Rate My Professor Jacque Kelly

Jacque L. Kelly is a Professor of Geology in the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability at Georgia Southern University, where she has served on the faculty since 2012. She holds a Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (2012), an M.S. in Geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2006), and a B.S. in Geoscience from Northland College (2004). Kelly's research utilizes geochemical and geophysical methods to examine coastal processes, focusing on groundwater geochemistry, coastal hydrology, thermal infrared remote sensing, electrical resistivity tomography, stable isotope geochemistry, and radioactive isotope geochemistry. Her investigations target the location and quantification of submarine groundwater discharge to coastal areas through isotopes, remote sensing, and geophysical surveys, as well as its effects on ecosystems via delivery of nutrients, trace metals, and contaminants, particularly in salt marshes with Spartina alterniflora and eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) populations.

Kelly served as principal investigator for the National Science Foundation-funded REU Site: Interdisciplinary Research Experiences in Coastal Plain Science from 2018 to 2024, mentoring undergraduate researchers. As co-principal investigator, she contributed to funded projects such as Investigation of Salt Water Intrusion on St. Catherines Island (St. Catherines Island Foundation, 2021-present), Impacts of submarine groundwater discharge on seagrass in Florida Bay (Environmental Protection Agency, 2021-2024), Response of Stressed Marsh to Hurricane Irma (Georgia Sea Grant, 2018-2019), and Is Groundwater a Potential Driver of Oyster Populations Within Georgia Creeks? (Georgia Sea Grant, 2018-2019). Notable publications include "Shallow Hydrostratigraphy Beneath Marsh Platforms: Insights from Electrical Resistivity Tomography" (Water, 2025, with C. M. Hladik), "Submarine groundwater discharge interacts with creek geomorphology to affect eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica growth rates in a coastal Georgia creek" (PeerJ, 2023, with J. M. Carroll et al.), "Integration of aerial infrared thermography and in situ radon-222 to investigate submarine groundwater discharge to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA" (Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 2018), and "High-resolution aerial infrared mapping of groundwater discharge to the coastal ocean" (Geophysical Research Letters, 2013). In 2020, she received the Georgia Southern University Award of Excellence for Teaching. Affiliated with the James H. Oliver, Jr., Institute for Coastal Plain Science, Kelly teaches introductory and advanced geology courses including Data Management for Geologists, Isotope Geochemistry, and Senior Thesis Research, incorporating lectures, flipped classrooms, case studies, and student response systems.