CRC Environmental Management Staffers with the CRC team at UMCES's Horn Point Lab. Through the Environmental Management Career Development Program, CRC works in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership to provide three-year, entry-level positions for individuals looking to begin their careers in environmental science, policy and management. The Chesapeake Bay Program hosts CRC [...]
Dear Colleagues, Ever since I first began work with the CRC in 2004 (as a research PI from a member institution and alternate Board Representative), I have gained increasing appreciation of the CRC’s importance to the CBP partnership. This importance derives not only from the science coordination, advisement, and career development work that it does through [...]
How can managers and scientists use models to answer questions if they don’t understand the uncertainties of the models? Researchers at Virginia Tech and the Chesapeake Bay Program recently published a paper in Environmental Modeling and Software using a new technique to analyze the uncertainties of three models of the Susquehanna River Watershed. Their results suggest [...]
Scientists applying the bioamended AC to research plots. Credit: Kevin Sowers. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used extensively in building materials and electronic transformers until their ban in 1979. PCBs are persistent carcinogenic compounds that bioaccumulate in aquatic and terrestrial environments and are frequently cause for fish consumption advisories across the US. Managing these compounds has [...]
As Sea Level Rises, Wetlands Crank Up Their Carbon Storage Written by Kristen Minogue for the Shorelines Blog Some wetlands perform better under pressure. A new study revealed that when faced with sea-level rise, coastal wetlands respond by burying even more carbon in their soils. Coastal wetlands like this one in Maryland store carbon more [...]
Credit: Penn State Scientists have long sought ways to help reduce nutrient pollution to the Chesapeake Bay from agricultural lands, particularly in Pennsylvania. To test different methods of manure application, researchers from Pennsylvania State University (PSU) compared plots with manure injected into the soil with plots where manure was broadcasted over the soil to [...]
A scientist at Old Dominion University (ODU) was recently awarded the Virginia Renewable Energy Leadership Award for his work on offshore wind energy. George Hagerman is a senior project scientist for the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at ODU and has been working on renewable energy issues for his entire career. The Virginia Renewable Energy Alliance [...]
When modeling low-oxygen environments, researchers examine chemical signals of biogeochemical cycles, but rarely do they try to model the microbial community underlying those cycles. Sarah Preheim of Johns Hopkins University (JHU) used a lake ecosystem to model how the microbial community responded to anoxic conditions. She hopes to one day apply techniques learned from the lake study [...]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced their intent to support funding for a Research Coordination Network (RCN) relating to Coastlines and People (CoPe). This opportunity will fund a team to use interdisciplinary science to advance understanding of coastlines and people. In their announcement, NSF stated, "Through CoPe, NSF is interested in supporting projects to build [...]
Researchers from Old Dominion University (ODU), Virginia Tech (VT), and the University of Kentucky have created a software program that can help determine the best places and designs to create freshwater wetlands. The tool, called Wetbud, is free and easy to use for anyone, particularly engineers, scientists and regulators. It works by pooling data on water [...]
