Marine Biology Commons^™

From The Subsurface To The Sky: Tracking Groundwater With Drones, Stephanie Wilson

Reports

Grades: High School Subjects: Earth Science | Physical Science

Determining the inputs of nitrogen to coastal waters from drone based radiometric temperature data.

Topics covered:

• Technology and radiometric imagery
• Drones in science
• Groundwater
• Nutrients / pollutants
• Water cycle/ Watersheds

What's In The Muck? Benthic Sediment Characterization And Community Structure, Cristin Wright

Reports

Grades: 9-12 Subjects: Biology | Environmental Science | Oceanography

Sediment classification and grain size can affect the types of organisms that live in the sediment. Some organisms prefer sandier sediment, while others love the fine-grained mud.

In this activity, students will classify sediment samples by grain size and plot their findings on a ternary plot. The students will then further investigate which benthic organisms live in the different sediments and which may be more resilient to a change in sediment classification.

Trawling Through The Five Gyres: A Microplastic Research Study. Subjects: Life Science, Earth Science, Marine/Ocean Science - Grade 6, Meredith Seeley

Reports

This activity challenges students to help researchers understand what types of plastics are polluting the oceans!

Teachers will prepare samples of microplastics that were collected in each of the 5 ocean gyres, mimicking plastic concentrations actually found in the oceans! Working as a group, students will count the items of plastic and graph their results. They will share their results with the class to compare their gyre to the other four gyres. Finally, students will understand the link between ocean microplastic pollution, and our use of single-use plastics.

This activity can be completed in 45 minutes in the class. An …

Earthquakes, Glaciers, And Sediments, Oh My! Subjects: Earth Science, Environmental Science, Life Science/Biology Grades: 9-12, Elisabeth Clyne

Reports

This lesson plan is developed for 9th grade earth science classrooms, but can be scaled up or down. Students will explore how marine sediments serve as a history book for geologic activity. They will collect mock cores and developing conclusions about earth history.

Vertical One-Dimensional (1-D) Simulations Of Horizontal Velocity Profiles, Jerome P.Y. Maa, Jian Shen, Xiaoteng Shen, Shao Yuyang

Reports

Details of a vertical 1-D hydrodynamic model to simulate the horizontal velocity profiles for tidal estuarial flows with possible stratifications caused by salinity or Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) are presented. The standard 2nd order k-ε model was implemented to address the turbulent flow with possible stratification effects. Simulation results are verified with two field measurements for steady nonstratified flows and a field measurement for tidal estuary non-stratified flow. The stratification effect of salinity and suspended sediment concentration are also checked with the following descriptions: “Salinity stratification will change the typical logarithmic velocity profile to a linear profile for most of …

Thin-Layer Sediment Addition Of Dredge Material For Enhancing Marsh Resilience, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Building marsh elevations with sediment delivered from nearby dredging projects is a potentially valuable tool for creating, restoring, and maintaining coastal marshes, and may help slow or reverse losses of wetlands due to coastal development and sea-level rise (Woodhouse et al., 1972). . . .

Chemical And Toxicological Characterization Of The Upper York River, Virginia The Mattaponi And Pamunkey Rivers, Morris H. Roberts Jr., Mark Richards, Peter F. Delisle

Reports

This study describes the most extensive effort to characterize the chemistry, toxicology and community of the sediments of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers. This was accomplished using a study design modified to expand the number of stations occupied by reducing the cost of analyses by compositing replicate samples collected from each study site rather than performing toxicity tests on these samples individually. In previous studies, the variability in field replicate samples was equivalent to the variability in laboratory replicates. This design has long been used to analyze samples for various chemical contaminants as a cost savings endeavor. More ....

The Chesapeake Bay : A Synopsis, William J. Hargis Jr.

Reports

No abstract provided.

Environmental Survey Of Potential Sand Resource Sites, Offshore Delaware And Maryland : Final Report, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

• Technical summary / Carl H. Hobbs
• Non-technical summary / Carl H. Hobbs
• Part. 1. Benthic mapping and resource evaluation of potential sand mining areas, offshore Mayland and Delaware, 1998-1999 / G.R. Cutter and R.J. Diaz
• Part. 2. Transitory species (vertebrate nekton) / John A. Musick
• Part. 3. Literature survey of reproductive finfish and ichthyoplankton present in proposed sand mining locations within the Middle Atlantic Bight / John Olney, Donna Marie Bilkovic
• Part. 4. Potential modifications to waves due to dredging and other oceanographic considerations / Jerome P.-Y. Maa, Sung C. Kim
• Part. 5. Maryland-Delaware shoreline : long-term trends and short-term …

Hypoxia In The Lower Rappahannock Estuary, Albert Y. Kuo, Mohamed Z. Moustafa

Reports

There are several objectives to this study. The immediate objective is to collect a comprehensive and consistent set of field observations to better describe the hypoxic condition in the Rappahannock River. Other objectives can be classified as short and long term goals.

Long term: (1) Identify and quantify the processes contributing to the dissolved oxygen budget in deep waters, and explain the variabilities among the three Virginia major tributary estuaries. (2) Provide information for resource management so that the James River can be protected from hypoxic problems and, perhaps, the problems in the York and Rappahannock Rivers can be alleviated. …

Cross-Shoreface Suspended Sediment Transport : A Response To The Interaction Of Nearshore And Shelf Processes, Fall 1994 Duck, Nc Field Experiment, D. A. Hepworth, Carl T. Friedrichs, John Brubaker

Reports

Deployment : The tripods were assembled, tested and secured onboard the RIV Sea Diver, which left the Little Creek Amphibious Base in Norfolk, Virginia early on 26 September. While underway to the deployment site, the continuous surface water conductivity and temperature survey was run and several CTD casts were made. The tripods were deployed on 26 September and secured to the sea floor with sand anchors by VIMS divers. The R/V Sea Diver then began the series of on/off shore transects at the tripod deployment site for approximately 12 hours. The vessel returned to port on 27 September .

Recovery: …

Baltimore Harbor And Channels Aquatic Benthos Investigations : Final Technical Report, Robert J. Diaz, Linda C. Schaffner, Robert J. Byrne, Robert A. Gammisch

Reports

This report describes work performed by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, School of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, to document the existing preoperational conditions at four locations in the Chesapeake Bay selected as possible dredged material disposal areas for the deepening of the Baltimore Channel. The work was sponsored by the Baltimore District Corps of Engineers.

The objectives of this work were at each of the four potential disposal sites:

1 -document the surface (0-15 em) sediment conditions spatially and temporally

2 - document macrobenthic communities spatially and temporally.

3 - empty …

Metal Inventory And Fate Of Suspended Sediment In Chesapeake Bay, Maynard M. Nichols, Galen Thompson, Bruce Nelson

Reports

This report aims to provide new information that meets selected objectives of the EPA-States Taxies Plan of Action: i.e. (1) to determine the state of the Bay with respect to the distribution and concentration of selected metals in suspended material and fluid mud; (2) to establish the temooral variations of sediment and metal loading: (3) to identify potential zones of metal accumulation and trace their transport routes, and (4) to provide recommendations for monitoring contaminated sediment.

Field observations provide longitudinal coverage of the Bay with transects into Baltimore Harbor and Hampton Roads. They include contrasting conditions of seasonal high-low river …

Sediment Mixing By Invertebrates As Shown By 85kr1, Dexter S. Haven, Reinaldo Morales-Alamo, John N. Krauter

Reports

In the event radionuclides are accidentally introduced into an estuary, many isotopes would become adsorbed on suspended particles of clay or silt; others would be incorporated into living cellular material (Caritt and Goodgal, 1954; Rice and Willis, 1959). Oysters and other filter feeders in these estuaries are capable of filtering from suspension large quantities of the suspended solids, as well as the larger living cellular material (Haven and Morales-Alamo, 1966a). Ingested material along with the associated radionuclides would be voided as compacted fecal strings or pellets (biodeposits). Many of these fecal pellets may be alternately suspended in the water mass …

An Animal-Sediment Study In The Lower York River : February 1965 To February 1966, Dexter S. Haven, John N. Kraeuter, Richarad C. Krauter, Reinaldo Morales-Alamo

Reports

Certain invertebrates are more efficient than others in filtering solids from suspension. An equal degree of variability exists among benthic invertebrates in their ability to mix biodeposits into subsurface sediments. As a result of these differences, the degree to which suspended particulate matter and associated contaminants may be deposited or mixed into sediments may in part depend on the species present, which in turn may be dependent on sediment type. A number of investigators have examined the relation between benthic animal communities and their limiting physical factors (Smith, 1932; Mare, 1942; Dexter, 1947; Holm, 1949; Stic~1ey and Stringer, 1957; Sanders, …

Heavy Metal Inventory Of Suspended Sediment And Fluid Mud In Chesapeake Bay, Richard Harris, Maynard M. Nichols, Galen Thompson, John Banacki, George Vadas

Reports

Heavy metals have been found associated with suspended material, sediments and fluid mud in the Chesapeake Bay. A series of field observations were made along the Bay axis to determine the metal concentrations and their distributions at relatively high and at average river inflow between March 27-April 9 and May 2-10, 1979.

Metal concentrations in suspended material per unit volume of water relate to the concentrations of suspended material. They are higher in the zone of the turbidity maximum than landward in river water or seaward in estuarine water. Thus, metals associated with suspended material tend to accumulate in the …

The Virginian Sea Bibliography, Thomas M. Armitage, William J. Hargis Jr.

Reports

The bibliography of the Virginian Sea is a compendium of literature and environmental data concerning the Middle Atlantic Bight region of the Western North Atlantic - or the United States east coast. The geographical coverage of this bibliography ineludes that region extending from 41° N latitude to 36° N latitude and out 200 miles from the coastal headlands. This volume represents the first step of an effort undertaken by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to assess the present status of knowledge concerning the physical and chemical environment, biology, and fisheries of the Virginian Sea. We do not put forth …

Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Volume Ii-C: Chemical And Biological Benchmark Studies, E. M. Burreson, D. F. Boesch, B. L. Laird

Reports

The Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies is comprised of three volumes.

• Volume I. Executive Summary.
• Volume IIA, IIB, IIC and IID. Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies.
• Volume III. Geologic Studies.

This is the third of four sections of the Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies

• CHAPTER 9. COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ANALYSIS AND FOOD HABITS OF FISHES by George R. Sedberry, Eric J. Foell and John A. Musick
• CHAPTER 10. HISTORICAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF FINFISHES by John A. Musick, James A. Colvocoresses and Eric J. Foell
• CHAPTER 11. BACTERIOLOGY by Howard J. Kator

Chapters of …

Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Volume Iii: Geologic Studies, Harley J. Knebel, Et Al

Reports

The Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies is comprised of three volumes.

• Volume I. Executive Summary.
• Volume IIA, IIB, IIC and IID. Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies.
• Volume III. Geologic Studies.

This third volume in the study contains the following:

• CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION by Harley J. Knebel
• CHAPTER 2. BOTTOM CURRENTS AND BOTTOM SEDIMENT MOBILITY IN THE OFFSHORE MIDDLE ATLANTIC BIGHT, 1976-1977 by Bradford Butman and Marlene Noble
• CHAPTER 3. SESTON IN MIDDLE ATLANTIC SHELF AND SLOPE WATERS 1976-1977 by John D. Milliman, Michael H. Bothner, and Carol M. Parmenter
• CHAPTER 4. SUBMERSIBLE OBSERVATIONS …

Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Volume Ii-A. Chemical And Biological Benchmark Studies, E. M. Burrreson, D. F. Boesch, B. L. Laird

Reports

The Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies is comprised of three volumes.

• Volume I. Executive Summary.
• Volume IIA, IIB, IIC and IID. Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies.
• Volume III. Geologic Studies.

This is the first of four sections of the Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies

• CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION by E. M. Burreson
• CHAPTER 2. BENCHMARK STUDIES by Donald F. Boesch, William D. Athearn, and John G. Brokaw
• CHAPTER 3. PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY by C. S. Welch and E. P. Ruzecki
• CHAPTER 4. MIDDLE ATLANTIC BIGHT ZOOPLANKTON: SECOND YEAR RESULTS AND A DISCUSSION OF …

Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Volume Ii-B: Chemical And Biological Benchmark Studies, E. M. Burreson, D. F. Boesch, B. L. Laird

Reports

The Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies is comprised of three volumes.

• Volume I. Executive Summary.
• Volume IIA, IIB, IIC and IID. Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies.
• Volume III. Geologic Studies.

This is the second of four sections of the Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies

• CHAPTER 5. BOTTOM SEDIMENTS AND SEDIMENTARY FRAMEWORK by Donald .F. Boesch
• CHAPTER 6. BENTHIC ECOLOGICAL STUDIES: MACROBENTHOS by Donald F. Boesch
• CHAPTER 7. BENTHIC ECOLOGICAL STUDIES: MEIOBENTHOS by D.J. Hartzband and Donald F. Boesch
• CHAPTER 8. BENTHIC ECOLOGICAL STUDIES: FORAMINIFERA by Robert L. Ellison

Chapters of this report contain …

Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Volume Ii-D: Chemical And Biological Benchmark Studies, E. M. Burreson, D. F. Boesch, B. L. Laird

Reports

The Middle Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies is comprised of three volumes.

• Volume I. Executive Summary.
• Volume IIA, IIB, IIC and IID. Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies.
• Volume III. Geologic Studies.

This is the fourth of four sections of the Chemical and Biological Benchmark Studies

• CHAPTER 12. HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDIES by Craig Ruddell
• CHAPTER 13. TRACE METALS by Richard L. Harris, Raj Jolly, George Grant, and Robert Huggett
• CHAPTER 14. HYDROCARBONS by C. L. Smith, C. W. Su, W. G. Macintyre, R. H. Bieri, and M. Kent Cueman
• CHAPTER 15. VIMS-BLM SECOND ORDER WAVE CLIMATE …

Inner Shelf Sediments Off Chesapeake Bay. Iii, Heavy Minerals, Bruce K. Goodwin, John B. Thomas

Reports

The heavy minerals in the sand sized fraction of 112 grab samples collected off the Virginia coast were analyzed for their variations in mineralogy. The main purpose was to characterize the heavy mineral suite and to delineate potentially important economic areas.

Inner Shelf Sediments Off Chesapeake Bay. I - General Lithology And Composition, Maynard M. Nichols

Reports

The sedimentary materials and bottom topography of more than 2400 square miles of the inner continental shelf floor north off the Chesapeake Bay entrance have been surveyed for potential mineral resources. Sediments consist of two principal types: (1) fine sand and (2) medium to coarse sand. The fine sand is grey-colored, subrounded, rich in quartz and relatively 11clean 11 and well sorted. The medium-coarse sand is typically iron-stained, rich in shell and poorly sorted. The fine sand covers inner parts of the shelf floor whereas medium to coarse sand covers seaward parts. Additionally, shell-rich medium to coarse sand occurs on …

A Study Of The Effects Of Dredging And Dredge Spoil Disposal On The Marine Environment: Project Report., Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

The Rappahannock Shoal and spoil disposal area investigated encompasses an area of approximately 180 square miles. The initial sampling program (1961) consisted of the establishment of a series of transects across the survey area. One hundred sampling stations were located along the established transects.

Inasmuch as the texture of the bottom sediments varied distinctly from place to place within the mid-bay region, the initial objective was to delineate the sediment distribution. Ninety-eight core samples were taken from the area with a modified Phleger coring device and analyzed in detail for textural characteristics. Representative stations were chosen and core samples were …

Shelf Observations - Hydrography Cruise Of August 21-26, 1962, Maynard M. Nichols, Robert C. Barnes

Reports

No abstract provided.

Suspended Particulate Material In The Lower York River, Virginia, June 1961 - July 1962, Bernard C. Patten, D. K. Young, Morris H. Roberts, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Diffusion In A Low-Velocity, Inshore Tidal Current Off Virginia Beach, Virginia, Wyman Harrison, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Hydrographic, Nutrient, Chlorophyll, Seston And Cell-Count Data From Chesapeake Bay Plankton Cruises Of R/V Pathfinder And R/V Observer : January 1960 - January 1961, Bernard C. Patten, Virginia Fisheries Laboratory

Reports

No abstract provided.