Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Systematic Review Of How Multiple Stressors From An Extreme Event Drove Ecosystem-Wide Loss Of Resilience In An Iconic Seagrass Community, Ga Kendrick, Rj Nowicki, Et Al, Rj Orth

VIMS Articles

A central question in contemporary ecology is how climate change will alter ecosystem structure and function across scales of space and time. Climate change has been shown to alter ecological patterns from individuals to ecosystems, often with negative implications for ecosystem functions and services. Furthermore, as climate change fuels more frequent and severe extreme climate events (ECEs) like marine heatwaves (MHWs), such acute events become increasingly important drivers of rapid ecosystem change. However, our understanding of ECE impacts is hampered by limited collection of broad scale in situ data where such events occur. In 2011, a MHW known as the …

Treading Water: Tools To Help Us Coastal Communities Plan For Sea Level Rise Impacts, E A. Smith, W Sweet, Molly Mitchell, R Domingues, C P. Weaver, M Baringer, G Goni, J Haines, Jon Derek Loftis, John D. Boon, David L. Malmquist

VIMS Articles

As communities grapple with rising seas and more frequent flooding events, they need improved projections of future rising and flooding over multiple time horizons, to assist in a multitude of planning efforts. There are currently a few different tools available that communities can use to plan, including the Sea Level Report Card and products generated by a United States. Federal interagency task force on sea level rise. These tools are a start, but it is recognized that they are not necessarily enough at present to provide communities with the type of information needed to support decisions that range from seasonal …

Field Experiments And Meta-Analysis Reveal Wetland Vegetation As A Crucial Element In The Coastal Protection Paradigm, Brian R. Silliman, Qiang He, Christine Angelini, Carter S. Smith, Matthew L. Kirwan, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Increasing rates of sea-level rise and wave actionthreaten coastal populations. Defense of shorelinesby protection and restoration of wetlands has beeninvoked as a win-win strategy for humans and na-ture, yet evidence from field experiments supportingthe wetland protection function is uncommon, as isthe understanding of its context dependency. Herewe provide evidence from field manipulationsshowing that the loss of wetland vegetation, regard-less of disturbance size, increases the rate oferosion on wave-stressed shorelines. Vegetationremoval (simulated disturbance) along the edge ofsalt marshes reveals that loss of wetland plants ele-vates the rate of lateral erosion and that extensiveroot systems, rather than aboveground biomass,are primarily responsible for …

Estuarine Dissolved Organic Carbon Flux From Space: With Application To Chesapeake And Delaware Bays, Sr Signorini, A Mannino, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Et Al, F Da, Et Al

VIMS Articles

This study uses a neural network model trained with in situ data, combined with satellite data and hydrodynamic model products, to compute the daily estuarine export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the mouths of Chesapeake Bay (CB) and Delaware Bay (DB) from 2007 to 2011. Both bays show large flux variability with highest fluxes in spring and lowest in fall as well as interannual flux variability (0.18 and 0.27 Tg C/year in 2008 and 2010 for CB; 0.04 and 0.09 Tg C/year in 2008 and 2011 for DB). Based on previous estimates of total organic carbon (TOCexp) exported by …

Advocating For Science: Amici Curiae Brief Of Wetland And Water Scientists In Support Of The Clean Water Rule, Rc Gardner, E Okuno, Et Al, Je Perry, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The Trump administration has proposed replacing the Clean Water Rule, a 2015 regulation that defined the statutory term Bwaters of the United States^ to clarify the geographic jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. Since its promulgation, the Clean Water Rule has been subjected to numerous judicial challenges. We submitted an amici curiae brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, explaining why the Clean Water Rule, and its definition of Bwaters of the United States,^ is scientifically sound. The definition of Bwaters of the United States^ is a legal determination informed by science. The best available …

Sea-Level Driven Land Conversion And The Formation Of Ghost Forests, Matthew L. Kirwan, Keryn B. Gedan

VIMS Articles

Ghost forests created by the submergence of low-lying land are one of the most striking indicators of climate change along the Atlantic coast of North America. Although dead trees at the margin of estuaries were described as early as 1910, recent research has led to new recognition that the submergence of terrestrial land is geographically widespread, ecologically and economically important, and globally relevant to the survival of coastal wetlands in the face of rapid sea level rise. This emerging understanding has in turn generated widespread interest in the physical and ecological mechanisms influencing the extent and pace of upland to …

Shoreline Dynamics Along A Developed River Mouth Barrier Island: Multi-Decadal Cycles Of Erosion And Event-Driven Mitigation, Christopher J. Hein, Andrrew R. Fallon, Peter Rosen, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Human modifications in response to erosion have altered the natural transport of sediment to and across the coastal zone, thereby potentially exacerbating the impacts of future erosive events. Using a combination of historical shoreline-change mapping, sediment sampling, three-dimensional beach surveys, and hydrodynamic modeling of nearshore and inlet processes, this study explored the feedbacks between periodic coastal erosion patterns and associated mitigation responses, focusing on the open-ocean and inner-inlet beaches of Plum Island and the Merrimack River Inlet, Massachusetts, United States. Installation of river-mouth jetties in the early 20th century stabilized the inlet, allowing residential development in northern Plum Island, but …

Citizen-Science For The Future: Advisory Case Studies From Around The Globe, C Simoniello, J Jencks, Fm Lauro, Jon Derek Loftis, K Deja, David R. Forrest, Et At

VIMS Articles

The democratization of ocean observation has the potential to add millions of observations every day. Though not a solution for all ocean monitoring needs, citizen scientists offer compelling examples showcasing their ability to augment and enhance traditional research and monitoring. Information they are providing is increasing the spatial and temporal frequency and duration of sampling, reducing time and labor costs for academic and government monitoring programs, providing hands-on STEM learning related to real-world issues and increasing public awareness and support for the scientific process. Examples provided here demonstrate the wide range of people who are already dramatically reducing gaps in …

Reconstructing Coastal Sediment Budgets From Beach‐ And Foredune‐Ridge Morphology: A Coupled Field And Modeling Approach, Dj Ciarletta, Jl Shawler, C Tenebruso, Christopher J. Hein, J Lorenzo‐Trueba

VIMS Articles

Preserved beach and foredune ridges may serve as proxies for coastal change, reflecting alterations in sea level, wave energy, or past sediment fluxes. In particular, time‐varying shoreface sediment budgets have been inferred from the relative size of foredune ridges through application of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating to these systems over the last decades. However, geochronological control requires extensive field investigation and analysis. Purely field‐based studies might also overlook relationships between the mechanics of sediment delivery to the shoreface and foredune ridges, missing insights about sensitivity to changes in sediment budget. We therefore propose a simple geomorphic model of …

Sea Ice Meltwater And Circumpolar Deep Water Drive Contrasting Productivity In Three Antarctic Polynyas, S Moreau, D Lannuzel, J Janssens, Mc Arroyo, Et Al

VIMS Articles

In the Southern Ocean, polynyas exhibit enhanced rates of primary productivity and represent large seasonal sinks for atmospheric CO2. Three contrasting east Antarctic polynyas were visited in late December to early January 2017: the Dalton, Mertz, and Ninnis polynyas. In the Mertz and Ninnis polynyas, phytoplankton biomass (average of 322 and 354mg chlorophyll a (Chl a)/m(2), respectively) and net community production (5.3 and 4.6mol C/m(2), respectively) were approximately 3 times those measured in the Dalton polynya (average of 122mg Chl a/m(2) and 1.8mol C/m(2)). Phytoplankton communities also differed between the polynyas. Diatoms were thriving in the Mertz and Ninnis polynyas …

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2018, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2018, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 23-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).

A Data-Driven Modeling Approach For Simulating Algal Blooms In The Tidal Freshwater Of James River In Response To Riverine Nutrient Loading, Jian Shen, Qubin Qin, Ya Wang, Mac Sisson

VIMS Articles

Algal blooms often occur in the tidal freshwater (TF) of the James River estuary, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. The timing of algal blooms correlates highly to a summer low-flow period when residence time is long and nutrients are available. Because of complex interactions between physical transport and algal dynamics, it is challenging to predict interannual variations of bloom correctly using a complex eutrophication model without having ahigh-resolution model gridto resolve complexgeometryand anaccurate estimate of nutrientloading to drive the model. In this study, an approach using long-term observational data (from 1990 to 2013) and the Support vector machine (LS-SVM) …

Modeling Iron And Light Controls On The Summer Phaeocystis Antarctica Bloom In The Amundsen Sea Polynya, H Oliver, Pierre St-Laurent, Rm Sherrell, Pl Yager

VIMS Articles

Of all the Antarctic coastal polynyas, the Amundsen Sea Polynya is the most productive per unit area. Observations from the 2010–2011 Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) revealed that both light and iron can limit the growth of phytoplankton (Phaeocystis antarctica), but how these controls manifest over the bloom season is poorly understood, especially with respect to their climate sensitivity. Using a 1‐D biogeochemical model, we examine the influence of light and iron limitation on the phytoplankton bloom and vertical carbon flux at 12 stations representing different bloom stages within the polynya. Model parameters are determined by …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2018 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-first 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 2018, 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 1) and the Chickahominy River (year 4; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring …

Variability And Change In The West Antarctic Peninsula Marine System: Research Priorities And Opportunities, Sian F. Henley, Oscar M. Schofield, Katherine R. Hendry, Irene R. Schloss, Deborah K. Steinberg, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region has undergone significant changes in temperature and seasonal ice dynamics since the mid-twentieth century, with strong impacts on the regional ecosystem, ocean chemistry and hydrographic properties. Changes to these long-term trends of warming and sea ice decline have been observed in the 21st century, but their consequences for ocean physics, chemistry and the ecology of the high-productivity shelf ecosystem are yet to be fully established. The WAP shelf is important for regional krill stocks and higher trophic levels, whilst the degree of variability and change in the physical environment and documented biological and biogeochemical …

Leesylvania State Park Living Shoreline Project Monitoring Protocol, Donna A. Milligan, Walter I. Priest, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

Leesylvania State Park is located along the Potomac River in Prince William County, Virginia (Figure 1). It is one of the most highly used state parks in Virginia with attendance topping 600,000 (Anne, 2017). The project shoreline occurs on the southeast-facing Potomac River shore north of the marina (Figure 2). This section of coast is very low and is exposed to long fetches across and down river. Prior to the project, the shoreline had a scarped bank, exposed tree roots, and falling trees which was unsafe for park visitors (Figure 3).

In 2011, the Shoreline Studies Program at the Virginia …

Regenerative Ionic Currents And Bistability, Gregory D. Conradi Smith

Arts & Sciences Book Chapters

What every neuroscientist should know about the mathematical modeling of excitable cells. Combining empirical physiology and nonlinear dynamics, this text provides an introduction to the simulation and modeling of dynamic phenomena in cell biology and neuroscience. It introduces mathematical modeling techniques alongside cellular electrophysiology. Topics include membrane transport and diffusion, the biophysics of excitable membranes, the gating of voltage and ligand-gated ion channels, intracellular calcium signalling, and electrical bursting in neurons and other excitable cell types. It introduces mathematical modeling techniques such as ordinary differential equations, phase plane, and bifurcation analysis of single-compartment neuron models. With analytical and computational problem …

Water Quality In An Unnamed Branch Of Pungoteague Creek, Bobtown Road And Hollies Church Road, Va., 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, 2019). During a dry period, total nitrogen was determined as 21.932 mg/L, at the end of a rain event 9.56 mg/L was recovered, and during an extended wet period without major rainfall, a value of 18.26 mg/L was found. The lower value associated with the rain event suggested dilution of a ground water source. The proximity of the retired Accomack County Landfill upstream of the site triggered a …

Advancing Marine Biogeochemical And Ecosystem Reanalyses And Forecasts As Tools For Monitoring And Managing Ecosystem Health, K Fennel, M Gehlen, P Brasseur, Cw Brown, C Ciavatta, G Cossarini, A Crise, Ca Edwards, D Ford, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Ocean ecosystems are subject to a multitude of stressors, including changes in ocean physics and biogeochemistry, and direct anthropogenic influences. Implementation of protective and adaptive measures for ocean ecosystems requires a combination of ocean observations with analysis and prediction tools. These can guide assessments of the current state of ocean ecosystems, elucidate ongoing trends and shifts, and anticipate impacts of climate change and management policies. Analysis and prediction tools are defined here as ocean circulation models that are coupled to biogeochemical or ecological models. The range of potential applications for these systems is broad, ranging from reanalyses for the assessment …

Associated Dataset: Modeling The Seasonal Cycle Of Iron And Carbon Fluxes In The Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica, Pierre St-Laurent

Data

This dataset features the results from the numerical simulation described in the associated publication (St-Laurent et al.). The simulation results are in the standard, self-documented NetCDF format (extension .nc); see https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/ for more information. Files in this format can be manipulated and displayed by a wide range of freely available software. The results from the simulation are divided into monthly files (ocean_avg_0001.nc to ocean_avg_0098.nc). Each file holds 30 days worth of time-averaged daily model fields, from January 2006 to December 2013. The dataset also includes the forcings used in the model calculation (in the same format as above). Detailed information …

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-The-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay, Spring 2018, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. In the U.S., harvests have declined, with similar patterns occurring in the Canadian Maritime Provinces (Meister and Flagg 1997). An average of 62% of the annual landings of U.S. commercial harvest since 1993 have come from the Chesapeake Bay (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division, 9 February 2015). In 2013, Virginia commercial landings were approximately 100,298 lbs; since mandatory reporting began in 1993, average annual landings in Virginia have been 193,200 lbs or 19% …

Water Quality In Southern Accomack County Watersheds, Richard A. Snyder, Paige G. Ross

Reports

Expansion of poultry grow out houses in Accomack County, VA has raised concerns for water quality impacts both seaside and bayside where harvesting marine resources and aquaculture operations may be affected. The dust and litter from the poultry houses are potential sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, and fecal contamination to watersheds and receiving waters. Siting regulations, storm water controls, and management of litter storage and handling are designed to limit these impacts, yet no analysis has been implemented to verify the efficacy of these protective measures. This investigation sampled watersheds after a 2 week dry period prior to a storm event …

Modeling The Seasonal Cycle Of Iron And Carbon Fluxes In The Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica, P. St-Laurent, Pl Yager, Rm Sherrell, H. Oliver, Ms Dinniman, Se Stammerjohn

VIMS Articles

The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) is distinguished by having the highest net primary production per unit area in the coastal Antarctic. Recent studies have related this high productivity to the presence of fast-melting ice shelves, but the mechanisms involved are not well understood. In this study we describe the first numerical model of the ASP to represent explicitly the ocean-ice interactions, nitrogen and iron cycles, and the coastal circulation at high resolution. The study focuses on the seasonal cycle of iron and carbon, and the results are broadly consistent with field observations collected during the summer of 2010–2011. The simulated …

Impacts Of Physical Transport On Estuarine Phytoplankton Dynamics And Harmful Algal Blooms, Qubin Qin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The spatial and temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass in estuaries is determined by both local processes and transport processes. Local processes include biological processes (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration/excretion, and grazing) and settling, whereas transport processes include advective and diffusive transports. Transport processes have been demonstrated to regulate phytoplankton dynamics significantly by distributing both phytoplankton and other dissolved and particulate substances (e.g., nutrients, salts, sediments, and chromophoric dissolved organic matter). Yet, these transport properties lack a framework that unifies the pieced description of their various effects, and quantification of their importance under various environmental conditions. This dissertation highlights the role of horizontal …

Ocean Circulation Causes Strong Variability In The Mid-Atlantic Bight Nitrogen Budget, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Yongjin Xiao, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Portions of the ocean adjacent to land masses play a particularly important role in global nutrient cycling; however, strong spatial and temporal variability in these shallow regions of the ocean make it difficult to quantify nitrogen fluxes from observations alone. Here we use a computer simulation to estimate the fluxes and transformations of inorganic and organic nitrogen in Mid-Atlantic U.S. coastal waters. The coastal circulation flows southward providing roughly two thirds of the inorganic nitrogen to this region, with the remaining third entering from rivers and estuaries. Nitrogen transport across the continental slope is highly variable, directed into the system …

2019 Wachapreague Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

2019 Hampton Roads Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

2019 Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

2019 Gloucester Point Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

Simulating Storm Surge And Compound Flooding Events With A Creek-To-Ocean Model: Importance Of Baroclinic Effects : Model Files, Fei Ye, Yinglong J. Zhang, Haocheng Yu, Weiling Sun, Saeed Moghimi, Edward Myers, Karinna Nunez, Ruoyin Zhang, Harry V. Wang, Aron Roland, Kevin Martins, Xavier Bertin, Jiabi Du, Zhou Liu

Data

The supplemental material contains the input files for setting up a 3D baroclinic model based on the Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model (SCHISM), supplementing the description of model setup in Ye et al. (2019; associated publication).

The SCHISM version used for the simulation was r5082 in the SCHISM svn repository. A compressed file (setup.tar.gz) is provided, which can be extracted with common zip/unzip software on Unix/Windows/Mac (such as gzip, winzip, 7-zip, etc.). Since the dataset is intended for conducting a SCHISM simulation, readers/users should familiarize themselves with the SCHISM model system first.

The SCHISM manual is at: http://ccrm.vims.edu/schismweb/schism_manual.html; …