Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Aberdeen Creek Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Aberdeen Creek is located on the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia (Figure 1). At the narrow confluence of the York and Aberdeen, the creek takes about a 90-degree bend to the north (Figure 2) and widens to about 700 to 800 feet (ft) for about 2,000 ft. The creek then divides into two branches, one continuing north and one going east. These two prongs narrow quickly and become thin meandering tidal channels with adjacent marsh. The land use around the creek is mostly agricultural and wooded with some residential properties along its east side and along the York River …

Hog Island Shore Protection And Habitat Restoration Living Shoreline Project, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Hog Island is an emergent estuarine marsh complex that is part of the overall Guinea marshes (Figure 1). These marshes are located at the confluence of Mobjack Bay and the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia. Hog Island is a high wave energy eroding shoreline along its south-face on the York River, and lower wave energy along its west and east flanks that occur on Monday Creek (Figure 2). The marsh consists mainly of grasses such as Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens. A higher, sandy area along the higher energy shorelines has some scrub shrub. Two small ponds and a …

Davis Creek Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas Dinapoli

Reports

Introduction Davis Creek is located in Mathews County, Virginia (Figure 1) and empties into Mobjack Bay, a small bay in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The creek has a narrow mouth that splits into three prongs (Figure 2). The eastern prong is shortest at 2,200 ft from the mouth, and the western prong is the longest extending about 3,000 ft from the mouth. The Marina on Davis Creek occurs on this prong. Land use adjacent to the creek is mostly residential with some agriculture and wooded properties. The headwaters do not have extensive marsh. Instead the creek terminates soon after the …

Timberneck Creek Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Introduction Timberneck Creek is located in Gloucester County, Virginia (Figure 1). It is a long, but narrow creek that empties into the York River. The mouth is a wide embayment, but farther north, the creek narrows to about 400 ft wide and extends for about 2 miles to its marshy headwaters. The interior of the creek is irregular with many very small lateral creeks/marsh drainages emptying into the Timberneck. Timberneck Creek has never been dredged and a federally-defined channel does not exist at the site. As a new dredging project, the channel design must balance safety, economic, and sustainability requirements. …

Hole In The Wall Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Hole in the Wall (HITW) is located in Mathews County, Virginia (Figure 1). It is a natural channel between fetch-limited barrier islands that provides access from Chesapeake Bay to Milford Haven and Gwynn Island. Milford Haven is a unique tidal creek watershed occurring between Chesapeake Bay and the Piankatank River and consists of numerous lateral tidal creeks entering from Gwynn Island to the north and others entering from the south including Lanes Creek, Stutts Creek, Billups Creek, Stoakes Creek and Whites Creek (Figure 2). Presently, the barrier between Milford Haven and Chesapeake Bay includes the northern barrier and Rigby Island. …

Restoration Of Seagrass Habitat Leads To Rapid Recovery Of Coastal Ecosystem Services, Robert J. Orth, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Karen S. Mcglathery, Lillian Aoki, Mark Luckenbach, Kenneth A. Moore, Matthew P.J. Oreska, Richard A. Snyder, David J. Wilcox, Bo Lusk

VIMS Articles

There have been increasing attempts to reverse habitat degradation through active restoration, but few largescale successes are reported to guide these efforts. Here, we report outcomes from a unique and very successful seagrass restoration project: Since 1999, over 70 million seeds of a marine angiosperm, eelgrass (Zostera marina), have been broadcast into mid-western Atlantic coastal lagoons, leading to recovery of 3612 ha of seagrass. Well-developed meadows now foster productive and diverse animal communities, sequester substantial stocks of carbon and nitrogen, and have prompted a parallel restoration for bay scallops (Argopecten irradians). Restored ecosystem services are approaching historic levels, but we …

Trace Metal Availability Affects Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Microbial Functional Group Abundance In Freshwater Wetland Sediments, George Giannopoulos, Katherine R. Hartop, Bonnie L. Brown, Bongkeun Song, Lars Elsgaard, Rima B. Franklin

VIMS Articles

We investigated the effects of trace metal additions on microbial nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycling using freshwater wetland sediment microcosms amended with micromolar concentrations of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), and all combinations thereof. In addition to monitoring inorganic N transformations (NO₃^–, NO₂^–, N₂O, NH₄⁺) and carbon mineralization (CO₂, CH₄), we tracked changes in functional gene abundance associated with denitrification (nirS, nirK, nosZ), dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA; nrfA), and methanogenesis (mcrA). With regards to …

What Drives Property Owners To Modify Their Shorelines? A Case Study Of Gloucester County, Virginia, Sarah Stafford, Amanda Guthrie

VIMS Articles

This analysis uses data from a survey of shoreline property owners combined with data on shoreline modification permits to examine whether and how property owners modify their estuarine shorelines. We find that shoreline armoring is very popular among property owners that choose to modify their shoreline. While living shorelines are less common, applications for them are increasing both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of all shoreline modification requests. A number of different issues factor into the shoreline modification decision including effectiveness, cost, aesthetics, and property values. More valuable parcels are more likely to be modified, as are parcels …

2020 Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Report, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Anchor Qea

Reports

The “Dead Zone” of the Chesapeake Bay refers to a volume of bottom water that is characterized by dissolved oxygen concentrations less than 2 mg/L, which is too low for aquatic organisms such as fish and blue crabs to thrive.The Chesapeake Bay experiences such “hypoxic”conditions every year, with the severity varying from year to year, depending on nutrient and freshwater inputs, wind, and temperature. Multiple metrics are used to relate the severity of hypoxia between different years:

• Hypoxic Duration (days): The number of days in a given year between the first and last day of hypoxic conditions exceeding 2 km3in …

A Machine‐Learning‐Based Model For Water Quality In Coastal Waters, Taking Dissolved Oxygen And Hypoxia In Chesapeake Bay As An Example, Xin Yu, Jian Shen, Jiabi Du

VIMS Articles

Hypoxia is a big concern in coastal waters as it affects ecosystem health, fishery yield, and marine water resources. Accurately modeling coastal hypoxia is still very challenging even with the most advanced numerical models. A data‐driven model for coastal water quality is proposed in this study and is applied to predict the temporal‐spatial variations of dissolved oxygen (DO) and hypoxic condition in Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States with mean summer hypoxic zone extending about 150 km along its main axis. The proposed model has three major components including empirical orthogonal functions analysis, automatic selection of forcing …

Farm Resiliency Education For At-Risk Coastal Areas In The Chesapeake Bay, Kristen Saacke Blunk, Kristen Hughes Evans, Jennifer Miller Herzog, Julie Herman, Carl Hershner, Donna Bilkovic, Kirk J. Havens

Reports

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in collaboration with its partners, the Land Trust Alliance, Sustainable Chesapeake, and The Nature Conservancy, explored and refined questions critical for advising and guiding landowners who farm within coastal areas that are vulnerable to sea level rise and saltwater intrusion, and ultimately, loss of arable cropland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. While the questions posed are those that agricultural experts across the coastal zones are struggling with, this effort focused on identifying the current state of the science and informational gaps; building current, best professional guidance for landowner conservation program choices; and developing …

Flame Retardants, Dioxins, And Furans In Air And On Firefighters’ Protective Ensembles During Controlled Residential Firefighting, Kenneth W. Fent, Mark J. La Guardia, Drew Luellen, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Structure fires that involve modern furnishings may emit brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), as well as brominated and chlorinated dioxins and furans, into the environment.

The goal of this study was to quantify the airborne and personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination levels of these compounds during controlled residential fires in the U.S., and to evaluate gross-decontamination measures.

Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song

VIMS Articles

Waste plastics are a serious and growing environmental problem. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled, with most discarded in landfills, incinerated, or simply abandoned.1 Single-use plastics constitute about half of plastic waste. While most plastics are used and initially disposed of on land, much eventually enters aquatic ecosystems.2 Wildlife mortalities result from encounters (e.g., ingestion and entanglement) with large debris, including plastic bags. Such bags are excluded from many recycling programs, as they can entangle machinery. Most plastics do not readily biodegrade in the environment. However, they can be embrittled by UV exposure and fragment into microplastics (mm) and …

Current And Future Remote Sensing Of Harmful Algal Blooms In The Chesapeake Bay To Support The Shellfish Industry, Jl Wolny, Mc Tomlinson, S Schollaert Uz, Ta Egerton, Jr Mckay, A Meredith, Ks Reece, Gp Scott, Rp Stumpf

VIMS Articles

Harmful algal bloom (HAB) species in the Chesapeake Bay can negatively impact fish, shellfish, and human health via the production of toxins and the degradation of water quality. Due to the deleterious effects of HAB species on economically and environmentally important resources, such as oyster reef systems, Bay area resource managers are seeking ways to monitor HABs and water quality at large spatial and fine temporal scales. The use of satellite ocean color imagery has proven to be a beneficial tool for resource management in other locations around the world where high-biomass, nearly monospecific HABs occur. However, remotely monitoring HABs …

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2019, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2019, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 24-year database of records for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT) under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-(VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of the College of William and Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

Shoreline Management Handbook, Pamela Mason, Angela King, Clay Bernick

Reports

Shoreline habitats and processes are impacted by the decisions we make about managing coastal development and shorelines. Shoreline Management is making choices to address the desire to protect upland property from erosion or develop property balanced with the benefits and uses of natural and nature-based shoreline features and shoreline habitat restoration. This requires a weighing of the private benefits and cots of management actions and the benefits and costs to public held common resources, also known as the public trust. The natural features along our shorelines -tidal wetlands, beaches and dunes, and riparian buffers, are economically and ecologically valuable. They …

Surface Water Nitrogen Attenuation From The Accomack County, Va Southern Landfill Groundwater Discharge, Richard A. Snyder, Paige G. Ross

Reports

Previous sampling of the stream crossing Bobtown Road (Rt 178) near the intersection of Hollies Church Road (Rt. 620), had indicated high levels of nitrogen in the stream flow (Snyder and Ross, 2019a). The proximity of the retired Accomack County Landfill upstream of the site triggered a higher resolution sampling of the stream in an attempt to isolate a source of the nitrogen loading (Snyder and Ross, 2019b). Accomack County has requested repeated sampling of this stream segment to monitor nutrient attenuation trends from the site, and stations were established for that purpose. This is the first report of that …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2019 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-second year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2019, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 2) and the Chickahominy River (year 5; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring …

Water Quality In Accomack County Freshwater Streams, Richard A. Snyder, Paige G. Ross

Reports

Expansion of poultry house operations and use of litter as a soil amendment in Accomack County Virginia has raised concerns for water quality impacts both seaside and bayside of the Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA). This ongoing investigation is examining freshwater stream water quality in Accomack Virginia to identify water quality impairments from poultry operation storm water runoff. Sampling in 2019 followed two inch rainfall events covering 83 streams at road crossings in southern and northern Accomack County. Estimates of land cover in the drainages for these streams were used to determine correlations between stream water nutrient levels and the …

Composition And Bioavailability Of Effluent Dissolved Organic Nitrogen, Quinn Nicole Roberts

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Cultural eutrophication, the overproduction of phytoplankton biomass in response to increased nutrient inputs directly associated with human activities, is a major threat to the health of Chesapeake Bay. Strict regulations, which require a reduction in nutrient loading from all sources, have been a key component to restoration efforts. Water reclamation facilities (WRFs), which discharge effluent containing nitrogen (N) and other nutrients into receiving waters, have implemented upgrades in an effort to comply with regulations. These improvements have decreased the concentration of highly labile dissolved inorganic N (DIN), leaving behind significant concentrations of dissolved organic N (DON) whose bioavailability, and therefore …

Cross-Scale Simulations: An Innovative Approach To Evaluate The Impacts Of Sea-Level Rise On Tidal Marsh Habitats, Mirtha Karinna Nunez

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

There is a universal consensus that global sea levels will rise at an increased rate from those in the recent past. Rising seas will dramatically increase the vulnerability of coastal communities and ecosystems. Tidal marshes are considered to be among the most valuable and vulnerable ecosystems in the world. The effects of sea-level rise (SLR) on tidal marshes are diverse, comprising changes in tidal amplitude and flow patterns, changes in sediment transport, shoreline erosion, changes in salinity gradients, landward migration of tidal habitats, variations in species composition, and habitat loss. There is an increasing concern over how accelerated rates of …

Recruitment Characteristics Of Juvenile Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) Across Recovery Periods, Year Classes, And Subestuaries Of The Chesapeake Bay, Olivia M. Phillips

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Atlantic coast striped bass fisheries collapsed in the late 1970's due to recruitment overfishing and poor habitat quality. Recovery of the fisheries in 1995 resulted from protection of mature females, favorable environmental conditions, and several years of strong recruitment. Today, the striped bass stock is overfished. The purpose of this study was to examine recruitment characteristics of juvenile striped bass during the pre- and post-recovery periods through (1) a comparison of mortality and hatch-date distribution between periods, and (2) to examine growth metrics of individuals from the post-recovery year classes. Lengths and otolith-derived daily ages from juvenile striped bass …

A Global Perspective On Microplastics, Robert Hale, Meredith E. Seeley, Mark J. La Guardia, Lei Mai, Eddy Y. Zeng

VIMS Articles

Society has become increasingly reliant on plastics since commercial production began in about 1950. Their versatility, stability, light weight, and low production costs have fueled global demand. Most plastics are initially used and discarded on land. Nonetheless, the amount of microplastics in some oceanic compartments is predicted to double by 2030. To solve this global problem, we must understand plastic composition, physical forms, uses, transport, and fragmentation into microplastics (and nanoplastics). Plastic debris/microplastics arise from land disposal, wastewater treatment, tire wear, paint failure, textile washing, and at‐sea losses. Riverine and atmospheric transport, storm water, and disasters facilitate releases. In surface …

Microplastics Affect Sedimentary Microbial Communities And Nitrogen Cycling, Meredith E. Seeley, Bk Song, Renia Passie, Robert C. Hale

VIMS Articles

Microplastics are ubiquitous in estuarine, coastal, and deep sea sediments. The impacts of microplastics on sedimentary microbial ecosystems and biogeochemical carbon and nitrogen cycles, however, have not been well reported. To evaluate if microplastics influence the composition and function of sedimentary microbial communities, we conducted a microcosm experiment using salt marsh sediment amended with polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride(PVC), polyurethane foam (PUF) or polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics. We report that the presence of microplastics alters sediment microbial community composition and nitrogen cycling processes. Compared to control sediments without microplastic, PUF- and PLA-amended sediments promote nitrification and denitrification, while PVC amendment inhibits …

Tiny Killers, Sarah Pease

Reports

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

What different methods and new technologies are used to monitor harmful algae and the toxins that they produce?

Students will learn about how harmful algae threaten human health through the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. In small groups, they will design a harmful algae monitoring program based on mock harmful algae data, and then they will test their monitoring program and discover some of the challenges and limitations of any monitoring plan that attempts to measure variable, natural events.

Wave Fever: The Climate Induced Range Expansion Of The Atlantic Marsh Fiddler Crab, Kayla Martinez-Soto

Reports

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

In 2014, scientists found that the Atlantic marsh fiddler crab had extended its northern limit by ~90 miles to New Hampshire, which is in the Gulf of Maine. Range expanding species can alter salt marsh characteristics such as biodiversity and food webs. In this lesson, students will combine sea surface temperature data from a federal database and fiddler burrow densities from field photos to determine the relationship between ocean warming and range expansions.

Refining Program Capacity To Enhance And Protect Wetland Resources In Virginia: 2020 Final Report To Epa (#Bg983925-06-0), Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Virginia Department Of Environmental Quality

Reports

Virginia continues to make significant progress in the development of a comprehensive wetland regulatory program and continued refinement of our wetland monitoring and assessment tools for use in management decision-making and integration within our water quality programs. This project focused on development of strategies to integrate management of wetlands across the landscape and among different jurisdictions sharing the same waterways. This project will increase the potential for protection and restoration of wetlands, but also include the added value of potentially improving impaired waters in Virginia. Project activities specifically addressed all of the priority elements in Virginia’s approved Wetlands Program Plan …

Reducing Avian Collisions With Human-Made Structures: A Sensory Ecology Approach To Open-Air Settings, Timothy James Boycott

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Billions of birds fatally collide with human-made structures each year. These mortalities have impacts on species of conservation concern and potentially on avian populations as a whole. This source of human-wildlife conflict also places economic and operational constraints on various human industries. Furthermore, with continued increases in urbanization, the rate and extent of collisions continues to increase. Efforts to reduce collisions have largely centered on making structures more visible to birds but have been met with limited success. Currently, there is a call for solutions to be tailored to both the environmental context of hazardous structures and to the sensory …

Investigating Economic Costs Of Derelict Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus Pots And Preferred Mitigation Solutions In The Chesapeake Bay, James Delbene

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Derelict fishing gear, particularly pots or traps, occupy waters worldwide and cause negative ecological and economic impacts. Derelict pots persist throughout Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., that supports a valuable commercial fishery for the blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Chesapeake Bay is responsible for 30-40% of U.S. commercial blue crab harvests. Yet, few studies have quantified the impacts of derelict pots on harvest or the perceptions of commercial fishers on derelict pot mitigation activities in this predominantly pot fishery. This thesis examined the impacts of derelict pots on harvest in a field experiment and worked with commercial fishers …

Efficacy And Unintended Outcomes Of Spatial Property Rights For Fisheries And Aquaculture Management In Chile And In Virginia, U.S.A., Jennifer Beckensteiner

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Marine spatial property rights reduce many common pool externalities that plague wild capture fisheries and incentivize productive use for aquaculture. Specifically, Territorial Use Rights for Fisheries (TURFs) are a management tool whereby individuals or groups are granted exclusive access to harvest resources within an area, and are the prevailing management of coastal fisheries in Chile. Additionally, secured spatial property rights appear inherently obligatory for aquaculture development; i.e., private leases in Virginia, where submerged grounds granted to an individual or a company for oyster production are considered a form of TURF. Although the number and extent of spatially managed areas are …