The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) has released its annual update on research under way as part of its Oyster Reef Ecosystem Services (ORES) project. ORES includes NCBO field work on fish utilization of restored reefs, NCBO-funded research by partner institutions on Bay species’ use of restored reef areas as well as denitrification carried out by [...]
The Severn River Association has started a volunteer group called the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Navy to help assist an aerial monitoring program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. So far, 25 volunteers have signed up to hunt down underwater grass and mark its location using GPS through August. This image was taken through one [...]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funded the Virginia Institute of Marine Science $835,000 to help the coastal Virginia to be more resilient to flood events. The money is part of a program that helps vulnerable communities protect themselves from extreme weather events. Funds will be used to support "nature-based infrastructure," like tidal wetlands and living shorelines, that help [...]
Dr. Jeremy Testa of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science was featured on the Bioscience Talks podcast talking about low oxygen levels in the Chesapeake Bay. The phenomena, called hypoxia, can have large effects on fish and other organisms. In the podcast, Dr. Testa talks about how hypoxia is [...]
Dr. Don Boesch After 27 years, Dr. Don Boesch will step down from his position as President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) on August 31, 2017. Over his tenure, Dr. Boesch has received numerous awards and recognitions for his exemplary leadership on coastal and marine research and policy around [...]
A partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Delaware Maryland Agribusiness Association, and funding from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has been providing tools to farmers in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia to prevent nutrient and sediment pollution in the Bay. Farmers want to prevent pollution while also increasing efficiency and productivity on their lands, [...]
Lee Blaney, a researcher at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), recently received two separate pieces of very good news from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The first was that his proposal for a CAREER Award on Environmental forensics–Emerging water quality tools to detect leaking sewers in urban streams was selected for funding. This project will [...]
Jim Gibb, right, watches a volunteer help excavate a site at SERC. A group of scientists and volunteers gathered in July to take part in an archaeological dig at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. They worked in the sweltering heat to uncover dozens of artifacts right on the center's campus. The group is directed [...]
Wastewater Treatment Plant at PSU Researchers at Penn State University studied the effectiveness of wastewater treatment by tracking the fate of different contaminants. Their goal was to track the compounds through wastewater treatment and at the wells at their Living Filter, a place where treated water is sprayed to undergo additional filtration. The contaminants tracked were [...]
Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials and antibiotics is one of the most pressing public-health concerns around the world. Water systems are one of the major contributors to the spread of resistance, as improperly treated drinking water and wastewater can concentrate antibiotic and antimicrobial compounds while also carrying pathogens to and from human hosts. In the United States, [...]
