Great Lakes
Clear Lakes Disguise Impaired Water Quality
New Minnesota Sea Grant study suggests that using water clarity as an indicator of water quality may not necessarily work in all regions.
November 9, 2017
Post Archives
Tag: Water Quality
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Aquaculture
Woods Hole Sea Grant research documents first nitrogen removal by oysters in local waters
“We did this project specifically as a service to local municipalities to get them accurate data to utilize, if they’re going to go with the approach of seeding and growing shellfish as part of their water quality management plans.”
February 9, 2017
Extension
South Carolina’s Low Impact Development Manual Fills Void in Coastal Region
This guide features strategies for local governments, conservation principles and neighborhood site design, stormwater best management practices and local case studies.
December 7, 2016
Focus Area
USC Sea Grant researchers find toxic algae thrives in a warmer ocean, a new challenge to healthy coastal habitats
Charlotte Stevenson, Science Writer, USC Sea Grant It was hard for many West Coasters not to feel like they were part of an Armageddon-like movie
September 12, 2016
Extension
Water Resources: Research informs efforts to reduce nitrogen inputs from lawn care practices to New Hampshire’s Great Bay
Some lawn care practices intended to get that lush green grass can affect nearby rivers and bays, but new research indicates that homeowners in the Northeast are willing to make changes to their lawn care routine to help protect the environment.
July 25, 2016
50th Anniversary
Water Resources: With Training, South Florida Residents Take Active Role in Monitoring Local Waters
Two Florida Sea Grant agents are developing water quality monitoring projects in South Florida that enlist residents and volunteers on the front lines of citizen science.
July 15, 2016
Education
Water Resources: Improving Water Quality Through Better Boating
Recreational boating is a popular summertime activity in many states that can impact water quality. New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium works with boaters and marinas to minimize these impacts and assist businesses who wish to implement best management practices.
July 8, 2016
50th Anniversary
Community Resilience: Prioritizing Green and Natural Stormwater Infrastructure in Vermont Development
Vermont communities were devastated by flooding during extreme storm events. The state has prioritized the use of green stormwater infrastructure. Lake Champlain Sea Grant is working with partners to help communities become more flood resilient.Â
May 26, 2016
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Forecasting Effects of Nutrient Loading and Changing Land Use
Maryland Sea Grant supported a research project to develop a Nutrient Loading Model for the Delmarva Peninsula. Other collaborators and funders on the effort included Sea Grant programs in Delaware and Virginia.
August 17, 2015
Education
Training Volunteers to Assist Chesapeake Bay Cleanup
Maryland and other states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are currently engaged in a multi-billion dollar effort to improve water quality by meeting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) targets for nutrients and sediments. To accomplish this, municipalities around the region need help from trained and dedicated volunteers who can implement watershed restoration practices. Such practices include stormwater management tools like rain gardens and barrels.
August 17, 2015
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Coastal Ocean Hypoxia Model
A large percentage of South Carolina’s economy is driven by the popularity of beaches as tourist destinations. Hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions have been documented in the nearshore coastal waters of Long Bay, South Carolina, during summer months over the past several years. To maintain a healthy environment for recreation it is necessary to assess the impacts of land use on groundwater discharge to the area. Researchers measured radon activities of shallow beachface groundwater and nearshore bottom waters to estimate mixing rates and submarine groundwater discharge in Long Bay. They successfully developed a mixing model based on these measurements, which helped determine that natural phenomena such as limited mixing and submarine groundwater discharge (both previously overlooked) can significantly influence nearshore water quality and lead to hypoxic conditions. This model can be applied to other types of marine environments to help determine the causes of hypoxia, and as such could be a valuable tool in maintaining coastal water quality, especially in highly developed (urban) areas.
April 15, 2015
Great Lakes
Plastic fibers emerge as Lake Michigan pollutant
Microbeads have drawn a lot of public and political attention since 2012, when researchers from New York and Wisconsin discovered millions of the tiny particles in several Great Lakes. But this new study suggests microfibers may be an even larger concern in at least a few areas.
January 14, 2015
Aquaculture
Quantifying Nitrogen in Shellfish Helps Planning Efforts on Cape Cod
Woods Hole Sea Grant is evaluating how the growing and harvesting of shellfish can reduce nitrogen loading and improve water quality in Cape Cod coastal bays.
December 13, 2014
Climate
Climate and Water Quality Diagram
The Climate and Water Quality diagram is used for public outreach to show interaction of climate, water quality, land use and invasive species.
December 5, 2014
Great Lakes
Beach and Nearshore Water Quality Forecasting Tool
The Great Lakes Beach, Tributary, and Nearshore Water Quality: Hydrologic and Hydrodynamic Data and Model Assimilation website hosts a water quality forecasting system for use at targeted beaches throughout the Great Lakes.
December 5, 2014
Great Lakes
Real Time Lake Monitoring
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant maintains a buoy off the coast of Lake Michigan in Indiana and will soon be installing a second buoy in waters on the Illinois side. The buoys are equipped with sensitive scientific instruments that help scientists, managers, and local community members understand how the lake works, how things look today, and how things will look in the future.
December 5, 2014
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Protecting Water Resources and Managing Stormwater
This is an outreach tool designed to guide communities through a range of strategies from landscape to plot level for water quality protection.
October 28, 2014
Great Lakes
Students come together to reduce toxins in the environment
Pennsylvania Sea Grant helped students at Mercyhusrt University complete a year long social change campaign to educate their college community about the issues involved in pharmaceutical and personal care product use and disposal.
October 27, 2014
Education
Sea Grant Alerts Millions of U.S. Pet Owners of Potentially Lethal Toxins in NY Waters
Harmful algal blooms or HABs are increasing in many areas and while people may be getting sick, dogs are actually dying. New York Sea Grant has put together informative brochures and fact sheets to help people understand how to keep their beloved pets safe.
September 29, 2014
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Mesocosms, Sensors and Otoliths: Tools to Improve North Carolina Water Quality
North Carolina Sea Grant develops varied techniques and technologies that address water quality issues. Research teams study the ability of restored wetlands to control runoff, test new sensor technology to monitor water quality in tidal marshes, and verify that fish ear bones, known as otoliths, can identify early-life habitats of fish.
September 8, 2014
Great Lakes
Diatom Drama and Superior’s History
With funding from Sea Grant and other agencies, Euan Reavie, Senior Research Associate with the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resource Research Institute, and his colleagues have been examining sediment cores to reveal the extent to which they have captured the story of Great Lakes water quality over the past several centuries.
September 2, 2014
Connecticut
Research Sleuths Track Down Elusive PFCs in Long Island Sound Watershed
Mike Whitney, PhD and Penny Vlahos, PhD, Associate Professors of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut, are a physical and chemical oceanographer team that are funded by Connecticut Sea Grant to research the source perfluorinated compounds or PFCs in Long Island Sound.
June 4, 2014
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Help from Kelp
USC Sea Grant is helping to fund Kelp Watch 2014, a research initiative that uses fast growing kelp forest species as living dosimeters of the Fukushima released radioisotopes. Co-founder Dr. Manley hopes Kelp Watch 2014 will provide the public with immediate data as to whether there are any direct human health risks to the small amounts of radioactivity in the ocean.
May 2, 2014
Great Lakes
Predicting the Toxicity of Metals to Great Lakes Coasts
A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have discovered key factors in predicting how and at what levels metals such as copper and cadmium harm Great Lakes shoreline environments and what protective measures coastal organisms adopt in response.
April 4, 2014
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Vibrio research in Great Bay: a complex problem
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire are studying two illness-causing species of bacteria found in oysters to obtain a more detailed understanding of microbial life on the half-shell. The ultimate goal is to minimize risks to human health without having to close shellfish beds for long periods of time.
January 17, 2014
Great Lakes
Are Beach Contact Advisories for the Birds?
Backed by Minnesota Sea Grant’s commitment to research Dr. Michael Sadowsky and his colleagues have shown that Escherichia coli and enterococci, the bacteria responsible for "Water Contact Not Recommended" beach advisories, can often be traced back to waterfowl and other animals. Water sullied by waterfowl might be nasty, but it is not a serious human health concern.
January 13, 2014
Extension
New Maryland Stream Map Informs Conservation Efforts
Maryland Sea Grant researchers identify and map previously unrecorded Maryland streams. The additional detail is expected to inform conservation and development projects statewide.
December 6, 2013
The Fingerprints of Endocrine Disruption
With the support of The University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant Program and the California Ocean Protection Council, Dr. Kelley has pioneered the use of a cutting-edge technology—proteomics—to see the “fingerprints” or impacts of endocrine-disrupting compounds in fish.
August 23, 2013