Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Influence Of A Suite Of Environmentally Relevant Conditions On Pbt Leaching From, And Sorption To, Marine Microplastic Debris, Robert C. Hale, Da Chen

Reports

Synthetic polymers (plastics) enter marine environments from terrestrial and marine-based sources. The manner of release, the plastic’s composition/properties and ambient marine conditions determine debris fate and its impacts on living resources. It was long assumed that all plastics were persistent and inert, possessing negligible potential for chemical impacts. However, in reality, commercial polymers exhibit a range of potentials for interactions. Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals are lipophilic and may concentrate from ambient waters by orders of magnitude on polymer surfaces (Teuten et al., 2007). The type of polymer affects the degree of PBT sorption. Indeed, plastics have been found …

Town Of Colonial Beach State Of The Beach Data Summary Report, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

The Town of Colonial Beach occupies a peninsula between the Potomac River and Monroe Bay (Figure 1). Approximately 2.5 miles of the shoreline is publicly-owned. Two areas on the Potomac River have been enhanced as recreational beaches for swimming and sunbathing. Central Beach extends about 1,650 feet south of the Town Pier and is the main recreational beach. North Central Beach extends about 1,450 feet north of the Town Pier Colonial Avenue. Castlewood Beach is south of Central Beach near the entrance to Monroe Bay. It has about 1,150 feet of sandy beach.

Prince George County Shoreline Management Plan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Marcia Berman, Tamia Rudnicky, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen

Reports

Much of Prince George County’s shoreline is suitable for a “Living Shoreline” approach to shoreline management. The Commonwealth of Virginia has adopted policy stating that Living Shorelines are the preferred alternative for erosion control along tidal waters in Virginia (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi‐bin/legp504.exe?111+ful+CHAP0885+pdf). The policy defines a Living Shoreline as …”a shoreline management practice that provides erosion control and water quality benefits; protects, restores or enhances natural shoreline habitat; and maintains coastal processes through the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill, and other structural and organic materials.” The key to effective implementation of this policy at the local level is understanding what …

Ecological And Economic Effects Of Derelict Fishing Gear In The Chesapeake Bay 2015/2016 Final Assessment Report, Donna M. Bilkovic, H. Ward Slacum Jr., Kirk J. Havens, Danielle Zaveta, Christopher F.G. Jeffrey, Andrew M. Scheld, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt, John D. Evans

Reports

Derelict fishing gear represents a major challenge to marine resource management: whether through deliberate abandonment or through accidental loss, derelict traps in particular have significant negative effects both economic (e.g., reduced fishery harvest from ghost fishing and gear competition that leads to the reduced efficiency of active gear) and ecological (e.g., degraded habitats and marine food webs and crab and bycatch mortality). Throughout the Chesapeake Bay, commercial harvest of hard-shelled blue crabs is a major fishing activity: every year sees the deployment of several hundred thousand blue crab traps (known locally as crab “pots”) across the Bay, of which an …

Assessing Ecological And Economic Effects Of Derelict Fishing Gear: A Guiding Framework, Christopher F.G. Jeffrey, Kirk J. Havens, H. Ward Slacum Jr., Donna Marie Bilkovic, Danielle Zaveta, Andrew M. Scheld, Sean Willard, John D. Evans

Reports

Developing standardized protocols to assess the ecological and socio-economic effects of marine debris – especially, derelict fishing gear – is critical for the protection of natural resources and for evaluating policies and programs designed to reduce and remove debris. This document outlines a Derelict Fishing Gear Assessment Framework to guide the development and implementation of derelict gear assessment, management and mitigation. The framework draws from techniques and protocols developed to assess derelict crab traps effects in the Chesapeake Bay and on past derelict gear assessments either conducted by or known to the framework authors. However, this framework is generalized and …

Evaluation Of The Potential Impact On Flow And Sediment Transport From Proposed James River Crossings, Yinglong J. Zhang, Harry V. Wang, Zhuo Liu, Mac Sisson, Jian Shen

Reports

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential impact on flow and sedimentation potential due to the proposed new crossings on the lower James River by VDOT. This project was built upon previous effort in the same area (Boon et al. 1999); the latter used VIMS’ 3D Hydrodynamic-Sedimentation Model (HYSED) to study the impact of the bridge-tunnel infrastructure on the physical characteristics (including tides, currents, circulation, salinity and sedimentation) under the existing and alternative scenarios. Due to various limitations at that time, smaller bridge pilings were not resolved but instead parameterized. In this update study, we used an …

Gloucester County Shoreline Management Plan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Marcia Berman, Tamia Rudnicky, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen

Reports

With approximately 85 percent of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline privately owned, a critical need existsto increase awareness of erosion potential and the choices available for shore stabilization that maintainsecosystem services at the land-water interface. The National Academy of Science published a report thatspotlights the need to develop a shoreline management framework (NRC, 2007). It suggests that improvingawareness of the choices available for erosion control, considering cumulative consequences of erosionmitigation approaches, and improving shoreline management planning are key elements to minimizingadverse environmental impacts associated with mitigating shore erosion.
Actions taken by waterfront property owners to stabilize the shoreline can affect the …

Shoreline Evolution: City Of Norfolk, Virginia Chesapeake Bay, Elizabeth And Lafayette River Shorelines, Donna A. Milligan, Christine Wilcox, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

City of Norfolk is situated along the Chesapeake Bay, Elizabeth and Lafayette Rivers (Figure 1). Because the City’s shoreline is continually changing, determining where the shoreline was in the past, how far and how fast it is moving, and what factors drive shoreline change will help define where the shoreline will be going in the future. These rates and patterns of shore change along Chesapeake Bay’s estuarine shores will differ through time as winds, waves, tides and currents shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments. The purpose of this report is to document how the shore zone …

Regression Or Significance Tests: What Other Choice Is There?—An Academic Perspective, Michael C. Newman, Marcos Krull

VIMS Articles

Both the no-observed-effect concentration and its null hypothesis significance testing foundation have drawn steady criticism since their inceptions [1–5]. Many in our field reasonably advocate regression to avoid conventional null hypothesis significance testing shortcomings; however, regression is compromised under commonly encountered conditions (Green, present Perspective’s Challenge). As the debate to favor null hypothesis significance testing or regression methods continues into the 21st century, a sensible strategy might be to take a moment to ask, Are there now other choices? Our goal is to sketch out 1 such choice.

Werowocomoco Shoreline Management Plan, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

Werowocomoco is located on the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia (Figure 1). Historical documents identified Werowocomoco as the headquarters of Powhatan, the Algonquian political and spiritual leader when the English founded Jamestown in 1607. For many years, the exact location of the site was unknown; however, in 2003, archeological digs at the site on the York River between Leigh and Bland Creeks confirmed the location. The site has been occupied by Native Americans since 8,000 before the common era (BCE) and is one of the most important Native American sites in the nation.

In 2016, subsequent to the completion …

Prince George County And The City Of Hopewell, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, David Stanhope, Karen Duhring, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The 2016 Inventory for Prince George County and the City of Hopewell was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® - ArcMap v10.2.2 while viewing conditions observed in Bing high resolution oblique imagery, Google Earth, and 2013 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP). Four GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (PrinceGeorge_Hopewell _lubc_2016). The second portrays the presence of beaches (PrinceGeorge_Hopewell_beaches_2016). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines (e.g riprap) (PrinceGeorge_Hopewell _sstru_2016). The final shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points (e.g. piers) (PrinceGeorge_Hopewell_astru_2016). The metadata …

Accomack County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Kory Angstadt, Christine Tombleson, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner, Comprehensive Coastal Inventory Program

Reports

In the 1970s, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) received a grant through the National Science Foundation’s Research Applied to National Needs Program to develop a series of reports that would describe the condition of tidal shorelines in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These reports became known as the Shoreline Situation Reports. They were published on a locality by locality basis with additional resources provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coastal Zone Management (Hobbs et al., 1975).

The Shoreline Situation Reports quickly became a common desktop reference for nearly all shoreline managers, regulators, and planners within …

Shoreline Evolution: Prince George County, Virginia Upper Chippokes Creek, James And Appomattox River Shorelines, Donna A. Milligan, Christine Wilcox, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

Prince George County is situated between on the James River between Upper Chippokes Creek and the Appomattox Rivers (Figure 1). Because the County’s shoreline is continually changing, determining where the shoreline was in the past, how far and how fast it is moving, and what factors drive shoreline change will help define where the shoreline will be going in the future. These rates and patterns of shore change along Chesapeake Bay’s estuarine shores will differ through time as winds, waves, tides and currents shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments.

The purpose of this report is to …

Shoreline Evolution: City Of Chesapeake, Virginia Elizabeth River Shorelines Data Summary Report, Donna A. Milligan, Christine Wilcox, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

City of Chesapeake is situated between the Cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth along several branches of the Elizabeth River (Figure 1). Because the City's shoreline is continually changing, determining where the shoreline was in the past, how far and how fast it is moving, and what factors drive shoreline change will help define where the shoreline will be going in the future. These rates and patterns of shore change along Chesapeake Bay’s estuarine shores will differ through time as winds, waves, tides and currents shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments.

The purpose of this report is …

Sea-Level Rise & Virginia's Coastal Wetlands, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Rivers & Coast is a periodic publication of the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The goal of Rivers & Coast is to keep readers well informed of current scientific understanding behind key environmental issues related to watershed rivers and coastal ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay.

Integrated Assessment Of Oyster Reef Ecosystem Services: Macrofauna Utilization Of Restored Oyster Reefs, M. Lisa Kellogg, Kennedy T. Paynter, Paige G. Ross, Jennifer C. Dreyer, Cate Turner, Manisha Pant, Alan Birch, Edward Smith

Reports

Within the Harris Creek Oyster Sanctuary in the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay, we evaluated relationships between basic oyster reef characteristics and the abundance and biomass of macrofauna. The eight sites selected for these studies included five restored oyster reef sites and three sites suitable for restoration that had not been restored. These sites encompassed a range of oyster biomass density and were spread throughout the sanctuary area. At each site one month prior to each of four sampling periods, divers filled four wire mesh baskets (0.1m2 surface area x 15 cm depth) with material from the site and embedded …

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2015, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2015, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program has maintained a 20-year database of records for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (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).

Monitoring Relative Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia Rivers 2015 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

Concern about the decline in landings of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) along the Atlantic coast prompted the development of an interstate fisheries management plan (FMP) under the auspices of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Management Program (ASMFC 1999). Legislation enables imposition of federal sanctions on fishing in those states that fail to comply with the FMP. To be in compliance, coastal states are required to implement and maintain fishery-dependent and fishery-independent monitoring programs as specified by the FMP. For Virginia, these requirements include spawning stock assessments, the collection of biological data on the spawning run (e.g., age-structure, sex ratio, and …

Integrated Assessment Of Oyster Reef Ecosystem Services: Fish And Crustacean Utilization And Trophic Linkages, M. Lisa Kellogg, Paige G. Ross, Mark Luckenbach, Jennifer C. Dreyer, Manisha Pant, Alan Birch, Sean Fate, Edward Smith, Kennedy Paynter

Reports

Using a regression design that encompassed the continuum of oyster reef biomass density in Harris Creek, MD, from unrestored reefs to those restored reefs with the greatest oyster biomass, we examined finfish and crustacean utilization of these habitats. Of the eight sites studied, three had not been subject to any restoration activities and five had been planted in 2012 with juvenile oysters set on oyster shell. All sites were sampled in April, June, August, and October 2015. During each sampling period, we assessed abundance, total length and biomass of finfish and examined gut contents to assess the diets of selected …

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation And Outlook Report : Results Of The 2015 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey, Karen Hudson, Thomas J. Murrary

Reports

The hatchery-based shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia continues to grow adding significant value to the Commonwealth’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen harvest both hard clams and oysters from the Commonwealth’s public resources, albeit at rates diminished from historic levels. At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers, utilizing production from a land-based hatchery, are providing additional quantities of quality shellfish to consumers. This survey, in its 10th year, is intended to continue annual assessments with which to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia’s hatchery-based shellfish aquaculture industry. This report is based upon an industry survey completed during the first quarter of 2016. While …

Evaluating The Effects Of Cohesive Processes On Sediment Distribution In An Idealized, Partially-Mixed Estuary Using A Numerical Model, Danielle Tarpley, Courtney Harris, Carl Friedrichs

Presentations

An idealized two-dimensional model is designed to represent a longitudinal section of a partially-mixed estuary, accounting for a freshwater source, tides, and estuarine circulation, but neglecting across-channel variations. The Community Sediment Transport Modeling System (CSTMS) is used to simulate suspended transport, erosion, and deposition within the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). This version of the model also includes cohesive processes such as consolidation and swelling of the sediment bed; sediment-induced stratification; and variable settling velocities. To better understand the processes controlling fine-grained sediment transport in the York River, VA, the primary features of the idealized estuary mimic that system, and …

Challenges Associated With Modeling Low-Oxygen Waters In Chesapeake Bay: A Multiple Model Comparison, I.D. Irby, M. A.M. Friedrichs, Carl T. Friedrichs, Comt Estuarine Hypoxia Team

Presentations

As ecosystem and water quality models are becoming more frequently used for operational forecasts and scenario-based management decisions, it is important to understand the relative strengths and limitations of existing models of varying complexity. To this end, simulations of the Chesapeake Bay from eight threedimensional coupled hydrodynamic-oxygen models have been statistically compared to each other and to two years of historical monitoring data. Results show that although models have difficulty resolving the variables typically thought to be the main drivers of dissolved oxygen variability (stratification, nutrients, and chlorophyll), all eight models have significant skill in reproducing the mean and seasonal …

Captain Sinclair’S Recreational Area Shoreline Management Plan, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

Captain Sinclair’s Recreation Area (CSRA) is located on the Severn River in Gloucester County, Virginia. It is a tract of land consisting of about 100 acres that was donated to the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority (Figure 1). Longterm goals for the property include active and passive recreational and research activities including several shoreline-based projects. The property has about 1.3 miles of tidal shoreline that extends from the canal on the northern end of the property, along Whittaker Creek, and to the Severn River down to small unnamed tidal creek adjacent to the old wood pier. Shoreline erosion, …

City Of Chesapeake, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, David Stanhope, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The 2016 Inventory for City of Chesapeake was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® - ArcMap v10.2.2 while viewing conditions observed in Bing high resolution oblique imagery, Google Earth, and 2013 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP). Four GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (Chesapeake_lubc_2016). The second portrays the presence of beaches (Chesapeake_beaches_2016). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines (e.g. riprap) (Chesapeake_sstru_2016). The final shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points (e.g. piers) (Chesapeake_astru_2016). The metadata file accompanies the shapefiles and defines attribute …

Chesapeake Coastal Community Flood Vulnerability--Prediction And Verification, Alexander D. Renaud

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Fast moving hurricanes and stationary nor’easters have resulted in significant flood damage in Chesapeake tidewater communities. The Chesapeake Bay region is one of A m erica’s most vulnerable regions with respect to sea-level rise, which will only increase storm surge impacts over upcoming decades. While the general trends are well documented, there is limited information relevant to specific communities’ relative flood risk and response. The dearth o f data is especially troublesome given the lengthy period o f time generally needed for communities to plan and implement adaptive action. This study contributes to the regional understanding of flood and sea-level …

The Effects Of Drifting Fish Aggregating Devices On Bycatch In The Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fisheries In The Atlantic And Indian Oceans, Julia Snouck-Hurgronje

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Thousands of floating objects, known as drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs), are released every year by commercial tropical tuna purse seine vessels in the three equatorial oceans to aggregate tuna and increase catch. The escalation in the number of dFADs deployed over the last three decades has caused changes in fishing effort that are poorly reflected in traditional indices of purse seine effort and catch per unit of effort (CPUE). In addition, concerns have been raised regarding the impacts of such high numbers of dFADs being deployed on both catch and bycatch species. I studied two aspects of dFAD deployments …

Influence Of Perkinsus Marinus Infection And Oyster Health On Levels Of Human-Pathogenic Vibrios In Oysters, Lydia M. Bienlien

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica is an ecologically and commercially important species whose natural populations have been devastated by overharvesting, habitat destruction, and disease, but the rapid growth of oyster aquaculture has shown potential to restore the economic significance of this species. A key threat to the growth and sustainability of oyster aquaculture is the association of human-pathogenic Vibrio bacteria with product marketed for raw consumption. Two Vibrio species, Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, are the causes of the highest rates of seafood consumption-related mortality and gastrointestinal illness, respectively. Identification of the factors influencing V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus prevalence …

Influence Of Reservoir Infill On Coastal Deep Water Hypoxia, Lewis C. Linker, Richard A. Batiuk, Carl F. Cerco, Gary W. Shenk, Richard Tian, Ping Wang, Guido Yactayo

VIMS Articles

Ecological restoration of the Chesapeake through the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL) requires the reduction of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads in the Chesapeake watershed because of the tidal water quality impairments and damage to living resources they cause. Within the Chesapeake watershed, the Conowingo Reservoir has been filling in with sediment for almost a century and is now in a state of near‐full capacity called dynamic equilibrium. The development of the Chesapeake TMDL in 2010 was with the assumption that the Conowingo Reservoir was still effectively trapping sediment and nutrients. This is now known not to …

The Dilemma Of Derelict Gear: Datasets, Andrew M. Scheld, Donna M. Bilkovic, Kirk J. Havens

Data

No abstract provided.

Why Biodiversity Is Important To The Functioning Of Real-World Ecosystems, Da Siegel, Ko Buessler, Et Al, Deborah K. Steinberg

VIMS Articles

Ocean ecosystems play a critical role in the Earth's carbon cycle and the quantification of their impacts for both present conditions and for predictions into the future remains one of the greatest challenges in oceanography. The goal of the EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) Science Plan is to develop a predictive understanding of the export and fate of global ocean net primary production (NPP) and its implications for present and future climates. The achievement of this goal requires a quantification of the mechanisms that control the export of carbon from the euphotic zone as well as …