Stony Brook, NY, April 25, 2011 - New York Sea Grant (NYSG), Stony Brook University (SBU), and SBU's School of Atmospheric Sciences (SOMAS) are sponsors for the upcoming meeting of the New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) in Port Jefferson, NY, on May 5-7. The meeting includes a special symposium on Long Island Sound, a water body designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1985 as an Estuary of National Significance.
"New York Sea Grant is a sponsor of the NEERS meeting because it is a good local showcase for graduate students and others, some supported by NYSG funding, to present new research conducted in estuaries throughout the region, particularly Long Island Sound," says NYSG Director James Ammerman.
The goals of the meeting are (1) to celebrate, summarize, and synthesize what has been discovered through the study of the Sound over the past quarter century, including the emergence of new challenges such as climate change, and; (2) to propose future more holistic science and management directions built upon this 25 year legacy that will result in improved ecosystem structure and function for the Sound.
Presenting at the meeting will be numerous SBU SOMAS investigators, many of whom are or were involoved with recent studies funded under Long Island Sound Study (LISS) by the Sea Grant programs of Connecticut and New York (CTSG and NYSG, respectively).
Early last month, CTSG and NYSG awarded LISS research grants valued at over $1.28M to six projects that examine the most serious threats to the ecological health of Long Island Sound - nitrogen, red tide and climate change. For more information on these projects, click here.
Late last week, SBU researchers studying the waters of Long Island's Northport Harbor shared with Newsday that they've found a second type of harmful algae in the water never seen before at these levels in New York. Click here for more information.
The most recent wave of LISS funding follows $820K in similar research grant funding in 2009 to five projects that, in addition to red tide and climate change, addressed the historical problem of the Sound’s low oxygen conditions, also known as hypoxia. For more information on these projects, click here.
Over the last 25 years, LISS has involved researchers, regulators, and user-groups to develop and implement a comprehensive conservation and management plan. One of the major priority areas for the LISS is to reduce the magnitude of nitrogen inputs, which together with physical factors, deprives the bottom waters of the sound of the oxygen necessary to support a healthy and productive ecosystem.
The Long Island Sound Study, conducted under the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program, is a cooperative effort between the EPA and the states of Connecticut and New York to restore and protect the Sound and its ecosystems.
New England Estuarine Research Society is a non-profit organization with a wide ranging membership from scientific institutions, federal agencies, state agencies, municipal agencies, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. The purpose of the society is to bring together persons actively engaged in estuarine and coastal research and management for informal discussion and exchange of ideas.
New York Sea Grant, a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services promoting the coastal economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness about the State's marine and Great Lakes resources, is currently in its 40th year of "Bringing Science to the Shore." NYSG, one of 32 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is a cooperative program of the State University of New York and Cornell University.
A sample of some related New York Sea Grant-funded reseach includes:
