NY Sea Grant | NYSG: Publications (Currents, Late Summer 2012)

Feature stories (including any Web Extras) in this issue include:

Be Aware, Be a Force of Nature: NOAA and Sea Grant Provide Resources on Rip Currents, Hurricanes and other Severe Storms
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasters recently updated their predictions on hurricanes, calling for a higher likelihood of an above-normal season and a reduced chance for a below-normal season. Also, the predicted range of named storms has been shifted upward, and the range of hurricanes and major hurricanes has been narrowed.

Hurricane Isaac comes about seven years after Katrina hit the United States and a year since Irene. We've got insights and reflections on all three storms, from both our funded-researchers and partner educators (click here).

And for more on this year's related news items on hurricane education and severe storm preparedness, see www.nyseagrant.org/hurricane.

Another concern this season: Rip currents - narrow channels of fast-moving water that can pull swimmers away from the shore - account for over 80% of rescues performed by surf beach lifeguards and the United States Lifesaving Association estimates that the annual number of deaths from these deadly currents exceeds 100.

This is why NOAA and Sea Grant programs throughout the U.S. have long focused on educating the public via public forums, printed materials and Web sites about the dangers of rip currents (click here).

And for more rip currents education resources, see www.nyseagrant.org/ripcurrents.

Related articles ...

[+ Hurricane Leslie Brings High Rip Current Risk Alert to NY's Ocean Beaches (Sept 2012) More>]
[+ Hurricane Isaac: NOAA Updates, Reflections on Irene and Katrina (August 2012) More>]
[+ NYSG Partners in Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes on Rip Currents Education (August 2012) More>]
[+ NOAA's National Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 2012, w/ August 2012 update) More>]
[+ NOAA and FEMA's National Severe Weather Preparedness Week (April 2012) More>]

NYSG Discover Clean & Safe Sailboat Widens Its Reach in 2012 More>
This campaign serves as opportunity to educate thousands of boaters, paddle sport enthusiasts, anglers and other water recreation users on clean and safe boating practices. In addition, those reached can learn how to prevent and slow the spread of aquatic invasive species in New York State's waters.

Brown and Red Tide in Long Island's Waters: Summer 2012 More>
For the sixth consecutive year, the brown tide is back. Algae-filled, murky water bursting has been washing up along Long Island's South Shore this summer, most recently in parts of the Moriches and Shinnecock bays. NYSG-funded researcher Dr. Chris Gobler, an investigator and professor at Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, shares his insights.

Gobler also contributed to News 12 Long Island's "Blight on the Bays" special report in July, and we've got the YouTube clips and transcript.

Related articles ...

[+ On YouTube: Brown Tide - Blight on the Bays (August 2012) More>]
[+ Harmful Algae Have the Right Genetic Stuff (June 2012) More>]
[+ NOAA and Sea Grant Research Featured at Symposium on Harmful Algal Blooms in NY's Coastal Waters (May 2012) More>]
[+ Sound Research "Gets to the Bottom" of Hypoxia, Red Tide (Spring/Summer 2012) More>]
[+ Keeping The Algae At Bay In Sodus (June 2012) More>]

New York Sea Grant in New York City More>
New York Sea Grant launched a new resource site this past spring to document its research, extension and education efforts in and around New York City. It includes information on storm surge/coastal flooding studies and recently-attended events such as May's Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA) Conference and July's MWA City of Water Day.

New NY Sea Grant Launch Stewards Were Along NY's Great Lakes and Salmon River This Summer More>
The first NYSG Launch Stewards were at public boat launch sites throughout the summer along Lake Ontario, Oneida Lake and the Salmon River. The six stewards participated in a nationwide campaign educating boaters (voluntarily) about how to inspect their vessels to help slow the spread of aquatic invasive species.

The Launch Stewards also authored a related article series, which will continue to be added to online at www.nyseagrant.org/ccd (Click under "News / Topics").

Related articles ...

[+ NY Boaters Asked to Help Prevent Spread of Invasive Water Plant More>]
[+ NYSG and Other Volunteers Make a Dent in Invasive Water Chestnut Plants More>]

Volunteers Collect Data on Threatened & Endangered Species on Great Gull Island More>
New York Sea Grant's Long Island Sound Study (LISS) Outreach Coordinator Larissa Graham organized several summer trips to Great Gull Island, a LISS Stewardship Area located at the far eastern end of Long Island Sound in New York.

On YouTube: NYSG Educator on Danger of Invasive Asian Carp in Great Lakes More>
As seen in a Your News Now clip from mid-July, there is concern over an invasive fish species that could have a strong impact the Great Lakes ecosystems. Earlier this year, NYSG's Helen Domske and Dave MacNeill produced the fact sheet "Asian carp: Threats to the lower Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River?"

Related articles ...

[+ Fact Sheet: Asian Carp - Threats to the Lower Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River? pdf]
[+ New Fact Sheet on Asian Carp (New York Coastlines, Winter 2012) More>]
[+ NYSG Coastal Youth Educator on Great Lakes Invasives (November 2011) More>]

Declines on Long Island Sound Lobsters Being Studied More>
In mid-July, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced that it would be undertaking a comprehensive study seeking reasons for the continued decline in the lobster population of Long Island Sound. Past studies - including those funded through Sea Grant programs in New York and Connecticut via the "Long Island Sound Lobster Initiative" - have implicated increased temperatures, among other stressors, for the major decline in Long Island Sound lobster populations since 1999, as the Sound is near the southern end of the lobster inshore temperature range.

New York Educators Bring Louisiana Wetlands Stewardship Back Home More>
As reported by NOAA Coastal Services magazine and several media outlets: To learn about wetland loss in southern Louisiana and how it relates to the habitat loss occurring in New York, a group of 14 educators traveled to the Bayou State in late February 2012 to rebuild habitats devastated by recent natural and man-made events. This was the second time in as many years that such a trip was planned.

Just throw out your unwanted medicines? Great Lakes Sea Grant programs weigh in More>
A paper published in May 2012's journal Environmental Science & Technology, cites that you do not need to wait for a collection event o get rid of that unwanted medicine, encouraging individuals to "just throw them out." Sea Grant programs throughout the Great Lakes region, though, have been working on an educational campaign for several years that says otherwise.

Coast Guard Station Montauk Hosts Safety-At-Sea Training Event More>
Coast Guard Auxiliary and New York Sea Grant hosted a Safety at Sea training event in mid-May 2012 was designed for vessel masters, operators and crews of uninspected passenger vessels and local charter vessels. The full-day featured an overview of safety standards and demonstrations and allowed fishing vessel drill instructors to receive certification.

Web Extras for this issue include:

Seafood Throwdown events come to Long Island Day Farmers Market in Yaphank, NY on August 17 (More) and the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket in Brooklyn, NY on July 14 (More)
First-time GLOS St. Lawrence River forecasting technology will help boaters plan travel More>