Algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay, courtesy of VIMS The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) recently received three awards totaling $2.5 million over three years to study harmful algal blooms, or HABs, positioning VIMS as a major player in quantifying the negative effects of HABs. VIMS received two grants through NOAA's ECOHAB program that focuses on [...]
A photo from the demonstration project at the Horn Point Laboratory Researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Oyster Hatchery are studying ways to cultivate oysters as efficiently as possible. Small marine creatures like barnacles and bryozoans often settle on oyster cages and prevent a clean flow of water [...]
A professor from Old Dominion University will be hosting an event in conjunction with the "Catch the Tide" project on November 5th. The Virginian-Pilot and media partners at the Daily Press, WHRO Public Media and WVEC-TV have come together to raise awareness about sea level rise at an astronomically high tide, called the king tide. [...]
Researchers at Old Dominion University's Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography (CCPO) are studying how floating ice sheets melt in three Arctic locations. Using ocean circulation models, they are observing how ocean water inundates the base of the ice sheets, causing them to melt. The research is being conducted by John Klinck, director of CCPO, and two research [...]
Researchers at Penn State University have created an inexpensive, eco-friendly alternative to plastic coatings. Jeffrey Catchmark, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering in Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has found a way to combine cellulose from trees and chitosan derived from the exoskeletons of crustaceans to make a plastic-like coating. Prof. Catchmark pictured [...]
A Masters student in hydrogeology at Pennsylvania State University is studying how nutrients like nitrates move from agricultural lands into local watersheds. Callum Wayman wanted to add an agricultural site to a group of constantly monitored sites run by the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory. He started field work in fall of 2016 by deploying [...]
A team at Johns Hopkins University led by Principle Investigator Frank Curriero investigates a bacteria that could be affecting seafood in the Chesapeake Bay. The project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, wants to understand the underlying cause of seafood-associated illnesses leading to an estimated 80,000 illnesses in the US every year. [...]
Sunrise over Kirkpatrick Marsh Researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), the University of Delaware, and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) are investigating how ocean acidification could potentially compound existing problems in the Bay. A major problem already plaguing the Bay is caused by nutrient pollution. When fertilizer run off enters [...]
This year, we launched the Chesapeake Bay Expertise Database. This is a database built into our website with hundreds of scientists and managers who focus their work on the Chesapeake Bay. We currently have 244 participants, and we hope to reach 300 by the end of the year. Any one can search the database by name, [...]
From November 5th to November 9th, scientists, managers, students, and professionals from across disciplines will come together in Providence, RI to discuss marine and coastal issues. The biennial conference hosted by the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is called "Coastal Science at the Inflection Point: Celebrating Successes & Learning from Challenges." This year marks the [...]
