Contaminants from pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, and steroids are becoming increasingly common in surface and drinking water sources, having an effect on human and aquatic health. To reduce this pollution, researchers at Penn State University have developed a filtration system that removes contaminants from hospital wastewater. "Biogenic manganese oxide-coated coir fiber collected from the coal mine drainage [...]
Smithsonian marine biologists have launched Invader ID, an online citizen science project calling on people to help identify invasive species. The project started on the San Francisco Bay, where the majority of species identified by researchers are invasive. "SERC marine biologist Brianna Tracy holds a plate with marine life pulled from a dock in San [...]
Scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) are stumped by missing crabs. Back in 2006, a crabber caught a Chinese mitten crab, and shortly after scientist confirmed its identity, reports from all over, including as far north as the Hudson River, found hundreds of the crabs. SERC even set up a hotline to report the sightings as [...]
Photo: Kristen Minogue/SERC Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is hosting a free open-house for families on Saturday, May 19th. The event will focus on Chesapeake Bay stewardship, and hands-on activities in the water and on land. Some of the activities include a boat cruise, hay ride, archaeological dig, visits from animals like goats and birds [...]
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) hosts monthly lectures on Bay Optimism on the third Tuesday of every month, March through October. This month's lecture features Amy Jacobs from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). On May 15th, Jacobs will give the lecture, "Clean Water, Healthy Habitats: Accelerating Wetland Restoration in the Bay," and will be discussing how [...]
Underwater grasses photographed by Lefcheck A landmark paper authored by a power-house of Bay scientists has rocked the Chesapeake Bay for the past two months. The paper looks at the long-term effects of nutrient reductions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed on underwater grasses, or submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). It was published in the prestigious [...]
On March 5th, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam served as a panelist at the Blue Planet Forum at Old Dominion University (ODU). The forum is an annual event by ODU and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation that seeks to educate and engage the public on environmental issues. Gov. Northam and City Council member Andria McClellan on the [...]
Old Dominion University (ODU) scientist Richard Zimmerman published an op-ed in The Virginia-Pilot in March on how federal budget cuts could harm the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean at large. He discusses the proposed federal budget that cuts funding to NOAA by $1 billion, which could have huge effects in Hampton Roads. Richard Zimmerman, Old [...]
Carsten Prasse joined the Dept. of Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins as an assistant professor in February. Prasse’s research focuses on the fate of organic chemicals in the urban water cycle and the assessment of their impacts on environmental and human health. His research group applies high-resolution mass spectrometry for the identification of the [...]
