STEINBERG-SQUIRES AWARD WINNER
The Steinberg-Squires Award, which honors the best graduate thesis produced in an academic year, was presented to V. Monica Bricelj for her M.S. thesis titled, “Fecundity and related aspects of hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) reproduction in Great South Bay, New York.” Ms. Bricelj received a certificate and a S200 check. Her name was engraved on a plaque that is displayed permanently in the Center’s reference room.
Criteria fcr selection of the award winner included not only originality and importance of the thesis, but also clarity of writing and the degree of independence shown by the student in pursuing his or her research. The award was established last year through a donation made to the Stony Brook Foundation by Donald F. Squires, Director of the New York Sea Grant Institute, and his wife, Marian Steinberg.
MSRC ASSOCIATES
We welcome D. Scanlon and Dr. and Mrs. H. Weisinger as new MSRC Associates and as continuing members:
- H.W. Carter
- Alice W. Dunn
- Kate Lefferts Long Island Lighting Company
- T. C. Robert
- D. Sayıre
- Paul Windels
MARINE BIOMASS—HARVESTING THE SUN WITH SEAWEED—B.H. BRINKHUIS
A research program, which I am directing, is being conducted to determine the feasibility of using local seaweed species to harvest Solar energy. This research is funded by the Gas Research Institute (GRI) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The program also involves cooperative research with the General Electric Company and is being coordinated by the New York Sea Grant Institute.
There are three basic biomass research programs in existence today–Land, Aquatic and Marine Biomass. Of these, the Marine Biomass program appears most attractive for one main reason. The production of seaweed matter at sea does not compete with other land uses and aquatic resources–for example, housing and agricultural Crops. Much of the nearshore ocean environment is not utilized; there are relatively few competing pressures for this vast area.
The Marine Biomass program got underway in the mid-l970’s on the west coast with a proposal to utilize California Giant Kelp as the seaweed resource. This species is one of the fastest growing seaweeds known. It may reach lengths of 150 feet, but more commonly is 60-80 feet long. It is presently harvested by some companies for seaweed extract production (Substances like alginates, which are used as stabilizing and emulsifying agents in over l,000 household and food products. To date, much research has been done to determine factors that affect kelp growth. One factor affecting kelp growth is the supply of nitrogen, which is in high concentrations in the surface waters during the late spring-early summer. This nutrient-rich water is brought to the surface from depths of 500-1,000 meters by a process called “upwelling”, the same phenomena that causes extensive fog along the California coast at that time of year. An experimental seaweed farm has been anchored in 2,000 feet of water 5 kilometers from Newport Beach, CA. This farm uses pumps to bring the nutrient-rich water to the surface, where the kelp is attached to a structure about 50 feet below the surface.
The coastal waters of New York are much shallower because of the broad continental shelf. Those waters are also very rich in nitrogen almost all year long, primarily because of sewage and land runoff. Thus, it would appear that these waters are ideal for growing seaweed. There is a need to locate biomass farms as close to population centers as possible–otherwise transportation costs make the gas supply too expensive and not competitive with current gas production from wells. In the future, the concept of a renewable natural gas supply from biomass will become even more important. It is estimated that only l00-l50 square miles of ocean surface seaweed farms would satisfy the current natural gas demand in the New York metropolitan area; including Long Island. This is only about one percent of the approximately 10,000 square miles of water above the continental shelf south of Long Island.
Along with my technical assistant Andy Mirchel and MSRC graduate students Jonathan Kramer and Cornelia Schlenk, I have been conducting experiments since summer 1980 at the new greenhouse facility at the Flax Pond Marine Laboratory (operated by MSRC). This running seawater greenhouse is being used to evaluate the growth of nine local seaweed varieties, including rockweed, gnarled Wrack, dead man’s fingers, and sea lettuce. These species include red, brown and green algae. Experiments are being conducted to determine how fast each of these species can grow under the same set of conditions using almost natural sunlight and temperatures. Further, studies will be conducted on the basic physiology of these seaweeds to determine what light, temperature and nitrogen levels can maintain high growth rates. Presently, there is very little information in the scientific literature regarding growth in these species.
In the near future, one or two of the best growing and most readily convertible-to-gas species will be selected as candidates for field studies. It is anticipated that next year will see the initiation of raft culture studies to determine ways of actually growing seaweed in open waters. Those preliminary studies will be conducted with rafts of different designs that are only a few meters square. It is anticipated that those studies will continue for several years.
RECENT MSRC GRADUATES
Two students completed requirements for the M. S. degree in December:
GLYNIS NAU-RITTER, PCB-particle sorption and associated effects on marine phytoplankton (Prof. C. F. Wurster).
MICHAEL ZEITLIN, Variability and predictability of submarine groundwater flow into a coastal lagoon (Prof. H. Bokuniewicz).
Ms. Nau-Ritter is now enrolled in the Center’s Ph.D. program.
PEOPLE AND MEETINGS
Oceanographer JEFF PARKER, Prof. IVER DUEDALL and Prof. PETER WOODHEAD met with scientists and engineers of the Coal Research Bureau at West Virginia University. They established a joint study on the stabilization of fly ash and its interactions in marine systems.
In January, Prof. PETER WEYL participated in site reviews of the Dept. of Energy’s Ecological Research Programs at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Student GLYNIS NAU-RITTER traveled to Philadelphia for the 5th Symposium on Aquatic Toxicology.
Prof. PETER WOODHEAD attended the planning meeting in Baltimore for the Mid-Atlantic Artificial Reef Conference. He was selected chairman of the industry section.
Profs, AKIRA OKUBO and GLENN LOPEZ attended a meeting of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography; Lopez presented a paper on distribution of bacteria in marine sediments.
Prof. ROBERT MALOUF was one of six Americans invited to a meeting of the European Cooperation for Science and Technology (COST) held in Ghent, Belgium from 2426 February. Malouf discussed nursery culture of hard claims in heated effluents. The COST meeting marked the first effort made to assemble an international group of those involved in nursery cultivation.
Prof. J. R. SCHUBEL participated in a meeting of the National Oceanic Satellite System (NOSS) Working Group December 4-5. NOSS will be the first operational demonStration of a space-borne Ocean observing system. In February Schubel visited SUNY at Buffalo, Cornell, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and SUNY Colleges at Oswego and Brockport as part of the Sea Grant Professorship Site Visit Team. These campuses have submitted proposals for the Sea Grant Professorship in Great Lakes Sportfishery Studies. The Site Visit Team Will assist the New York Sea Grant Institute’s Board of Governors in the campus selection process.
Prof. D. W. PRITCHARD edited a report on use of satellite sensors in oceanography; the report is being prepared by the Ocean Science Board, National Academy of Sciences for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The chairman of the Dept. of Environmental Sciences at Australia’s Griffith University will visit the Center until May. Dr. D. W. CONNELL’s speciality is environmental toxicology; he and J. R. SCHUBEL Will prepare a review of petroleum hydrocarbons in the Hudson River system.
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS
BOWMAN, M. J. A. C. KIBBLEWHITE AND D. E. ASH. l980. M2 tidal effects in Greater Cook Strait, New Zealand. J. Geophys. Research 85 (C5): 2728 – 2742 .
EBBESMEYER, C. C., A. OKUBO and J. M. HELSETH. 1980. Description of iceberg probability between Baffin Bay and the Great Banks using a stochastic method. Deep-Sea Research 27: 975-986.
HEATON, M. G., R. S. WILKE and M. J. ECWAN. 1980. Formation of tar balls in a simulated oceanic front. Texas J. of Sci. 32(3).
LOPEZ, G. R. 1980. The availability of microorganisms attached to sediment as food for some marine deposit-feeding molluscs, with notes on microbial detachment due to the crystalline style. Pp. 387-405 in Marine Benthic Dynamics, K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull(eds,), Univ. South Carolina Press, Columbia.
McHUGH J. L. 1980. Progress and problems in implementing the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. Pp. 1.9-lit 7 Trans. 45th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conf. , Wildlife Management Institute.
McHUGH, J. L. 930. Limited entry as a conservation measure. Ρρ. 175 – 187 in Limited Entry as a Fishery Management Tool, Proc. of Natl. Conf. to Consider Limited Entry as a Tool in Fishery Mgmt., Univ of Washington Press, Seattle.
SCHUBEL J. R. , D. J. HIRSCHBERG , D . W . PRITCHARD and M. G. GROSS, 1980. A general assessment of selected dredging/ disposal options for three federal dredging projects in Upper Chesapeake Bay. MSRC Special Report 40.
WOODHEAD, A. D. and P. M. J. WOODHEAD ls C. A thyroid neoplasm in the spiny dogfish., Squalus acanthias. Bull. Mount. Desert Is . Biol. Lab. l9: 19-2l.
DIVERS MEET AT MSRC
” A very nice set-up — it couldn’t be better.” That’s how Eugene Geer, Advisory Council member of the American Littoral Society (ALS) , described MSRC’s facilities at the Society’s Second Divers’ Environmental Institute on 21-22 February. The Society chose MSRC as the site for its two-day workshop of lectures and laboratory exercises • About 60 divers from Wisconsin to Connecticut attended the Institute and were welcomed by MSRC Director J. R. Schubel and ALS Vice President Thomas Dick. The Institute was intended to be a survey of oceanography, marine life, water quality testing, underwater photography and fish identification for scuba divers interested in developing their environmental observation skills.
AWARDS
During his seven-month sabbatical leave in Bergen, Norway, Prof. Charles F. Wurster Will study the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on marine plankton with a fellowship from the Norwegian Council for Scientific and Technical Research.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has provided Prof. Edward Carpenter with a supplemental grant to begin research on the use of a cell sorter for sorting different species Cf phytoplankton; this grant will support student Lisa Campbell.
Prof. Peter Woodhead will investigate the degree of separation of populations of yellowtail flounder off New York and New England; this research is supported by the New York Sea Grant Institute.
Students Myrna Jacobson, Jonathan Kramer and Paul Lundy were awarded Grants-in-Aid of Research by the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society for the 1981-82 academic year. Monies received from the Society for these awards are matched by the Center.
Profs. J. R. Schubel and Peter Weyl received a contract from the United Nations to prepare and conduct a coastal zone management workshop in West Africa. The intensive, three-week course will be attended by officials of 19 coastal countries from Senegal to Angola.
Prof. Iver Duedall received support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support the Third International Ocean Dumping Symposium. Duedall will act as chairman of the symposium to be held at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution this fall. Together with staff member Pat Harder, Duedall also received a grant from Consolidated Edison of New York to investigate methods for the fixation of coal fly ash and its physical and chemical behavior in aquatic systems.
Prof. Glenn Lopez obtained support from the NSF to study the effects of sediment microorganism associations on deposit feeding molluscs.
Prof. William Peterson was awarded a Stony Brook Research Development Grant for his investigation of tidal mixing as a mechanism for concentrating zooplankton and larval fish eggs.
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT SIGNED AT MSRC
On 19 December 1980, representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Research Foundation of the State University of New York (SUNY) met at MSRC to sign a cooperative agreement t○ study coastal ocean pollution. Through this agreement, several research projects designated by NOAA will be conducted each year by MSRC personnel.
The research, to be coordinated by NOAA’s Office of Marine Pollution Assessment (CMPA), will be national in scope. Included in the new cooperative program will be MSRC’s development of emergency teams prepared to initiate immediate investigations of coastal pollution crises as they develop. This rapid response could be applied to such problems as Oil spills or major fish kills.
The cooperative agreement was arranged through Dr. Earl Droessler, Director of NOAA’s Office of University Affairs. Though NOAA has always maintained strong ties with MSRC, Dr. Droessler feels that such formal agreements enable NCAA to “broaden its scientific ties with the academic community.”
Dr. Ferris Webster, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for Research and Dev.TelogInnent , and OMPA Director R. Lawrence Swanson signed the agreement on NOAA’s behalf. Dr. John H. Marburger, President of SUNY at Stony Brook, and MSRC Director J. R. Schubel signed for the University. Mr. Peter Tenbeau of the Research Foundation, who signed the agreement in Albany, was represented at the Stony Brook signing by Mr. E. Schuler.
MSRC DISTRIBUTES NEW POLLUTION NEWSLETTER
MSRC began its distribution of a new quarterly newsletter devoted to people’s interactions with the coastal ocean. “Coastal Ocean Pollution Assessment News (COPAS)” brings reports cf pollution events and their effects on living resources to an estimated 2, S○○ subscribers。 The newsletter is national in scope, and covers the Great Lakes as well as all coastal waters ○of the United States and its territories. Material for future issues, which will contain editorials, comments and a calendar of events, will be provided by a network of 24 correspondents. COPAS also publishes articles on potential pollution problems and efforts made to deal with them before they develop.
Anyone wishing a subscription to COPAS should Write to COPAS, Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794. There is no charge for domestic subscriptions.
