2012 Research Project Descriptions

Projects took place from 2013-2015.

Analyzing History to Project and Manage the Future: Simulating the Effects of Climate on Long Island Sound’s Physical Environment and Living Marine Resources

Investigators:  Nickitas Georgas, Alan F. Blumberg, and Philip M. Orton, Stevens Institute of Technology;  Penelope Howell, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Marine Fisheries Division; and Vincent S. Saba, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Researchers will develop a computer model to analyze historical trends back to the 1970s to project the environmental conditions of Long Island Sound into the future. Stevens Institute of Technology will synthesize physical data collected for LIS and global climate change indices. The computer model will first model backward in time, a process called “hindcasting,” and will be compared to historic marine resources data provided by CT DEEP and a high-resolution global climate model from NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. The computer model will then look forward to simulate the effects of climate on Long Island Sound’s physical environment and living marine resources up to the year 2100. See Final Report.

See journal article, An Open-Access, Multi-Decadal, Three-Dimensional, Hydrodynamic Hindcast Dataset for the Long Island Sound and New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuaries,  Georgas et al., J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2016, 4(3), 48

See journal article, Meteorological Aspects of the Eastern North American Pattern with Impacts on Long Island Sound Salinity, J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2017, 5(3), 26

Comparative Analysis of Eutrophic Condition and Habitat Status in Connecticut and New York Embayments of Long Island Sound

Investigators: Jamie  Vaudrey, Charles T. Yarish, and Jang Kyun Kim, University of Connecticut Department of Marine Science, and Christopher Pickerell and Lorne Brousseau, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

Researchers will estimate the risk of eutrophication, which is often characterized by hypoxia and algal blooms, for 50 embayments in the Long Island Sound region. The researchers will use computer models to calculate dissolved nitrogen concentrations and freshwater flushing times for a subset of 50 embayments. They will also sample 10 embayments at dawn and slack tide during the summer hypoxia season to compare the results with the main stem of Long Island Sound. An assessment of the potential risk of eutrophication in the embayments will be prepared and distributed to coastal managers.See Final Report.

See Dr. Vaudrey’s Nitrogen Loading to Long Island Sound Embayments web page.

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