by Kristen Minogue
Bat infected with deadly white-nose syndrome.
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
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Water Quality
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Six Endangered Species of the Chesapeake
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011Click to continue »
Hurricanes, Snakeheads and Dead Zones: What 2011 Weather Meant for the Chesapeake
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011by Kristen Minogue
Credit: NOAA Photo Library
The Satellite That Could Save the Coasts
Friday, September 16th, 2011by Kristen Minogue
On a hot afternoon in July, a team of researchers sailing down Chesapeake Bay stumbled across a cluster of striped bass floating in the water. About a dozen of the iridescent black and silver fish bobbed at the surface near the ship’s bow. All of them were dead.
Scientists prepare to measure how light interacts with particles in the Bay. Credit: Carlos DelCastillo
The fish kill came out of a low-oxygen zone near Annapolis, just one symptom of the Bay’s declining health. Overflows of nutrients from farms and cities have fueled massive growths of algae that cut off light and oxygen to the Bay’s lower levels.
“There was a very quiet moment between everybody on the boat,” recalled Vienna Saccomanno, one of the Smithsonian research interns aboard when it was discovered. “You kind of knew what everyone was thinking, feeling empowered to continue with this research and hopefully contribute to prevention of this in our water system.”
The scientists on board weren’t there simply to document the Bay’s many ailments, however. They had joined the 10-day cruise to pave the way for a much larger goal: a geostationary satellite that could provide constant, detailed coverage of coastal health.
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Hunt for a Missing Nutrient
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011by Kristen Minogue
Intern Ginny Leviton (left) and Vienna Saccomanno sample groundwater from a drainage ditch, trying to pin down the exact spot where the nitrogen goes missing. (Credit: Tom Jordan)
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Smithsonian Study Measures Watershed-wide Effects of Riparian Buffers on Nutrient Pollution
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Well-developed riparian forests outline streams and help protect stream water quality.
Most of the time, nutrients are viewed as a positive and essential part of life. However, excess amounts of a nutrient, like nitrogen, can create major ecological problems for the Chesapeake Bay and other aquatic ecosystems. Too much nitrogen leads to an abundance of microscopic plant growth in the water. When the algae die and decay, they consume the oxygen that other organisms need to thrive.
Much of the Bay’s nitrogen pollution comes from farms where rainwater carries nitrate, a form of nitrogen, from fields into streams that drain into the Bay. For years, ecologists have noted that forests and wetlands growing between croplands and streams can reduce the amount of nitrate that reaches the waterways. Scientists have measured nitrate removal by these “riparian buffers,” but only in small study areas.
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NOAA Grant Funds Hypoxia and Acidification Research in the Chesapeake Bay
Monday, August 9th, 2010
SERC senior scientist Denise Breitburg will lead the NOAA-funded study of hypoxia and acidification in the Chesapeake Bay.
Marine ecologist Denise Breitburg and her colleagues have thought up many novel ways to investigate the impacts of dead zones and acidification on Chesapeake Bay fish and invertebrates. Among their ideas: attaching tiny transmitters to fish and monitoring their movement in relation to oxygen and pH levels. A new $1.4 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will enable them to pursue this experiment and a host of others.
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Five Minutes for Mangroves
Monday, July 26th, 2010Hallmark may not have a card for it, but today is International Mangrove Action Day.
Photo: Ilka C. Feller/Smithsonian Institution
The occasion is a small but vibrant tradition that has been observed annually on July 26th for nearly a decade in countries around the globe, including the U.S., India, Ecuador, Micronesia and many others. To celebrate, some communities organize protests or restoration projects. Some convene discussions or offer educational lectures about mangrove ecology. Others simply take a moment to appreciate the importance of mangrove forests.
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Seagrasses and Sunlight: Rethinking Water Quality Measurements
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Around the world seagrasses are being lost. Turbidity is one factor that impedes their growth. However, in some places water quality has improved, but the grasses have not rebounded. SERC scientists wonder if a 'carpet of fluff'—a mix of organic and inorganic particles that floats just above the sediment—is blocking the sunlight seedlings need to grow. Photo: Tim Carruthers courtesy of IAN/UMCES.
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Close encounters with science: SERC’s annual open house
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Volunteers Richard Hohn and Carla Downes mug for the camera and show off their crab crowns. Photo: Karen McDonald
Thank you to our volunteers, partner organizations, board members and staff for making the day a success. A special thanks to The Chaney Foundation for sponsoring the event and to Peter G. Cane for photographing the day.
Mark your calendars for next year’s open house: Saturday, May 14, 2011.
Beyond the desert: Exploring Saudi Arabia’s mangroves
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Dennis Whigham and Candy Feller both noticed the mangroves’ odd shape. “They almost looked like bonsais,” said Whigham. The shrubs had mature trunks, but the shoots were all new. Feller and Whigham are ecologists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). To their trained eyes, these trees looked like they were recovering from something like a hurricane. These mangroves survived a different kind of storm: camel grazing.
Saudi Arabia conjures images of the desert, but along the Red Sea coast there are pockets of green dominated by mangroves. Feller and Whigham hunted around for these mangroves during a November visit to the country. They are part of a team of ecologists that’s partnering with the staff of the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The school is located on the Red Sea in city of Thuwal.