Press
SoMAS News from Stony Brook University and other sources
Cell Chemistry Illuminated by Laser Light
Image above: Raman microspectroscopy helps researchers observe cell chemistry by focusing a laser beam on a spot within a cell and then capturing light emitted after interactions with cellular molecules, which produces a molecular fingerprint (Raman spectrum).
From “Cell Chemistry Illuminated by Laser Light” on Stony Brook News, November 4, 2019.
Published paper shows tearing down the ‘fluorescent curtain’ opens door to better microspectroscopy
STONY BROOK, NY, November 4, 2019 – Raman microspectroscopy is a laboratory technique to produce molecular fingerprints of materials and biological specimens. However, for many years fluorescence has interfered with effective application of this technique and limited its use. Now Prof. Gordon Taylor of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, and colleagues in the NAno-RAMAN Molecular Imaging Laboratory (NARMIL) have devised a technique that suppresses fluorescence in sample preparation. This new technique may open the door to more efficient and highly resolved investigations of chemical distributions within individual cells. Their findings are published in Scientific Reports.
Characterizing cell-to-cell and intracellular variations in biochemistry is critical to mechanistic understandings in research that covers a broad area, including cancer, human development, cell biology, antibiotics exploration, and environmental biology. Laser-based Raman microspectroscopy is among only a few tools that scientists can use to effectively observe molecular distributions within intact individual cells.
Taylor and his team demonstrate how this technique overcomes analytical challenges presented by biological samples and figuratively “tears down the fluorescent curtain” in them for laser Raman microspectroscopy interrogation. Through this method they can trace cellular assimilation of isotopic tracers, document intracellular biochemical changes, and analyze diverse environmental samples.
“Previously, the samples we investigated were difficult if not impossible to analyze” says Gordon. “Our new technique could prove to be a game changer for many types of cellular research.”
The investigators so far have used the technique to analyze many cellular conditions, such as examining cell-to-cell variations in growth rates of phytoplankton (microalgae), observing viral infections inside phytoplankton cells, tracing movements of nutrients from marine bacteria into microbial predators, and identifying and quantifying microplastic particles in marine plankton samples.
The research is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (MMI Project #5064) and National Science Foundation grants (OIA-1833053 and OCE 1331336724).
Application of NARMIL’s chemiphotobleaching protocol for Raman microspectroscopic chemical mapping of a formerly highly fluorescent microalgal cell (central image). The map illustrates that starch granules (magenta) surround the cell’s pyrenoid body (blue). The 2-D map is based on spatial distributions and intensities of Raman scattered emissions from starch and protein (blue). Raman spectra from single spots showing diagnostic peaks for starch (478 cm-1) and protein (1001 cm-1) used to produce the 2-D map are presented next to map. Maps and spectra are superimposed on a microscopic image of green algal cells (Tetraselmis levis).
News in Brief
- Characterizing cell-to-cell and intracellular variations in biochemistry is critical to deeper mechanistic understandings in such diverse research areas as cancer, human development, cell biology, antibiotics exploration, and environmental microbiology.
- However, most tools available to researchers are blind to small-scale variations, which substantially limits progress in many lines of biological inquiry.
- Laser-based Raman microspectroscopy is arguably among the few tools that can produce two and three dimensional maps of chemical distributions in cells at sub-micrometer resolution and can fill this information gap.
- However, laser-induced fluorescence has been a serious impediment to probing many biological samples by Raman microspectroscopy.
- Prof. Gordon Taylor’s (SoMAS) research group has devised a technique to suppress nuisance fluorescence during sample preparation that will enable broader application of Raman microspectroscopy to biological studies.
- In this week’s Scientific Reports, Yakubovskaya et al. demonstrate how this technique has overcome analytical challenges presented by an array of fluorescent samples that were previously difficult, if not impossible, to analyze by Raman microspectroscopy.
- Taylor’s group has already used this technology to:
- examine cell-to-cell variations in growth rates of phytoplankton (microalgae)
- trace movement of nutrients from marine bacteria into microbial predators
- observe viral infections inside intact phytoplankton cells
- document production and consumption of energy storage products (fats, starch) in individual phytoplankton cells.
- identify metabolically active microorganisms in complex marine plankton samples
- examine microbial symbioses
- identify and quantify microplastic particles in marine plankton samples
In the future, NARMIL researchers will seek funding to extend these largely lab studies to a variety of marine ecosystems and they anticipate that colleagues will propose many other unexpected applications now that the SoMAS researchers have drawn back the “Fluorescent Curtain”
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About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become a flagship as one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with more than 26,000 students and 2,600 faculty members, and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S. News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 50 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University is a driving force in the region’s economy, generating nearly 60,000 jobs and an annual economic impact of more than $4.6 billion. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.
About the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is a leader in marine, atmospheric and sustainability research; education; public service; and is SUNY’s designated center for the marine sciences. The School is among the leading oceanography and atmospheric sciences institutions in the world, providing students with access to state-of-the-art research laboratories, shipboard experiences, high-powered radar and computing facilities. SoMAS provides expanded study opportunities in the fields of ocean conservation, climate change and extreme weather, sustainability, waste management, marine fisheries and resources, and many others.
Additional Coverage:
New Study Reveals Important yet Unprotected Global Ocean Areas
From New Study Reveals Important yet Unprotected Global Ocean Areas on Stony Brook News, October 25, 2019.
The published findings may guide policymakers to increase MPAs
STONY BROOK, NY, October 25, 2019 — The largest synthesis of important marine areas conducted to date reveals that a large portion of earth’s oceans are considered important and are good candidates for protection. A first of its kind, the study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers including Ellen Pikitch, PhD, and Christine Santora of Stony Brook University and Dr. Natasha Gownaris, a PhD graduate of Stony Brook University. The team examined 10 diverse and internationally recognized maps depicting global marine priority areas. The findings, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, may serve as a roadmap for the goal set by the United Nations to create 10 percent of the ocean as marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2020.
There are numerous ongoing United Nations and nongovernmental initiatives to map globally important marine areas. Such areas may be identified because of their high biodiversity, threatened or vulnerable species, or relatively natural state. Criteria used for mapping vary by initiative, resulting in differences in areas identified as important. This paper is the first to overlay mapping initiatives, quantify consensus, and conduct gap analyses at the global scale.
The analysis found that 55% of the ocean has been identified as important by at least one of the mapping initiatives (58% of this area is within national jurisdiction and 42% is in the high seas). More than 14% of the ocean was identified as important by between two and four maps, and a gap analysis showed that nearly 90% of this area is currently unprotected. The largest of these important but unprotected areas were located in the Caribbean Sea, Madagascar and the southern tip of Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Coral Triangle region. Nearly all area identified by five or more maps is already protected as reported by the World Database on Protected Areas. Most (three quarters) nations protect less than 10 percent of the identified priority areas within their exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
“An enormous area of the ocean has already been identified as important by scientists and conservationists but remains unprotected,” said Pikitch, Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University. “Opportunities for further ocean conservation are widespread and include areas within the national jurisdictions of most coastal states as well as the high seas.”
This map depicts areas of the ocean globally deemed important by 1 (lightest green) and 7 (darkest green).
Based on the team’s analysis of the 10 maps, Pikitch explained that the goal to protect 10 percent of the oceans by 2020 could be met solely through the actions of coastal states. If all the unprotected ocean area identified as important by two or more initiatives were to be protected by 2020, an additional 9.34 percent of the ocean would be added to the global MPA network.
In addition, more than 76 million km2 of areas beyond national jurisdictions were identified as important and unprotected. This finding, she added, may therefore inform ongoing discussions about protection of the high seas.
The investigators also used biogeographic classification to determine whether current protection of important areas was ecologically representative. They found it was not, as only half of all 99 ocean provinces protect at least 10 percent of their identified area. This, they point out, suggests the need for improvement in creating an ecologically representative global MPA network.
“This study can help guide placement of future MPAs to meet agreed objectives for the quantity, quality and representativeness of the global network of marine protected areas,” Pikitch emphasized. “Local studies and expertise will also be necessary to implement this process.”
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About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University, widely regarded as a SUNY flagship, is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with over 26,000 students, more than 2,700 faculty members and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S.News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 40 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University fuels Long island’s economic growth. Its impact on the Long island economy amounts to $7.38 billion in increased output. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.
Additional Coverage
Times Beacon Record: SBU’s Ellen Pikitch reveals ways countries can meet ocean saving target
Hakai Magazine: Where Should the World Focus Its Ocean Conservation Efforts?
WSHU: By Mapping Oceans, Scientists Identify Areas Most In Need Of Protection
Study Finds Ancient Molecules from the Sea Burst Into the Air From Ocean Waves
Photo above: Steven Beaupré at sea with the generator used to study how aerosol production carries ancient organic matter from the ocean to the atmosphere.
From Study: Breaking Waves Propel Ancient Molecules Into the Air on Stony Brook News, October 23, 2019.
STONY BROOK, NY, October 23, 2019 – When waves crash in the ocean, they inject tiny particles into the air (called aerosols) that carry organic molecules more than 5,000 years old. This discovery, published in Science Advances by Steven Beaupré of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and a national team of scientists, helps to solve a long-standing mystery as to what finally happens to these ancient marine molecules.
Dr. Steve B with graduate student Lucy Lu collecting samples from a CTD
Decades of measurements have revealed that nearly all of the organic matter dissolved in the oceans is surprisingly old – up to several thousand years. But scientists do not completely understand how this ancient organic matter is eventually destroyed. Beaupré and colleagues performed experiments to show that some of this ancient organic matter can be removed from seawater when wave-generated air bubbles burst on the ocean surface and inject aerosols into the atmosphere. By directly measuring the radiocarbon (14C) ages of the aerosols, they estimate that somewhere between 19 and 40 percent of the aerosol organic matter is at least 5,000 years old.
Prior experiments by Beaupré‘s colleagues David Kieber (SUNY ESF) and Bill Keene (University of Virginia) suggested that old organic molecules might leave the ocean as stowaways aboard these tiny particles.
“Our new study shows that a significant proportion of that organic matter is indeed quite old, and that the formation of aerosols by breaking waves could be a significant removal pathway for the old carbon found in the sea,” says Beaupré, lead author and Assistant Professor.
This pool of ancient organic matter is massive, holding about as many carbon atoms in the ocean as there are in all of the vegetation on land or in all of the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. It is primarily created by photosynthesis and therefore represents a long-term storage reservoir for atmospheric CO2, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Therefore, it is important to understand what processes ultimately break down these ancient molecules into something that can be used again by nature.
Once in the atmosphere, these aerosolized molecules are likely to be broken down by sunlight into CO2 and other molecules that are more palatable to marine life. Accordingly, emphasizes Beaupré , this finding has implications for both oceanic and atmospheric biogeochemistry, as well as the global carbon cycle and climate.
Beaupré also says the results were somewhat surprising because it is generally believed that only the youngest organic molecules are likely to be injected into the atmosphere by breaking waves. This is because the ancient molecules should have degraded to less reactive forms during their prolonged exposure to the environment.
“Despite the effects of aging for thousands of years, our results suggest that even some of the oldest molecules in the sea can compete with the youngest to grab hold of rising bubbles and rocket into the sky,” he says.
The research team used a special aerosol generator to study this process during a month-long cruise to the North Atlantic Ocean. The device produced aerosols by closely mimicking the bubbles plumes created by breaking waves, as described in a companion paper also published online and co-authored by Beaupré in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres.
They measured the chemical composition and radiocarbon ages of seawater flowing through the generator and of the aerosols that it produced. Combined with measurements of the particle sizes, they concluded that the aerosolized organic matter could survive for about a week in the atmosphere, where it could be carried inland by winds, chemically degraded, and/or redeposited in the ocean.
While future research will address the rate at which ancient organic matter is spewed from ocean by breaking waves, the research team will also investigate other ways in which marine organic matter is removed from the sea.
The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation’s Chemical Oceanography program.
The News in Brief:
- Radiocarbon dating shows that 19 to 40 percent of the organic matter in tiny particles produced by waves breaking at sea is more than 5,000 years old.
- This discovery helps resolve the mystery of how ancient molecules are eventually removed from the ocean.
- The finding has implications for ocean and atmospheric science including the global carbon cycle and climate.
Van and CTD
Beaupré, S. R., Kieber, D. J., Keene, W. C., Long, M. S., Maben, J. R., Lu, X., … & Chang, R. Y. W. (2019). Oceanic efflux of ancient marine dissolved organic carbon in primary marine aerosol. Science Advances.
Related News:
SoMAS Researcher Investigates New Modeling Technology to Assess Climate Change Impact on Winter Storms
Photo above: Image of a bomb cyclone that brought heavy snow and strong winds to the U.S. East coast during January 2018. Professor Chang’s research will explore how these cyclones and their impact will change in a warming world. Credit: NOAA
From Researcher Investigates New Modeling Technology to Assess Climate Change Impact on Winter Storms on Stony Brook News, October 3, 2019
STONY BROOK, NY, October 3, 2019 — Winter storms result in substantial loss of life and property. Scientists are investigating how these extreme winter weather events that cause damage are influenced by climate change.
Edmund KM Chang, PhD, a Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, has received a two-year $200,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections program (NOAA/MAPP) to look more closely at the interactions between diabatic heating and storm dynamics to assess how warming temperatures will impact major snowstorms and winter floods.
Recent studies have suggested that previous versions of Global Climate Models (GCMs) may not have sufficient resolution to correctly simulate the interactions between diabatic heating and storm dynamics, potentially under-estimating the intensity of these storms in future projections.
Professor Chang says his project will study these storms using, for the first time, multi-model ensemble projections that have resolution high enough to define and better simulate these interactions. He contends the results of the research will provide better understanding on how these hazards will change in the future.
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About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become a flagship as one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with more than 26,000 students and 2,600 faculty members, and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S. News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 50 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University is a driving force in the region’s economy, generating nearly 60,000 jobs and an annual economic impact of more than $4.6 billion. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.
About the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is a leader in marine, atmospheric and sustainability research; education; public service; and is SUNY’s designated center for the marine sciences. The School is among the leading oceanography and atmospheric sciences institutions in the world, providing students with access to state-of-the-art research laboratories, shipboard experiences, high-powered radar and computing facilities. SoMAS provides expanded study opportunities in the fields of ocean conservation, climate change and extreme weather, sustainability, waste management, marine fisheries and resources, and many others.
Ashley Schiff Nature Preserve Art Procession at Stony Brook University
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ART PROCESSION BY STONY BROOK UNIV. STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2nd, 2019
On October 2nd, Stony Brook University students will be celebrating the 50th ANNIVERSARY of the ASHLEY SCHIFF NATURE PRESERVE by gathering together to appreciate the nature preserve on campus and to honor the memory of Prof. Ashley Schiff (1932–69), who’s sudden death on Oct. 1, 1969 inspired the campus to establish the Nature Preserve.
This student-centered arts procession will take shape at 12:45PM at Staller Center for the Arts (in the lobby and, as more students arrive outside near the Staller steps), and we will begin the walk across campus at 1:15PM. Regarding the expected route, we anticipate walking (and, in some cases, wheeling) up the ramp between Staller and the Administration building, and proceeding down the Academic Mall to the SAC, then walking due South through the Engineering Buildings to the bike path running along Circle Drive. We expect to arrive at the Schiff Park Preserve by 1:45PM, where we will discuss the woods, the future path to gaining a more protected status, and a tree-planting ceremony will likely conclude the procession at 2:15PM.
Undergraduate students from various academic departments have been making artworks (with many being wearable works), which have been conceptualized and designed by each student to address a specific environmental concern. Some students will be using natural materials gathered at the preserve itself. The main themes forming range between their optimism about acknowledging Nature’s vital role to human and other species and their pessimism about our collective role in polluting and endangering shared ecosystems. Many of the material to be used in the projects are recycled, found, or recovered materials.
Once at the Schiff Park Preserve, participants may wish to identify the wide-range of native species, some of which have been largely destroyed elsewhere on Long Island, through the use of the free mobile app iNaturalist.
SBU campus contacts for more data about the event: David Mather, Assistant Professor, Art Dept.; Nobi Nagasawa, Prof., Art Dept.; Sharon Pochron, Lecturer, SoMAS.
Eve Metzger, Undergraduate Student organizer.
For more information on Dr. Schiff and his legacy, please visit www.ashleyschiff.org .
Suffolk County Council on Environment Quality Accepting Feedback on Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement
The Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) will be holding public hearings on the Draft Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan Generic Environmental Impact Statement on September 5 and 6 in Riverhead and Brentwood respectively.
The Sept 5 meeting is at 6:00PM at the Suffolk County Riverhead Legislative Auditorium, 300 Center drive, Riverhead
The Sept 6 meeting is at 3:00PM at Suffolk County Community College, Brentwood Campus, in the Health, Sports & Education Center Lecture Hall, Crooked Hill Road, Brentwood
All are encouraged to provide verbal or written comments on this important document, which is anticipated to have a profound impact on the future of the quality of Suffolk County’s groundwaters, surface waters, and coastal waters for the next fifty years. The DGEIS can be viewed on the CEQ’s website. More information about the authorship is available on the CEQ’s website. The same document and supporting studies are on reserve in hard copy in the MASIC library in Challenger Hall Room 165. The volumes on reserve are complete except that they don’t contain the SCCEQ edits.
Larry Swanson will be chairing the hearings.
SoMAS Support for Long Beach Water Pollution Control Plant Consolidation Project
Photo Above: A diver prepares to explore the western bays for a study conducted by SoMAS in 2010
The Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) supports Nassau County and the City of Long Beach’s funding proposals for the implementation of the Long Beach Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) Consolidation Project.
The shoreline of the Western Bays region of the South Shore Estuary Reserve is highly developed and modified.
The Western Bays salt marsh ecosystem is an important wildlife habitat, recreational center, and aesthetic asset to Nassau County, but it has a number of significant environmental challenges. Among them are many water quality impacts that threaten public health as well as marine plants and animals. These impacts have been linked primarily to sewage treatment plant (STP) effluent. In fact, the NYS DEC and U.S. EPA considered the Western Bays impaired.
This project will convert the storm-vulnerable Long Beach WPCP into a pumping station with connection to the newly upgraded South Shore Water Reclamation Facility (Bay Park STP). When combined with the Bay Park Conveyance Project, the pump station will transport the treated water from the Bay Park STP to the Cedar Creek WPCP for discharge through an existing pipeline about three miles out in the ocean. This will result in a truly comprehensive and innovative regional wastewater management approach that will service close to one million residents. The outcome will contribute to the overall reduction in treated sewage and thus nitrogen loading into the Western Bays. The project will also create numerous economic opportunities by strengthening tourism and recreation in the region. When completed, these projects will represent a truly significant and lasting investment in bringing the water infrastructure in New York State into the 21st century.
SoMAS graduate student Ryan Wallace
collecting water samples in Hempstead Bay
It is largely because of the research undertaken and recommendations made by SoMAS investigators over the last decade that the Consolidation and Bay Park Conveyance Project were developed. Thus, we strongly support this grant application and its focus on improving the health of the estuary and nearshore waters as well as reducing the risk to public health. Further, it will assist in reducing acidification in our estuarine waters, a New York State goal. This coordinated effort between the City and the County will benefit Long Island and the region as a whole.
Thank you for your consideration to grant the necessary funding to implement this project to fruition.
Additional news coverage:
SoMAS Professor Named Interim Provost
SoMAS Professor Named Interim Provost
Interim Provost Minghua Zhang
Dr. Minghua Zhang has been appointed Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, effective 1 August 2019, Interim President Designate Michael A. Bernstein has announced.
Dr. Zhang has been a member of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) faculty since 1990 and currently holds the title of SUNY Distinguished Professor. He brings a wealth of administrative experience to this role, having served as Dean of SoMAS from 2010-2016, Associate Dean from 2003-2010, and Director of the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheric Sciences.
“Dr. Zhang is one of our University’s eminent scholars in climate science,” Bernstein said. “He has published in over 140 peer-reviewed articles in top scientific journals, includingScience. Minghua’s research has been supported by over $20 million of cumulative funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Administration for Space and Aeronautics, and the U.S. Department of Energy. His accomplishments are some of the most illustrious within the SUNY system.”
Zhang is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, an honor bestowed to only the top 1% of its members. He was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.
His research focus is in numerical modeling of climate and global climate change. The scope of his work includes the development and analysis of parameterization components in general circulation models, the diagnostic study of physical processes and feedback processes in the climate system, and the modeling and analysis of past and future climate changes. His innovations in climate modeling are considered highly influential in the field.
Center for Clean Water Technology hosts ribbon cutting ceremony for Wastewater Research & Innovation Facility
The New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for its newly constructed and operational Wastewater Research & Innovation Facility (WRIF) on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at 2 Parson Drive, Stony Brook, NY. State Legislators, including Assemblyman Steve Englebright and Senator Todd Kaminsky, both Chairs of their respective chamber’s Environmental Conservation Committees as well as Senator Ken LaValle and Assemblyman Fred Thiele attended.
The WRIF serves as a state-of-the art facility that tests CCWT design innovations to achieve advanced nitrogen removal for on-site wastewater treatment systems prior to full-scale experimental installations. In order to conduct such research, a constant supply of domestic wastewater is required. With support from the Suffolk County Department of Public Works (SCDPW), their Parson Drive wastewater pumping station diverts domestic wastewater to the WRIF where experimental columns and systems will be designed and installed to assess nitrogen removal effectiveness, proof of design concept, and development of empirical relationships used for experimental designs and research.
The site is located approximately two miles from the main campus and just off of Stony Brook Road.
Additional coverage of the ribbon cutting ceremony provided by Newsday, News12, Fios 1 News and WSHU.
SoMAS Alum Returns for Honorary Degree
Photo above: Greg Marshall with his son and SoMAS Faculty and Staff in 2017.
From “Stony Brook to Award Honorary Degrees to Diverse Trio of Trailblazers” on Stony Brook News, April 29, 2019.
STONY BROOK, New York–April 29, 2019–-Stony Brook University will award an honorary degree to three trailblazers at its 2019 commencement ceremony: actor and polymath, Alan Alda; Me Too Movement founder Tarana Burke, and Crittercam inventor Greg Marshall (SBU ‘88 MS Marine Science), announced President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. The degrees will be conferred on Friday, May 24 at 11am at Stony Brook University’s 59th commencement ceremony at the Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
Greg Marshall is known all over the world as a leading animal conservationist, serving as a National Geographic Research Associate. Marshall earned his master’s degree in Marine Science from Stony Brook University in 1988. During the course of his career, Marshall inspired millions of people worldwide through his 1986 invention of the Crittercam. The Crittercam is a small, lightweight camera that is mounted directly on an animal in the wild. This non-invasive camera allows for humans to experience the world through the animal’s’ perspective. It provides access to the animal’s surrounding environment, such as temperature, light level, depth of the ocean, and direction in which the animal is heading. The Crittercam offers an exhilarating method of presenting nature, especially because it allows the viewers to walk alongside the animals. Most National Geographic television specials that feature a look through the inhabitants eyes use Marshall’s Crittercam invention. Marshall is a two time Emmy Award winner. He has developed, produced, or otherwise been closely involved in more than 70 National Geographic documentaries that include the observation of sea lions, sharks, bears, penguins, turtles, lions, monkeys, and more. Additional contributions include more than 60 short films airing on PBS. Marshall’s films are known to be visually engaging while communicating fundamental principles of biology and a strong conservation message.
“Greg Marshall literally changed the world with his Crittercam invention,” said President Stanley. “As a result, we have a much clearer understanding of our planet and the species we share it with, so we are incredibly proud to confer upon him a Doctor of Science. Greg is living proof of how a Stony Brook experience makes a real difference and that we should follow our dreams because no idea is too big or too small when it comes to entrepreneurial spirit.”
About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University, widely regarded as a SUNY flagship, is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with over 26,000 students, more than 2,700 faculty members and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S.News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 40 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University fuels Long island’s economic growth. Its impact on the Long island economy amounts to $7.38 billion in increased output. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.
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Low Oxygen and pH Levels in Estuaries Causing More Death to Larval Blue Crabs
Photo above: Zoea, or larvae, of the Atlantic blue crab have a distinctly different morphology than adults. They are often spawned in estuaries, where they can be exposed to low dissolved oxygen and acidified conditions. Photo credit: Stephen Tomasetti
STONY BROOK, NY—Inhabiting a vast network of estuaries along the Atlantic coast, blue crabs are ecologically important and represent one of the valuable and prized fisheries in the United States. Blue crabs spawn in estuaries at a time of year when water-quality issues such as low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia) and low pH (acidification) can be the most persistent and severe. A group from the lab of Christopher Gobler, a Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, investigated the effects of these individual and combined stressors on early life stages of the blue crab. Their study, recently published in PLOS One, provides evidence that larval blue crabs experience increased mortality when exposed to low oxygen and/or low pH conditions at levels routinely found in degraded estuaries.
While hypoxia is known to be a common condition within coastal zones, recent studies from across the globe have emphasized that many estuaries that are over-enriched with nitrogen and experience low oxygen simultaneously experience low pH and acidification. While the effects of hypoxia on marine life have been well-studied, this is the first study to assess the effects of these two stressors on larval crabs. And, the research is timely as climate change has also been decreasing oxygen and pH levels in the oceans.
Co-author Stephen Tomasetti, a doctoral student in the Marine Science program of Stony Brook University’s SoMAS explained that even at moderate levels of dissolved oxygen exceeding common regulatory targets, larval survival declined. “It’s concerning, given that climate change is generally expected to continue to worsen conditions. However, with an emphasis on restoration, and sound management, coastal environments can see improvements in water quality,” he said.
“Global climate change is acidifying and deoxygenating our oceans and those processes are, by and large, running out of control,” said Gobler. “The findings of this and similar studies demonstrate that serious efforts need to be made at the watershed level to mitigate the factors that regionally contribute to acidification and low oxygen of our waters, namely nutrient overloading. This is likely our best chances to preserve fisheries that rely on estuaries as their primary habitat.”
Their findings suggest that the dissolved oxygen and pH levels of known spawning locales are important considerations for the management and conservation of blue crab populations.
Link to article in PLOS ONE:
About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with more than 25,700 students, 2,500 faculty members, and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S. News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 40 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University is a driving force in the region’s economy, generating nearly 60,000 jobs and an annual economic impact of $4.65 billion. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is SUNY’s designated school for marine and atmospheric research, education and public service. SoMAS is among the leading oceanography and atmospheric sciences institutions in the world, providing students with access to wet laboratories, shipboard experiences, and interactive and high-powered radar and computing facilities. The School provides leadership to understand climate change and other environmental impacts at regional and global scales and provide mitigation and adaptation strategies at state, national and international levels. SoMAS provides expanded study opportunities in the fields of ocean conservation, climate change and extreme weather, sustainability, waste management, marine fisheries and resources, and many others. Students have many options for participating in study abroad programs including, Jamaica, Cuba, Tanzania, Kenya and Ireland.
Contact:
Christopher Gobler, Christopher.gobler@stonybrook.edu, 631-871-2109
Stephen Tomasetti, Stephen.Tomasetti@stonybrook.edu, 407-221-7543
To Mark Sandy Anniversary, B.P. Brewer, Advocates, and Downtown Leaders Highlight Need for Better Storm Prep and Resiliency Investments
Picture above: LiDAR image showing flooding of New York City at 4 foot water heights over the area.
NEW YORK – Thursday afternoon, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer was joined by advocates, leaders, and residents from lower Manhattan for a press conference marking the sixth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which on flooded lower Manhattan and much of the region on October 29, 2012 with 9- to 12-foot storm surges, claiming 43 lives in New York City alone.
Sandy caused an estimated $71 billion in economic damage to the New York-New Jersey region, with $19 billion in losses accruing just within New York City. While the storm’s immediate impact lasted only weeks, major infrastructure systems, including mass transit, its tunnels and electrical and telecommunications systems, sustained lasting damage, some of which are still not repaired.
At the press conference, the leaders discussed the status of planned resiliency projects and investments in lower Manhattan, government’s failure to move forward quickly on certain critical projects, and the need for a coordinated, layered, regional approach to protect against future storms and sea-level rise.
The leaders called on the mayor and city government leaders to support a regional storm surge barrier and to devote significant capital funding to the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project. Significant investments are underway or planned for Manhattan’s Lower East Side, with federal commitments of $338 million, city commitments of $422 million, and planning underway, but the Financial District and neighboring Lower Manhattan neighborhoods remain unprotected and extremely vulnerable both to storm surges and rising sea levels.
“Storm surges and sea-level rise are clear and present dangers to the safety, security, and economic future of this city,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “The task is enormous, but we can’t turn away from it – we need to be working toward a regional storm surge barrier that can prevent the next Sandy, and perimeter walls, marshes, berms, and other features that can protect and preserve all our at-risk neighborhoods – especially lower Manhattan.”
“Six years after Superstorm Sandy, we continue to witness the negative impacts of climate change with the understanding that another storm of this magnitude could occur again,” said Congressman Jerry Nadler. “It is imperative that that we support, fully fund and implement resiliency measures across New York City to ensure that our city and all its residents are protected from future natural disasters. I am committed to continuing to fight alongside my fellow elected officials, the community and all stakeholders to make sure that a comprehensive plan is developed and put in place to protect our coastline.”
“This somber anniversary is a time for us to reflect on the damage that Sandy wrought on our neighborhoods, and the long recovery that is still taking place. However, this day should also be a wake-up call about how far we have yet to go in terms of protecting our homes, small businesses, and infrastructure from the next big storm that we know will come,” said Council Member Margaret S. Chin. “I am proud to join so many people involved in the effort to create a more resilient city, which must begin where New York began – right here at the Seaport. Thanks to Borough President Brewer, Captain Boulware, Catherine McVay Hughes, and others who have never forgotten the lessons of Sandy and how we need to continue to work together.”
“Events like Sandy will happen again and with greater frequency. Rising sea levels will incrementally increase these flooding events. Normal tidal cycles will come with greater risk of inundation, and the Seaport remains incredibly vulnerable to events like this,” said Captain Jonathan Boulware, President of the South Street Seaport Museum. “The Seaport Museum is actively at work on resilience for its own physical plant, and actively engaged in efforts related to city-wide resilience. This is the future of New York City. How will we adapt to this new challenge? How will 22nd century New York be thriving precisely because of the work and planning we’re doing today?”
“Six years later, the City, northern New Jersey, the Hudson River Valley, and the south shore of Long Island are just as vulnerable as they were the night before the storm hit. Conflicting statements and positions by special interest groups abound,” said Malcolm Bowman, Distinguished Professor of Coastal Ocean and Estuarine Dynamics at Stony Brook University and Chair of the NY-NJ Storm Surge Working Group. “The NY-NJ Storm Surge Working Group is a visionary and representative professional group which sees more clearly than most that the only way to save the region for the next 100 years is a regional solution that transcends political and geographic boundaries. We call for a hybrid regional approach to protect against the separate threats of storm surge and sea-level rise. One-size-fits-all impossibly high seawalls cannot realistically hope to defend the 1,000-mile shoreline against the combined threats of storm surges and future sea level rise.”
The hybrid system proposed by the Storm Surge Working Group consists of:
1. A regional outer NY Harbor Sea Gate system to address threats to life and property from future storms (but not gradual sea level rise). Built as far away from densely developed areas as possible, and normally open 99.99% of the time during settled weather, sea gates will not interfere with the normal tidal circulation and river discharge, necessary to maintain the ecological health and water quality of the Harbor and the Hudson River.
The gates would be closed for only a few hours during extreme high tides and storms to block the ocean surges without causing backups inside the barrier and damage elsewhere, especially to neighboring communities.
Without the regional barrier, many communities could be left out of a comprehensive solution. These include communities around all sides of New York Harbor, the outer Boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, Jersey City, Port Elizabeth, Hoboken, the Two Rivers, up and down the Hudson River Valley, the three major airports, and along the south shore of western Long Island, including Jamaica Bay.
2. Local perimeter, land-based, low-profile seawalls, which, while they cannot protect against storm surges, will provide critical protection from gradually rising sea levels over the decades and centuries ahead. Investment to erect seawalls and other barriers are on track in some, but not all of the areas that need them. Some plans currently under consideration call for higher walls intended to provide protection against storm surges as well, but these are ineffective when compared to a regional surge barrier, and would also interfere with waterfront access.
“The Financial District is the fourth largest business district in the country,” said Catherine McVay Hughes, who served as chair of Manhattan Community Board 1 during Sandy and the recovery period. “One out of every 18 jobs citywide is here, and 50,000 people call FiDi home – yet there is no coastal defense at our shoreline or anywhere else in our neighborhood!”
“Six years after the shock of Superstorm Sandy, too many of our neighborhoods are just as vulnerable now as they were October 29th, 2012,” said Roland Lewis, President of the Waterfront Alliance. “We must recognize that there is no silver bullet – all adaptation options for our coastal city must be considered and implemented. More important, there is no silver – local, state and federal government must find the resources to invest in protection. Last and most important there is no time – downtown Manhattan and the entire city of New York must recognize the urgency of now to protect our city in the face climate change.”
The New York-New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study includes Natural and Nature-Based Feature Examples such as Tidal Marsh, Vegetated Dune, Oyster Reef, and Freshwater Wetland. It is imperative to save the Metropolitan Region while maintaining healthy Hudson and East Rivers.
For more information is available on the US Army Corps of Engineers New York/New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study website.
Please Contact:
Andrew Goldston Tel: 917-960-1187
Malcolm Bowman Tel: 631.632-8669
Press conference of Storm Surge Working Group at South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan, where 6 feet of water from Superstorm Sandy covered the area back in 2012.
Sea Gates Save Lives And Protect Property From Devastation
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
STATEMENT BY THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY STORM SURGE WORKING GROUP
School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University
Hurricane Florence is another wake up call for the New York-New Jersey-Long Island region. Six years ago Sandy devastated the New York-New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan region. Unfortunately, virtually nothing has been built to prevent a recurrence of its damage. We should not have to wait for a second superstorm before we act to protect the nation’s most densely populated and economically important region.
While some environmental advocates and New York City officials have called for caution and construction of half-measures to protect portions of the region piecemeal, these will leave a million and more residents unprotected, many of them living in low-income communities. This local approach will also not protect our most valuable infrastructure systems and economic assets.
Although Hurricane Florence now threatens the Carolinas, residents of the New York-New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan region should be very alarmed by two characteristics of this storm and other recent hurricanes that will make future storms an even greater threat to our Metro region than Sandy was six years ago.
WAKE UP CALL FOR THE NEW YORK NEW JERSEY AND LONG ISLAND REGION
We did not heed the first wake up call from Superstorm Sandy. Our Metro region is just as unprotected and vulnerable as before Sandy. Millions of residents still live at risk.
New York City has ignored the imperative for a regional solution that transcends geographic and political boundaries and is pursuing a local solution which is likely to lead to failure in the decades ahead.
Florence’s rapid development from a tropical depression into a catastrophic category 4 hurricane in less than 48 hours is most alarming. The prediction is that the storm will stall for days near the coastline, creating even higher storm surges of longer duration and the potential for severe riverine and urban flooding due to predictions of 20+ inches of rainfall.
Meteorologists believe that both of these characteristics appear to be the result of climate change and are likely to shape development of future hurricanes that could threaten our region.
Here in the NY-NJ Metro region we dodged the bullet this time because a high pressure system over the North Atlantic forced Florence into a track that now threatens the Southeast Coast.
But we can be sure that future extreme storm events will again cause devastating storm surges across the metropolitan region.
And while it would be impossible to build hundreds of miles of seawalls to protect the vast low-lying coastline of the Carolinas and its low-density ribbon development from storm surges, we can protect our densely-developed region from similar devastation by building a system of offshore storm surge sea gates, as more than a dozen other global cities have already done.
WHERE WOULD THE SEA GATES BE LOCATED AND HOW MUCH WOULD THEY COST?
The first of these sea gates would be a five-mile long string of opening gates stretching from Breezy Point in the Rockaways, Long Island to Sandy Hook, NJ. A system of enhanced sand berms would stretch from the on-shore ends of each barrier along both peninsulas to prevent flood waters from breaching these low-lying barrier beaches. A second sea gate would be built across the northern end of the East River near the Throgs Neck Bridge to prevent Long Island Sound storm surges from inundating the city from the east.
This system would protect many hundreds of miles of low-lying floodable shoreline in both states, as well as all three major airports, rail and roadway tunnels, seaports, iconic landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, hospitals and all of the region’s major business and population centers. Both gates would consist of movable sections that would remain open except during threatened storm surges, to permit unrestricted movement of tides, fish, marine mammals and sediments in settled weather, yet leave intact all of the natural features of the Hudson River and New York Harbor estuaries. This system would utilize established technology that has protected London and the Netherlands from storm surges for decades.
This system would cost an estimated $10-20 billion. While this seems like a very high cost, it is far less than the losses from Superstorm Sandy of more than $75 billion value of the region at risk with its $1.5 trillion economy. Further, it would protect the region for a century or more from threatened storm surges and prevent hundreds of billions in economic losses and loss of life.
NEW ORLEANS IS NOW PROTECTED FOLLOWING HURRICANE KATRINA
Following Katrina, the US Army Corps of Engineers built a similar $14.5 billion regional system to protect New Orleans from future hurricanes, and completed the project on-time and on-budget in less than five years. The Army Corps is now conducting a feasibility study of alternative measures to protect our region from storm surges, and we are pleased that one of the alternatives being considered is the Stony Brook Storm Surge Working Group’s proposed off-shore sea gate system.
The Storm Surge Working Group is strongly urging the Army Corps to proceed with a thorough examination of this alternative, and that if chosen, it be built on a similar accelerated construction schedule.
We must demand construction of a regional protection system that will protect the entire region from future devastation caused by future hurricanes like and worse than Florence.
For further information contact:
Malcolm Bowman, Distinguished Service Professor, School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences malcolm.bowman@stonybrook.edu |631-632-8669/cell 631-355-3120
Robert Yaro, Adjunct Professor, SoMAS
William Golden, Adjunct Professor, SoMAS
SoMAS Faculty Serving on NYS DEC Ocean Acidification Task Force on Coastal Waters
Photo above, from left: SoMAS Professors Larry Swanson, Malcolm Bowman and Carl Safina
From DEC ANNOUNCES NEW YORK OCEAN ACIDIFICATION TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE IMPACTS ON STATE’S COASTAL WATERS from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, August 22, 2018
Task Force to Examine Adaptive Strategies for Ocean Acidification in State Waters
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the creation of a 14-member Ocean Acidification (OA) Task Force to assess impacts of acidification on the ecological, economic, and recreational health of New York’s coastal waters, work to identify contributing factors, and recommend actions to reduce and address negative impacts. The Task Force includes experts in climatology, hydrology, economics, marine fisheries, aquaculture, oceanography, and ecology. The task force’s first meeting will be scheduled this fall.
Commissioner Seggos said, “Governor Cuomo established New York’s Ocean Acidification Task Force to ensure that the best available science is used to assess and respond to this emerging threat to our coastal waters and fisheries. The task force is charged with providing New York with the tools and information to protect our natural resources from changing ocean chemistry and safeguard the long-term sustainability of our fisheries.”
Signed into law in 2016, the 14-member Task Force is composed of experts appointed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, the State Senate, the State Assembly, New York City, and Nassau and Suffolk counties. As the lead agency, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos’ designee will chair the Task Force. The Task Force will also include representatives of the New York State Department of State and the Office of General Services.
The Task Force members named to date are:
- James F. Gennaro, Chair, DEC Deputy Commissioner (DEC designee)
- Marci Bortman, Director of Conservation Programs, The Nature Conservancy and Stony Brook University Alum (Governor’s designee)
- Professor Malcolm J. Bowman, Distinguished Service Professor, Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (Assembly designee)
- Todd Gardner, leader of the New York State Office of General Services green sustainability procurement team (OGS designee)
- David Gugerty, Democratic Commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections (Nassau County designee)
- Jeff Herter, Division of Community Resilience and Regional Programs, Office of Planning & Development, New York Department of State(DOS designee)
- John K. McLaughlin, Managing Director, Office of Ecosystem Services, NYC Department of Environmental Protection (New York City designee)
- Karen Rivara, Owner, Aeros Cultured Oyster Company and former president of the Long Island Farm Bureau (Suffolk County designee)
- Professor R. Lawrence Swanson, Former Dean and Director of the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (Governor’s designee)
- Professor Carl Safina, Endowed Research Chair for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, and Director of the Safina Center, a not-for-profit research, educational, and environmental advocacy organization (Assembly designee)
- Jeremy Thornton, Former U.S. Navy SEAL and Strategic Markets Director at Janssen Pharmaceutica (Senate designee)
The task force will produce a report and an action plan, including:
- An assessment of the anticipated impacts of ocean acidification;
- Recommendations to provide stronger, more protective standards, and the implementation and enforcement of such standards in the context of OA;
- Recommendations for adaptive measures to respond to OA, including measures to identify and monitor early effects of ocean acidification on marine life, animals, plants, and natural communities, and integrate ocean acidification mitigation and adaptation strategies into state environmental plans;
- Recommendations on state and local regulatory and/or statutory actions to respond to the impacts of OA;
- A review of existing scientific literature and data on ocean acidification and how it has directly or indirectly affected or may potentially affect commercially harvested and grown species along the coast;
- Monitoring data on factors contributing to OA; and
- Recommendations to increase public awareness of OA.
The OA Task Force’s efforts will be supported by DEC’s Division of Marine Resources in East Setauket and faculty of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.
When dissolved in water, atmospheric carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid. Increased levels of carbon dioxide are making ocean waters increasingly acidic. Ocean acidification can be further impaired by runoff and nutrient influx from land. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), each year the ocean absorbs approximately 25 percent of all the CO2 emitted by human activities, and ocean acidity has increased by about 30 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The current rate of change of ocean acidification is faster than any time on record and 10 times faster than the last major acidification event 55 million years ago.
The Atlantic Ocean along the Northeast U.S. shore has the potential to be especially vulnerable to acidification because carbon dioxide is most soluble in cold water and the Northeast is subject to increasingly intense rain events leading to more intensive runoff. Still under scientific study, it is believed that ocean acidification could have an adverse impact on the marine fisheries industry.
New York’s marine resources are critical to the state’s economy, supporting nearly 350,000 jobs and generating billions of dollars through tourism, fishing and other industries. More than 500,000 anglers in the region will reap the benefits of this initiative, supporting the region’s growing marine economy which accounts for approximately 9.7 percent of Long Island’s total GDP.
Assemblyman Steve Englebright, Chair of Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation, said, “One of the primary reasons I drafted this legislation is that we have a responsibility to prepare for the impacts of climate change, and that includes the impacts on the ocean. With millions of New Yorkers living near the coast, this Task Force has some important work to do. Like climate change, the process of ocean acidification is invisible. The work of the Ocean Acidification Task Force will bring the magnitude of this threat into plain sight and help us develop strategies to mitigate and adapt to ocean acidification. I am confident that the Task Force participants will be up to the challenge and look forward to seeing their findings.”
SoMAS Study Shows Threatened Sharks Still Common in Fin Trade
Photo above: These are randomly selected shark fin scraps derived from fin processing being prepared for DNA testing in the laboratory. This step is essential in order to determine if the fin parts are CITES listed endangered species. Credit Diego Cardeñosa
From Study Shows Threatened Sharks Still Common in Fin Trade on SBU Happenings on July 24, 2018
As millions of viewers watch the Discovery channel’s Shark Week 2018, two Stony Brook researchers are among a team that is determined to protect endangered shark species.
A study published in Conservation Letters by lead author Diego Cardeñosa, a Stony Brook University PhD student, reveals that several threatened shark species are still common in the fin trade after being listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). “CITES‐listed Sharks Remain Among the Top Species in the Contemporary Fin Trade” is the first assessment of the species composition of the fin trade after CITES regulations were put in place for commercially important shark species.
Since September 2014, CITES has regulated scalloped hammerheads, smooth hammerheads, great hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, and porbeagle sharks, some of the world’s most vulnerable and highly traded shark species. This means that permits are required to ship their products from country to country.
From February 2014 to December 2016, a collaborative research team from the U.S. and Hong Kong surveyed small scraps that are produced when imported fins are processed — when the skin, meat and cartilage is trimmed off the fin. Hong Kong is one of the world’s largest importers of shark fins, which are used to make the delicacy, shark fin soup.
The team conducted DNA testing on randomly selected scraps to look for CITES-listed species. They also recorded the incoming weights of fins from these species reported through the CITES Trade Data Base in 2015. According to this database there were only 16 shipments of these species into Hong Kong at a total weight that was less than one half of a percent of the weight of all fins imported that year.
“If this is an accurate reflection of imports, we would expect CITES-listed species would be uncommon among fins being processed in 2015-2016,” said Cardeñosa, a PhD student in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS).
“However, our research shows that these species are still commonly being processed at least one year after regulations were implemented,” emphasized Cardeñosa. “In fact, CITES-listed scalloped and smooth hammerheads represented the fourth and fifth most common species found in our survey, out of 82 species and species groups in total.” He also pointed out that because the time lag between import and processing is unknown, it is difficult to determine if some of the fins were imported before the regulations were in place.
“Although we can’t rule out some delayed processing of fins, the disconnect between reported imports and how common these species were in our survey does suggest that major underreporting of CITES imports is occurring,” said Cardenosa. “It also seems unrealistic that many countries that exported fins of these species to Hong Kong suddenly stopped doing so when the regulations came in. But these findings would be consistent with other studies that have shown that compliance with CITES regulations is relatively low during the initial phase of implementation.”
“It is great that there is now a system in place to monitor trade in these threatened shark species,” said Demian Chapman, research team leader from Florida International University. “But listing them is just the first step. Our study highlights that countries fishing, trading, and consuming shark products all have a lot of implementation work to do.”
The team made some practical suggestions on how to improve inspection efficiency so that shark-importing nations like Hong Kong can better meet their obligations to CITES. While Hong Kong has been successful in their implementation efforts — hosting nine CITES workshops for enforcement officials which led to the seizure of 5.1 metric tons of fins from listed species since late 2014 — the research team recommends these additional actions:
- Scaling up inspection capacity by employing additional inspectors
- Improving inspection efficiency by centralizing ports of entry for fins and conducting real-time DNA testing in the field
- Conducting assessments to flag high-risk shipments to prioritize inspections
Cardeñosa is now living and studying in Hong Kong to help authorities develop new approaches to monitoring fin imports for CITES-listed species, including DNA testing of fins directly at the port of entry.
“There is tremendous public support for better management of the shark fin trade in Hong Kong and the government has been willing to work with us and others to control what is coming in more effectively,” said Cardeñosa. “I am hopeful that with cooperation, increased investment, and time, CITES regulations will be fully implemented for these threatened sharks.”
Co-authors of the study include: Andrew Fields of SoMAS; Elizabeth A. Babcock, of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami; Huarong Zhang and Gunter Fischer of the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Hong Kong; Kevin Feldheim of the Field Museum, Chicago; Stanley K. H. Shea of the BLOOM Association in Hong Kong; and Demian D. Chapman of Florida International University.
The work was supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Pew Marine Fellows Program and The Roe Foundation.
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