A $2 million portable stormwater treatment system could be the latest tool to protect the steadily declining health of Barnegat Bay. The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders has submitted a grant application to the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust for $2 million to fund the system, which would provide onsite treatment of water removed from storm drains…”Any effort by the county to address the problems in stormwater basins and drainage pipes is a good thing, but it is not a remedy for the nitrogen in Barnegat Bay,” said Michael Kennish, a research professor with the Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. But Kennish said that what is predominantly causing the bay’s decline is the nitrogen eutrophication of the waterway.
Archives for March 2014
Fleet of underwater drones to map world’s oceans
A fleet of 16 autonomous underwater gliders will be sent off to explore the world’s oceans as part of an ambitious research project by Rutgers University researchers. Part of the Challenger Glider Mission Project, the underwater drones, each 2.2 metres…
Iridium and Rutgers University Partner for Challenger Glider Mission
Iridium Communications Inc. and Rutgers University’s Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (RU COOL) today announced Iridium will be a key technology sponsor to the Challenger Glider Mission. The project, a symbolic re-creation of the first global scientific ocean survey conducted by the HMS Challenger in 1872, is led by Rutgers’ students and faculty. The mission plans to “fly” 16 autonomous underwater gliders worldwide, covering all five ocean basins, collecting an unprecedented undersea dataset to better equip researchers with the tools to predict the ocean’s future and its impact on global weather…”The technology underpinnings of this mission are truly enabling our researchers to gather more and better data than ever before, enhancing the basis of knowledge for future generations,” said Scott Glenn, Co-leader of the Challgenger Glider Mission and Professor of Physical Oceanography at Rutgers University.
Robbins: Climate change and state’s drought
My friends in Iowa are digging cars and mailboxes out from under yet another snowstorm, so I don’t get much sympathy when I report yet another dry day of sunshine and high 60s. But President Obama, recognizing the relationship of California’s agricultu…
IFNH Leadership Team Meets to Chart Course for the Institute
On February 24, the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health (IFNH) held the first official meeting of its collective leadership team. The leadership team is made up of institute champions and advocates from three academic departments, three major staff organizations, and three schools within the university, underscoring the institute’s core values of interdisciplinarity, […]
South Jersey farmers fear harsh winter’s effects on crops
Temperatures will start to rise, and the long, cold winter will begin to recede – but for a lot of local farms, the damage already may have been done. The extreme lows reached this year could impact crops, timing and pricing for agricultural businesses throughout the region, experts said. “We haven’t had anything like this in 20, 25 years,” said Atlantic County Agricultural Agent Gary Pavlis…Mark Ehlenfeldt, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Rutgers University, spoke at the Blueberry Open House in Hammonton on Thursday, where growers heard from researchers on all aspects of growing the fruit. “People have been concerned about how much cold we have had, and have we had any damage?” Ehlenfeldt said. “Our research shows that if buds are unopened and tight, they are 50 percent hardy to at least (negative) 4 degrees. It varies by variety, but this is an average.”
North American snow cover at 3rd-highest level on record
As of Tuesday, North America is covered by the third-highest amount of snow this late in the season since records began in 1966, according to NOAA’s U.S. National Ice Center. Only 1969 and 1978 had more snow cover at this point in the year, according to Sean Helfrich of NOAA’s National Ice Center. This data includes both the U.S. and Canada, reported New Jersey state climatologist and Rutgers University geography professor David Robinson. “Given that the vast majority of Canada is snow-covered at this time of the year (except in a very mild early March), the signal is virtually entirely a function of snow extent variations in the lower 48,” he said in an e-mail.
The Passing of Professor Peter Rona, Deep Sea Explorer
Peter Rona, Rona, professor of marine science and earth and planetary sciences at Rutgers since 1994, was best known for his exploration of hydrothermal vents in the ocean’s Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He also served as a science director for the renowned IMAX film Volcanoes of the Deep. Read more at Rutgers Today.
Early Career Scientist Wins $50,000 Sloan Foundation Fellowship
Malin Pinsky, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was awarded a $50,000 Sloan Foundation fellowship. Pinsky is one of two Rutgers assistant professors and among 126 recipients of Sloan Foundation fellowships awarded to early career scientists and scholars who do research […]
Ornamental Breeder Elwin Orton Awarded Hutchinson Medal from Chicago Horticultural Society
Rutgers Professor Emeritus of plant biology and pathology Elwin Orton was the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Hutchinson Medal of the Chicago Horticultural Society. The award has been presented since 1911 to recognize outstanding leadership or professional accomplishment that has been significant in furthering horticulture, plant science or conservation. As a breeder of woody ornamentals, […]