Open Positions at CRC and Elsewhere
MMIC (Mitigating Microcystis in the Chesapeake)
Researchers from UMCES-IMET (Place), UMD-CP (Paolisso), and CRC (Sellner) received funding from NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research to develop a mitigation technology to remove Microcystis aeruginosa, a recurring and occasionally toxic cyanobacterium, from regional tidal fresh waters. Laboratory experiments will employ cultures and field-collected blooms of the taxon and determine 1) removal efficiencies of cells and toxin with mixtures of local soils and flcculants, 2) the fate of the flocced and settled materials, and 3) impacts of that material on the benthos, fish, and SAV. Citizen willingness for general use of the technique will also be assessed. The end result will hopefully be state adoption of the technology for routine mitigation of regional M. aeruginosa blooms.
2011 and Post-Irene & TS Lee Response!
The unusual spring precipitation followed by Hurricane Irene's rain on MD's Eastern Shore and then days of rain in Tropical Storm Lee led to unexpected responses of the bay and watershed. As a result, NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office vessels and profiling staff, MD's Department of Natural Resources vessels and staff, and UMCES' remote sensing, microbial, and zooplankton researchers, NASA's optics teams, and NOAA Oxford lab's microbial and zooplankton teams conducted a series of intense post-storm samplings in the tidal bay; ODU and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District sampled the bay mouth and lower bay. State organizations, USGS, and various NGOs sampled non-tidal areas as well, with system-wide changes in the role of the Conowingo Dam sediments a huge issue for the very near future. A session for the CERF 2013 San Diego Conference has bee submitted (contact P. Tango@chesapeakebay.net).
M.S. in Environmental Sciences & Policy
The Johns Hopkins University Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy program explores natural resources management, policy making for sustainability, and scientific solutions to environmental problems. The program also teaches students to work more effectively with policymakers and scientists. Expert faculty from Johns Hopkins, the government, and industry impart in-depth knowledge of ecosystems, natural processes, policy tools, and current environmental issues. The program is ideal for students with various scientific backgrounds. Classes are offered in the evenings so students can earn their degree without interrupting careers; some courses are offered online and on Saturdays. For more information visit http://environment.jhu.edu to learn more about the program or e-mail elbert@jhu.edu.
Plankton Monitoring Update
CRC-NCBO convened a Plankton Monitoring Design Workshop in March, 2011, resulting in a series of recommendations from the management and science community participants on a future plankton monitoring program design for the tidal bay. Since 2/11, NOAA’s Oxford Lab has collected monthly mesozp and jelly samples in 14-16 stations in the Choptank, Potomac, and mainstem bay with UMCES-HPL counting and identifying taxa, through 5/12; data are being submitted now. Future sampling and identifications are in jeopardy, however, due to NOAA funding constraints from Congress. To guide future sample analyses, a statistical analysis of historical mesozp data is underway to identify station samples that need to be enumerated vs. archived for determining mean mesozp densities for each salinity zone of the bay. Results should be available in mid-summer.
CRC Member Institutions Collaborate on Ballast Water
A University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) research barge called the Mobile Ballast Water Test Platform is visiting Old Dominion University (ODU) this month. Mario Tamburri, director of the Maritime Environmental Resource Center, has brought the barge to ODU to work with Fred Dobbs on logistics and planning for additional research to be conducted in Hampton Roads later this summer. For more information, please visit the ODU
website.
Sea Level Rise Project
Investigators from the University of Maryland have partnered with the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Maryland and others to increase the resilience of coastal marsh and communities on the Deal Island Peninsula in the face of sea level rise. With a $598,645 grant from the NERRS Science Collaborative, the team is using the Collaborative Learning methodology to identify which services provided by marshlands are highly valued by local communities, understand how current management practices impact the marshes’ ability to provide these services, and develop a process for stakeholders to work together to conserve and restore marshes for the future (see http://nerrs.noaa.gov/NSCIndex.aspx?ID=744).
NCBO Fisheries Science Grant Opportunity
Link
The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) is directed by congressional mandate to provide technical assistance in: (1) identifying science-based management options for restoration and protection of living resources and their habitats; (2) monitoring and assessing the status of living resources and their habitats; and, (3) evaluating the effectiveness of management plan implementation. NCBO encourages projects that are collaborative, interdisciplinary, and will leverage other resources. Preference will be given to projects with clear management applications.