by Patrick Megonigal, Associate Director of Research, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Originally published in The Conversation
Flames of the Simi Valley Fire in October 2003 ravage a mountainside in Southern California. (Credit: Senior Master Sgt. Dennis W. Goff, U.S. Air Force)
Using seawater to fight fires can sound like a simple solution – the Pacific Ocean has a seemingly endless supply of water. In emergencies like Southern California is facing, it’s often the only quick solution, though the operation can be risky amid ocean swells.
The year 2024 is set to go down as the hottest year on record since the mid-1800s (so far), shattering severaladditional records in its wake. Even for solutions-minded scientists like the ones we’re lucky to work with, there’s no denying it was a rough year for planet Earth. But that doesn’t erase the many bright moments and crucial steps forward that also marked the year.
At the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), scientists have been finding new ways to sustain the Earth for the past six decades. This year the center will reach its 60th anniversary. To mark the occasion, we’ve rounded up our six favorite stories from 2024, from the groundbreaking and inspiring to the quirky and fun:
Carl Dunnock (left) with his detector dog, Encore, and Carl Messick with his detector dog, Grand. (Credit: USDA)
Dogs, with their ability to sniff out unseen objects, have become key players for many teams, from search and rescue missions to hunting. But lately, they’ve received a new welcome—onto the team of plant conservation. This summer, orchid scientist Melissa McCormick embarked on a search for the endangered orchid Isotria medeoloides, commonly known as the “small whorled pogonia.” Accompanied by two Labradors and their handlers, McCormick set out to survey Fort Walker, Virginia, for any sign of the elusive orchid.
Open-top chambers in the “hot moments” experiment, where scientists are growing wetland plants exposed to extreme events and measuring greenhouse gases. (Credit: Kristen Goodhue)
Coastal wetlands are vital to our planet’s health. They store carbon, filter nitrogen and protect our shorelines. But they also can emit large pulses of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, in sudden events known as “hot moments.” These fleeting events are challenging to predict. However, understanding them is crucial in humanity’s fight against climate change.
Genevieve Noyce, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), is leading an innovative project to better understand these hot moments in coastal wetlands.
Amy Freestone, a former SERC postdoc and new managing director of SERC’s Marine Invasions Research Lab. (Credit: Brent Sewall)
Amy Freestone joined the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in May, to help lead the Marine Invasions Research Lab as senior scientist and managing director. Amy previously worked with SERC as a postdoctoral fellow from 2006 to 2009, before working as an assistant professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. In this Q&A, Amy discusses the roots of her love for ecology, bridging the gap between local and global research, and her core principles of scientific research.
Edited for brevity and clarity.
Do you have a personal mission that drives your interest in marine ecology?
You need to have a job that you’re passionate about, and ecology has always been that for me….I just have a very deep appreciation for the natural world. It’s important to me, and important to my family and to my kids. Those of us who are engaged in ecology often have an environmental ethic that underlies the work that we do. I know for me it’s not only about taking care of the natural world for myself, but also just knowing that this is the playground for my kids and wanting to protect those resources for them.
Students at Gwynn Park Middle School plant orchid seedlings as part of the Classroom Cultivation project. (Credit: Gwynn Park Middle School)
What does it take to grow an endangered orchid and bring it back to the wild? This past school year, the Smithsonian decided to ask hundreds of middle and high school students. It’s part of a participatory science project called “Classroom Cultivation,” run by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Smithsonian Gardens. Its goal: Turn students into scientists and classrooms into botany labs.
Orchids are some of the trickiest plants to grow—either in a lab or in the wild. This is largely because they are so frustratingly picky about their habitats. And every species has a different wish list.
“Orchids can be a bit of a drama queen, a diva,” said Shatiyana Dunn, who runs Classroom Cultivation for SERC. “They have very specific elements that they like to grow in.”
A freshwater wetland in Merritt Island, Florida. A new study found hotter, fresher wetlands emit more methane. (Credit: Chris M. Morris, cropped. CC-BY-2.0)
Your local wetland could be sending over 500 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere every year, per square mile. Or virtually none. It’s a bit of a mystery—one that’s been troubling climate scientists for decades. But a new report published this week is helping nail down which wetlands are more likely to be methane bombs.
Denim Fisher (left) and Narcia Jackson look at pinned insects under a microscope at Sweet Hope Free Will Baptist Church. (Credit: Alison Cawood)
As a young student drawn to the intuitive side of things, Denim Fisher never felt completely at home in the science world. But she always had a deep love for nature, as a place to center and ground herself. That love, she acknowledged, comes mixed with trauma.
“The act of engaging with nature can be a daunting, frightening experience for most Black people,“ she said. “This fear response stems from historical racism and the awful things that we endured in these forests.”
Fisher was a graduating senior this year at Pikesville High School in Baltimore. Last winter and spring, she joined a high school internship program run on Saturdays by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Temple X. One particular Saturday stands out, walking through Gwynns Falls Park with her mentor, Alfie Chambers.
“We saw a poplar tree,” Fisher said. “Alfie taught me that Black bodies were lynched on this tree. This tree has gigantic branches, and mobs intentionally used these trees because of the increased likelihood of someone’s death.”
For Fisher, the internship offered a chance to explore new ways to reconnect her community with nature, and to create spaces for healing.
Megan Vahsen, lead author of the plant evolution paper, stands with a soil auger in a wetland at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. (Photo: Helena Kleiner)
Our predictions of how well wetlands can withstand climate change may not be as accurate as once believed. Research has often overlooked one critical factor: plant evolution. This spring, a research team with two Smithsonian biologists received the Ecological Society of America’s George Mercer Award for their findings on the century-long evolution of a wetland plant and its potential impact on wetland survival.
“There has been this long-standing idea that evolution is really slow and happens at magnitudes that are not impactful at the ecosystem level,” said Megan Vahsen, lead author of the study. “And I think what this paper shows is that’s not necessarily true.”
Denise Breitburg, marine ecologist and Smithsonian scientist emerita (Photo courtesy of Denise Breitburg)
Oxygen is a vital element for virtually all animals on Earth and many microbes. But oxygen concentrations are falling in some of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet. According to a recent paper, the number of freshwater and coastal water bodies with little to no oxygen has increased in coastal areas, with hundreds of regions affected worldwide. Meanwhile, in the open ocean, oxygen-deficient waters have increased fourfold since 1960.
In the new paper, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, researchers around the globe are urging leaders to acknowledge the ocean’s oxygen loss as a new “planetary boundary.” Planetary boundaries are global thresholds for major Earth systems, beyond which humanity cannot safely operate. The nine existing boundaries include climate change and freshwater. In this Q&A, we spoke with co-author Denise Breitburg, a scientist emerita at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, on why ocean oxygen should become the 10th planetary boundary. Edited for brevity and clarity.
