Posted by Kristen Goodhue on June 21st, 2019
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center stays close to its heritage by leasing land to farmers
by Stephanie Fox
Summer farm fields on the SERC campus (Photo: Nicole Campbell)
Before the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) became a bustling scientific center, adorned with research labs and paved roads, it was the Java Dairy Farm, run by an eccentric millionaire named Robert Lee Forrest. In 1962, Forrest passed away, leaving his 368 acres of farmland and other properties along Maryland’s Rhode River to the Smithsonian Institution. Despite some talk of selling the farm to grow the Smithsonian’s endowment, further inspection of the abandoned property revealed an ideal space for field biology and ecology studies.
Over the past 57 years since Forrest’s donation, the property has grown to 2,650 acres, 19 labs and nearly 100 researchers. The majority of the natural terrain is dedicated to studying environmental issues like nutrient pollution and climate change. But SERC also has set aside about 270 acres (three plots of land) for local farmers to lease, as a reminder of the center’s agricultural origins. Click to continue »
Posted in Land Use, SERC Sites and Scenes, Water Quality | Comments Off on Leased Farmland Hearkens Back to Smithsonian’s Agricultural Roots
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on June 18th, 2019
by Quinn Burkhart
Most people need to visit the ocean to get their sea water fix. But beneath their feet, those waters may already be closer than they think. “Saltwater intrusion,” which occurs when the sea level rises and pushes large amounts of saltwater onto the coast, is one of the most prominent—and least talked about—effects of climate change. Its influence on the Chesapeake Bay, one of the lowest regions in the United States, is gaining traction.
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Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Invasive Species, Land Use, Publications | Comments Off on The Invisible Flood: When We Can’t Tell We’re Drowning
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on June 3rd, 2019
By Stephanie Fox
Each year, thousands of invasive organisms cling to the bottoms of boats, traveling hundreds of miles to distant bays. It’s proven difficult and time consuming for scientists to investigate all the harbors being invaded. So researchers at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) are looking to citizen scientists for help.
Over the last year, volunteers assisted from the comfort of their homes, helping identify invasive species using images online. But this summer, a small group of Invader ID volunteers will get their hands dirty doing experiments of their own in the Chesapeake Bay. Click to continue »
Posted in California, Ecology, Invasive Species, Participatory Science, Volunteers | Comments Off on Invader ID Volunteers Are Deploying Tiles in Chesapeake Bay
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on May 10th, 2019
by Stephanie Fox
Standing on the beach of High Island, Texas, James “Tyler” Bell saw a handful of tiny dots on the horizon and knew he was about to observe something incredible. Within seconds, they grew closer, hovering just above the water before coming ashore.
Many casual observers would have no idea what was happening. But Bell, a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s Microbial Ecology Lab and an avid bird watcher, knew he was witnessing the “Yucatan Express”—a seasonal event in which millions of ruby-throated hummingbirds spend a single evening flying across the Gulf of Mexico from Central America and Mexico to the breezier north.
A ruby-throated hummingbird purches on a branch. (Photo: Mickey Estes)
“Millions of individual birds…all arrive in their own time, one by one,” Bell said. The birds often fly in clusters, each group completing the Yucatan Express during different evenings throughout the spring.
For 20 hours the ruby-throated hummingbirds travel more than 500 miles across the water without stopping. Their voyage ends in cooler states that are more suitable for their annual summer nesting.
But the miraculous journey takes its toll on the birds that weigh less than a nickel. Click to continue »
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Posted by Kristen Goodhue on May 6th, 2019
by Stephanie Fox
Standing in a nearly empty classroom, three students crowded around a massive cardboard box, removing padding and clearing the way for the robot inside. Within minutes, they had extracted and turned on the robot, whose abilities they will test and manipulate this spring.
Joe Lewis turns Pepper on for the first time since removing it from the box. (Stephanie Fox/Northwestern University)
South River High School juniors John Hair, Jacob Haley and Joe Lewis partnered with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) to develop a program for the robot that improves environmental literacy.
The robot they’re programming is just one of 12 “Pepper” robots SoftBank Robotics donated to the Smithsonian in February 2018.
“It was a pilot project trying to see if these Pepper robots could be used in an educational museum or research setting,” said Cosette Larash, a public engagement program assistant at SERC. Click to continue »
Posted in Education, Programs | Comments Off on High School Students Program Robot to Help Environmental Literacy
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on April 24th, 2019
by Stephanie Fox
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) celebrated Earth Day with the first trash audit since changing its recycling system.
SERC administration staff Sarah Wade, Michelle Rossman and Lauren Nicol sort through trash bags in search of recyclables. (Photo: Stephanie Fox/Northwestern University)
After examining almost 115 pounds of waste and recycling bags, the SERC operations team in charge of today’s audit found only about 3% of items were thrown in the wrong bin. That’s a huge improvement from the first audit that took place in the fall.
SERC prides itself on being one of the most environmentally friendly research centers in the country. Its Mathias Laboratory was awarded a “Platinum” Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the highest rank LEED offers for green buildings. It also received the President’s GreenGov Building the Future Award in 2015, awarded to buildings with sustainable operations and green designs.
That’s why members of the staff were shocked to find that a 2018 waste audit revealed them to be terrible at recycling. Click to continue »
Posted in SERC Sites and Scenes | 1 Response »
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on April 11th, 2019
A new team is using big data to change how the world calculates its carbon budget on the coasts
by Kristen Minogue
Left to right: Jorge Ramos of Conservation International (Credit: Laura Jaramillo/Conservation International); James Holmquist of SERC (Credit: Lauren Brown); David Klinges of SERC (Credit: SERC); Kathe Todd-Brown of the International Soil Carbon Network (Credit: Andrea Starr/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory).
There’s a gaping hole in Earth’s carbon budget. Scientists have known about it for years, but the data to balance the books have proven hard to find. The blank line is for coastal wetlands—ecosystems that could protect us not only from climate change, but hurricanes, pollution and a host of other environmental hazards.
“When we think of carbon storage or natural climate solutions, a lot of the time forests and trees come to mind,” said David Klinges, a research technician at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). “Because trees have a lot of mass, they store a lot of carbon. But what is not as publicly recognized is that soils—and other forms of plants besides trees—they also store carbon.” Click to continue »
Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Land Use | Comments Off on Rethinking Carbon
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on April 4th, 2019
by Sara Richmond
Sarah Grady and other archaeology volunteers use this large wooden sieve to sift through soil in search of artifacts. (Photo: Sara Richmond)
In 2012, Sarah Grady was waiting tables at the Old Stein Inn and deciding what to do with her new anthropology degree when a restaurant customer told her about the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s Archaeology Lab, located just a few miles from the restaurant. Soon after she became the lab’s second volunteer, working with volunteer lab director Jim Gibb to excavate plots and crunch data. Six and a half years later, Sarah is the lab’s assistant director. The year-round program has grown from just her and Jim to a group of roughly a dozen citizen scientist volunteers who gather every Wednesday to dig and learn about each other’s projects.
The Archaeology Lab is the only all-volunteer lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Currently the lab hosts 16 ongoing projects, all of which citizen science volunteers have undertaken on their own.
“We guide them,” says Sarah, “but most of them have taken the research into their own hands and are even making appointments with other scientists to discuss.” Click to continue »
Posted in Archaeology, Participatory Science, SERC Sites and Scenes, Volunteers | Comments Off on Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Grady, Explorer of Past & Future Landscapes
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on March 28th, 2019
A cargo dock on San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos. Manmade structures like docks can help non-native marine species thrive by providing a hard surface to grow on. (Inti Keith/Charles Darwin Foundation)
More than 50 non-native marine species have found their way to the Galápagos Islands, over 10 times more than scientists previously thought, reports a new study in Aquatic Invasions published Thursday, March 28.
The study, a joint effort of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Williams College, and the Charles Darwin Foundation, documents 53 species of introduced marine animals in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the largest marine protected areas on Earth. Before this study came out, scientists knew about only five. Click to continue »
Posted in Ecology, Invasive Species, Publications | Comments Off on Galápagos Islands Have 10 Times More Alien Marine Species Than Once Thought
Posted by Kristen Goodhue on March 6th, 2019
by Kristen Minogue
Coastal wetlands like this one in Maryland store carbon more efficiently than any other natural ecosystem, and a new study shows they store even more when sea level rises. (Gary Peresta/SERC)
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—which include marshes, mangroves and seagrasses—already store carbon more efficiently than any other natural ecosystem, including forests. The latest study, published March 7 in the journal Nature, looked at how coastal wetlands worldwide react to rising seas and discovered they can rise to the occasion, offering additional protection against climate change. Click to continue »
Posted in Climate Change, Ecology | Comments Off on As Sea Level Rises, Wetlands Crank Up Their Carbon Storage
