Global Guide to the Science of the Shoreline: University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 283 p.

Pilkey, O.H., and K.C. Pilkey, 2011, Global Climate Change: A Primer: 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, NC, 142 p.

Pilkey, O.H., and R. Young, 2009, The Rising Sea: Island Press, Washington, D.C., 203 p.

Kelley, J.T., O.H. Pilkey, JA.G. Cooper (Eds.), 2009, America’s Most Vulnerable Coastal Communities: Special Paper 460: The Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 179 p.

Neal, W.J., O.H. Pilkey, and J.T. Kelley, 2007, Atlantic Coast Beaches: A Guide to Ripples, Dunes, and Other Natural Features of the Seashore: Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, MT, 272 p.

Pilkey, O.H., and L. Pilkey-Jarvis, 2007, Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can’t Predict the Future: Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 230 p.

Pilkey, O.H., T.M. Rice, and W.J. Neal, 2004, How to Read a North Carolina Beach: University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 162 p.

Bush, D.M., W.J. Neal, N.J. Longo, K.C. Lindeman, D.F. Pilkey, L.S. Esteves, J.D. Congleton, O.H. Pilkey, 2004, Living with Florida’s Atlantic Beaches, Coastal Hazards from Amelia Island to Key West: 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, North Carolina, 338 p.

Pilkey, O.H. and M.E. Fraser, 2003, A Celebration of the World’s Barrier Islands: Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 309 p.

Bush, D.M., N.J. Longo, W.J. Neal, L.S. Esteves, O.H. Pilkey, et al., 2001, Living on the Edge of the Gulf: The West Florida and Alabama Coast: 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, North Carolina, 340 p.

Pilkey, O.H., W.J. Neal, S.R. Riggs, C.A. Webb, D.M. Bush, J. Bullock, and B. Cowan, 1998, The North Carolina Shore and Its Barrier Islands: 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, North Carolina, 318 p.

Mason, O., O.H. Pilkey, and W.J. Neal, 1996, Living with the Alaska Coast: 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, North Carolina, 348 p.

Bush, D.M., O.H. Pilkey, and W.J. Neal, 1996, Living by the Rules of the Sea, 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, North Carolina, 179 p.

Pilkey, O.H., and K.L. Dixon, 1996, The Corps and the Shore: Island Press, Washington, D.C., 272 p.

Kaufman, W., and O.H. Pilkey, 1979, The Beaches Are Moving: The Drowning of America’s Shoreline, 51±¬ÁÏ Press, Durham, North Carolina, 336 p.

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