About

Laura J. Moore is a Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research program focuses on the response of low-lying coastal environments to climate change. She merges observational and numerical approaches to investigate barrier island response to sea level rise and changing storms, the role of feedbacks and interactions between human activities and natural processes in coastline evolution, coastal foredune dynamics, and the large-scale coastline response to changing wave climate. Dr. Moore's recent work is co-produced with coastal stakeholders and spans multiple disciplines including ecology, engineering, education, economics, behavioral science, and the dramatic arts.

Research topics

• Geomorphology
• Oceanography
• Political Science
• Geology
• Geotechnical engineering
• Family medicine
• Medicine
• Climatology
• Psychology
• Pathology
• Nursing

Selected publications

• Is the COBRA‐OS 4 French Aortic Occlusion Device Feasible for Partial REBOA?

  World Journal of Surgery · 2026-04-08

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Noncompressible torso hemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable death. Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is used to control hemorrhage but full aortic occlusion is limited by distal ischemia. Partial REBOA (pREBOA) allows some distal perfusion to prolong occlusion, but precise balloon titration is difficult with standard devices. The COBRA-OS 4 French (Fr) aortic occlusion catheter was evaluated in vitro and in vivo for partial REBOA. METHODS: Bench-top (in vitro) and porcine (in vivo) models were used. The titration window of the device was evaluated in a non-hemorrhage porcine model and in a pulsatile aortic model. The ability of the device to maintain a targeted distal aortic pressure (20 mmHg) for an extended period (3 h) was tested in a porcine model of hemorrhagic shock (40% blood volume), with a corresponding in vitro experiment using a pulsatile aortic model. RESULTS: The COBRA-OS demonstrated a 3-4 mL linear titration window with 1-1.5 mL deflation volume to reach a target distal aortic pressure of 20 mm Hg in vitro and in vivo. During 3 h of prolonged partial REBOA, the device maintained a stable distal target with a set-and-forget strategy (21 +/- 2 mmHg in vitro and 22 +/-7 mmHg in vivo). CONCLUSIONS: The COBRA-OS 4 Fr device enabled precise, stable partial aortic occlusion in this preclinical model. This is the first demonstration of a 4 Fr REBOA catheter achieving prolonged, controlled partial occlusion in a large-animal hemorrhagic shock model, supporting the feasibility of this device for pREBOA. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Basic Science, Animal study.

  PublisherDOI

• Delineating urban flooding when incorporating community stormwater knowledge

  Environmental Research Infrastructure and Sustainability · 2025-01-22 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Accurately delineating both pluvial and fluvial flood risk is critical to protecting vulnerable populations in urban environments. Although there are currently models and frameworks to estimate stormwater runoff and predict urban flooding, there are often minimal observations to validate results due to the quick retreat of floodwaters from affected areas. In this research, we compare and contrast different methodologies for capturing flood extent in order to highlight the challenges inherent in current methods for urban flooding delineation. This research focuses on two Philadelphia neighborhoods, Manayunk and Eastwick, that face frequent flooding. Overall, Philadelphia, PA is a city with a large proportion of vulnerable populations and is plagued by flooding, with expectations that flood risk will increase as climate change progresses. An array of data, including remotely sensed satellite imagery after major flooding events, Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Special Flood Hazard Areas, First Street Foundation’s Flood Factor, road closures, National Flood Insurance Program claims, and community surveys, were compared for the study areas. Here we show how stakeholder surveys can illuminate the weight of firsthand and communal knowledge on local understandings of stormwater and flood risk. These surveys highlighted different impacts of flooding, depending on the most persistent flood type, pluvial or fluvial, in each area, not present in large datasets. Given the complexity of flooding, there is no single method to fully encompass the impacts on both human well-being and the environment. Through the co-creation of flood risk knowledge, community members are empowered and play a critical role in fostering resilience in their neighborhoods. Community stormwater knowledge is a powerful tool that can be used as a complement to hydrologic flood delineation techniques to overcome common limitations in urban landscapes.

  PublisherDOI

• Quantifying the Relative Importance of Sand Deposition and Dune Grasses to Carbon Storage in US Central Atlantic Coast Dunes

  UNC Libraries · 2025-02-20

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Barrier vulnerability following outwash: A balance of overwash and dune gap recovery

  2025-11-24

  articleOpen access

  Existing barrier evolution models only simulate storm impacts from landward-driven flows (overwash), neglecting the impacts of seaward-directed flows (outwash). Here, we modify an existing model to incorporate outwash processes. We find that outwash enhances barrier vulnerability (the tendency to drown) over decadal timescales by scarring the island interior, creating lower, narrower landforms. If outwashed sand stays nearshore, a wider beach and steeper shoreface facilitate dune recovery and closure of gaps, which are otherwise maintained by overwash. Importantly, faster (natural) dune growth means the barrier is less vulnerable to future outwash events, but potentially more vulnerable to back-barrier drowning from sea-level rise because dunes also limit building of interior elevation by overwash. Any changes in storm climatology could alter the balance between dune recovery and overwash making the future vulnerability of modern outwashed barriers difficult to assess.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ecomorphodynamics of coastal foredune evolution

  Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · 2025-05-21 · 8 citations

  review1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The diagnosis and management of acute traumatic diaphragmatic injury: A Western Trauma Association clinical decisions algorithm

  The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care · 2025-01-28 · 7 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Quantifying the Relative Importance of Sand Deposition and Dune Grasses to Carbon Storage in US Central Atlantic Coast Dunes

  Estuaries and Coasts · 2025-02-12 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses sequester large amounts of carbon per unit area due to their high productivity and sediment accumulation rates. However, only a handful of studies have examined carbon sequestration in coastal dunes, which are shaped by biophysical feedback between aeolian sediment transport and burial-tolerant vegetation. The goal of this study was to measure carbon storage and identify the factors that influence its variability along the foredunes of the US Outer Banks barrier islands of North Carolina. Specifically, differences in carbon stocks (above- and belowground biomass and sand), dune grass abundance, and sand supply were measured among islands, cross-shore dune profile locations, and dune grass species. Carbon varied among aboveground grass biomass (0.1 ± 0.1 kg C m −2 ), belowground grass biomass (1.1 ± 1.6 kg C m −3 ), and sand (0.9 ± 0.6 kg C m −3 ), with the largest amount in belowground grass stocks. Aboveground grass carbon stocks were comparable to those in eelgrass beds and salt marshes on a per-area basis, while sediment carbon values in our study system were lower than those in other coastal systems, including other dune locations. Additionally, sand carbon density was positively related to patterns in dune sand supply and grass abundance, reflecting a self-reinforcing vegetation-sediment feedback at both high and low sand accumulation rates.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Tough Pill to Swallow: Bedside Dysphagia Screening in Geriatric Trauma Patients

  Journal of Surgical Research · 2025-11-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Looking Beyond Hospital Discharge: One-Year Mortality Following Tracheostomy Creation in Traumatically Injured Older Adults

  Journal of Surgical Research · 2025-07-16

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Delineating Urban Flooding When Incorporating Community Stormwater Knowledge

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Coastal Geomorphic Consequences of Wave Climate Change

  NSF · $155k · 2011–2015

• Collaborative Research:The Role of Ecomorphodynamic Feedbacks in Barrier Island Response to Climate Change

  NSF · $383k · 2013–2017

Frequent coauthors

• Kathryn M. Beauchamp

  Biomedical Research Institute

  1119 shared

• Gregory J. Moran

  Olive View-UCLA Medical Center

  798 shared

• Raul Easton-Carr

  786 shared

• Andrew M. Morris

  597 shared

• Jonathan R. Egan

  579 shared

• Marino S. Festa

  Children's Hospital at Westmead

  546 shared

• Julie P. Chou

  503 shared

• Tom Lim

  502 shared

Labs

• Earth, Marine and Environmental SciencesPI