<![CDATA[TZORTZIOU BIO-OPTICS LAB BLOG - Blog]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 22:57:58 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Tides and Tribulations on the Hudson River]]>Thu, 12 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/tides-and-tribulations-on-the-hudson-riverBy Charlotte Rhoads View of the Hudson River Valley above Constitution MarshPicture
As the first light of day peeked out from the city smog behind us, Kyle and I drove north along the Hudson River. We had arranged to meet John Lipscomb of Riverkeeper, his labrador, Batu, and Luis Melendez, the boat captain in training, at the docks of Ossining, NY. The reason for our trip was to collect data for a NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) project on wet carbon. Our focus in the project is better understanding the dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics of the tidal marsh systems in the Long Island Sound and Hudson River using in situ sampling, laboratory experiments, and satellite remote sensing. We reached out to the Riverkeeper at the beginning of the year, hoping to build a partnership to improve our sampling logistics and gain access to their expertise on Hudson River ecology.
Because we are studying small river-fed marsh systems located along the edge of a very large estuary, timing is critical. Hitting each marsh at exactly the right time ensures that the water we collect is purely marsh water. Our timing target was mid-ebb tide, the sweet spot between high and low tide when water flow (and marsh-derived DOM) out of the marsh is at its maximum. John and I had planned the trip, carefully considering tidal offsets and travel times between marshes. The trick was ensuring the boat could travel fast enough between marshes to reach them at approximately the same point in the tidal cycle. Due to the considerable distance between the marshes, we had to move south to north as quickly as possible to stay ahead of the ocean pushing up into the Hudson.
Luckily, this September day was not our first rodeo. We had a successful trip in early June. However, in an abundance of caution, we decided to meet extra early today to give ourselves time to travel south from Ossining to our first marsh and get into position. With the tide tables in hand and sunblock on our noses, we set off to race the incoming waters of the Atlantic.
Batu getting his nose sunblocked

Piermont Marsh: 8:50 AM Mid-ebb Tide

We arrived at Piermont Marsh well before our targeted sampling time. Despite promising weather reports for the day, we were met with foggy overcast conditions that obscured the top of the Palisades. With time to kill, we decided to wait and hope that the clouds would part by mid-ebb tide. 8:50 rolled around, but the clouds hadn’t rolled out. Still, we filled our water jug, dropped the sonde, and took radiometry measurements.
Kyle taking SVC measurements
Once we navigated out of the one-foot depth we had anchored in, we quickly jetted into the deep main stem adjacent to the marsh to take the same measurements for comparison. We had an hour of tidal offset between Piermont and Iona and just under an hour of boating to get there. As we tore up the river, the fog burned off overhead, and we left the haze behind us.

Iona Marsh: 9:50 AM Mid-ebb Tide

The entire trip up the Hudson, we were flanked by railroad tracks. The eastern tracks mostly carried passengers on the Metro-North and Amtrak lines, while the western tracks served commercial trains. As we reached Jones Point, a cargo train caught up with us, moving in stride with our bow. When we turned the bend that revealed Iona Marsh, we slowed and admired the extensive string of shipping containers rattling over the small wooden bridge that separated the marsh from the main river channel, the water we desired flowing underneath.
​At 9:50, we followed the same sampling and measurement procedures at the mouth of Iona Marsh and in the main stem directly bordering it.

Constitution Marsh: 11:15 AM Mid-ebb Tide

The trip between Iona and Constitution was quick compared to the hour-long tidal offset, allowing for a pit stop at Cold Spring. Constitution Marsh greeted us with a backdrop similar to Iona, a bridge with a train chugging along. However, this bridge’s beams were concrete and far less rickety. We positioned ourselves at the mouth of the marsh and waited for a Metro-North train to pass by before taking our samples.
​
As we basked in the clear and hot September day, Kyle took out the drone to get a good look at the other side of the bridge, revealing a web-like marshland cut up by the water we just captured.
Constitution Marsh from the drone
]]><![CDATA[A Day on the Water: Fieldwork in Peconic and Shinnecock Bay]]>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/a-day-on-the-water-fieldwork-in-peconic-and-shinnecock-bayBy Charlotte Rhoads
​Since joining the Tzortziou lab in early June, my anticipation of participating in a fieldwork trip to the Long Island Sound had been building. The Tzortziou lab focuses on the critical research of coastal ecosystems which are rich in biodiversity and productivity yet highly vulnerable to human pressures and climate change. In the summertime, our team sets out to collect valuable data contributing to the understanding of dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics in estuarine environments. My first opportunity to embark on a fieldwork trip arose at the end of July when our team chartered a fishing boat in Peconic and Shinnecock Bay on Long Island Sound. The primary objectives were to collect hyperspectral reflectance spectra data and water samples for later analysis in the lab. Our team, consisting of Kyle Turner, research associate, Tong Lin, PhD student, and Ella Frederike Jacobs, summer outreach and communications intern, met at the Center of Discovery and Innovation on the morning of July 25th. Once the equipment was packed into the car and our podcast for the ride was chosen, we embarked on our journey from the bustling New York City to the serene coastal towns of Long Island.
Our guide for the day was Captain Brad Ries, an experienced fisherman in the area. He has taken various groups of Tzortziou lab members out on sampling trips before so he was familiar with our equipment and sampling needs. We met him on his boat Someday Came just after a very fruitful fishing charter returned from the morning session. After confirming the absence of bananas on board (a strict rule on his boat), we set sail from the docks. Captain Brad skillfully navigated us through the lock of Shinnecock Canal, revealing picturesque views of white dunes, evergreen shrubs, and billowing clouds.

Stopping at seven spots across Peconic Bay, Riverhead, and Shinnecock Bay, we relied on Captain Brad's expertise to find interesting measurement locations. At one point, we encountered a large patch of red tide, a harmful algal bloom event that turned the water a distinctive copper color. Urgency filled the air as we collected water samples, took notes, and conducted reflectance measurements, while pondering out loud what this water might look like back in the lab. At each station, we filled 4-liter water bottles, dropped the secchi disk (for a turbidity measurements), deployed the EX02 (water quality sonde) and learned to use the SVC (spectroradiometer). After a long and fulfilling afternoon, we returned to the docks with a boat heavier than when we set out, carrying a cooler filled with water. 
​
This day out on the water not only provided valuable data for the Tzortziou lab's research but also offered a unique opportunity to witness the beauty of Long Island Sound. As we packed up the car with our precious cargo, the excitement of our fieldwork lingered, promising an evening of analysis and insights into the dynamics of an intricate coastal ecosystem.

]]><![CDATA[A spectacular landsCAPE]]>Wed, 18 Oct 2023 19:39:12 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/a-spectacular-landscapeBy Kyle Turner
Picture
Quite the view! On top of Table Mountain!
​After a tense battle with downtown NYC traffic and couple of flight delays, the East Coast crew (consisting of Joaquim Goes, Helga Gomes, and Jinghui Wu from Columbia University, Charles Kovach from NOAA STAR, and myself from the Tzortziou Bio-Optics Lab) safely crossed the Atlantic Ocean and the Equator and arrived in Cape Town, South Africa for the BioSCape field campaign. BioSCape is an international collaboration between NASA and other U.S. and South African organizations to study the rich biodiversity and ecology of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), across terrestrial and aquatic domains. 

Our group is one of the few aquatic-focused science teams on the project, with the goal of mapping phytoplankton functional types (PI: Wu) and carbon fluxes (PI: Tzortziou) from air- and space-based optical remote sensing. Our study has three sampling areas: St. Helena Bay, Walker Bay, and Algoa Bay, which we will be visiting over the next few weeks in conjunction with targeted overflights of NASA aircraft equipped with two state-of-the-art hyperspectral spectrometers, AVIRIS-NG and PRISM....
​We will be collecting an array of discrete and continuous flow through data, including in-water and above-water radiometry, absorption, scattering, fluorescence, phytoplankton imaging, pigment analysis, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, which will enable us to develop new and improved algorithms for airborne and satellite imagery of GCFR coastal waters.
 
A bit of a delay in the shipment of instruments and planned aircraft operations has allowed us some time to admire the spectacular natural beauty of the Cape Town area. We took a cable car to the top of the Table Mountain (3,558 above sea-level), which is home to a dazzling variety of endemic flora and fauna, including many species of fynbos and a small mammal called a rock hyrax (locally referred to by its Afrikaans name "dassie"), which is most closely related to the elephant! The panoramic, bird's-eye view was the perfect kick-off to our work here, with awe and appreciation of the unique life and landscape that has evolved and persisted over millions of years.
 
We hope to be in the water collecting data real soon. More updates to come!
]]><![CDATA[Spring turns to Summer in Alakanuk]]>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 19:47:54 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/alakanukBy Alana Menendez
We were above the clouds for the first half of the flight from Bethel to Emmonak, our excitement bottled by the white sheets below us. But as we got closer, glimpses of the rivers and sloughs of the Yukon Delta began to emerge. I was reminded of sifting through optical satellite imagery of this region and seeing mostly clouds but reveling in any clear pixels. Ah, but the resolution was better! Fellow passengers pointed enthusiastically to moose wading in ponds. A woman sitting behind Maria showed us where she would ice fish: all beautiful reminders that we weren’t just approaching our field site but a vast home.  
Picture
The Alakanuk Slough on May 27, 2023, the day of major Alakanuk flooding.
​Once we landed, Maria and I received a warm welcome back in Alakanuk, greeted at the airport with big hugs and smiles from Teddy. Alakanuk was stuck between seasons: snow machines were not all retired, and boats were not yet lining the banks. There was anticipation across the village about river breakup, and all conversations seemed to center on ice and who heard what from who upriver. Based on these upriver reports, Augusta and Teddy would relay timing predictions of ice breakup for Alakanuk to us. The uncertainty framing all discussions of flooding magnitudes seemed to come from a deep respect and knowledge of what the River was capable of. Still, they described the spring flooding as being almost gentle, not accompanied by the scary house-shaking winds of fall typhoons. 
​Flooding preparations were made across town. Augusta listed off Elders that Teddy and Eric would need to help get items to higher ground. It was reassuring to know that everyone seemed to be accounted for. There are almost as many people living in Alakanuk as in my apartment building in Manhattan. At home, we will comment on the weather while stuck in elevator rides together; unlike in Alakanuk, these conversations often seem perfunctory and anonymous, and the weather feels mostly inconsequential. 
 
Our group, including local high school interns Theo and Kiera who joined the project again this summer, collected measurements across a wide range of conditions the following few days. On Thursday and Friday, May 25th and 26th, we collected water samples in Alakanuk Slough, including measurements from Teddy’s canoe with his handmade paddles. Teddy had purchased the canoe about twenty years ago from a French couple in Emmonak who had traveled down the Yukon River in it. I have been daydreaming about taking a trip like this since. On Thursday, the Slough was calm and with lots of ice, which we collected to melt down for colored dissolved organic matter analysis. On Friday, the flow was much faster, the river was filled with ice, logs and debris, and the water was considerably more turbid. 
​Augusta – the IGAP Program Director and our close collaborator on the project - knocked on the Tribal Administrative building where Maria and I were staying on Saturday morning to check on us and let us know the ice was flowing. We were thankful for the update and the extension of care. Maria and I headed out for our daily sample collection soon after, and we were struck by what we saw. Flooded lakes around all homes. The Alakanuk Slough was covered bank to bank in crushed ice chunks of varying shapes, sizes, and textures and colors ranging from clear to muddy, sprinkled with large logs and some whole tree trunks. It was moving very fast. The road across from the school was breached, but there was still a constant flow of traffic: families on four-wheelers, kids with bikes, and many dogs, all with varying degrees of urgency. There were mutual hand waves with everyone encountered, which seems to always be the case when passing by someone in Alakanuk, but now it felt more like a gift of acknowledging that we are all here experiencing this momentous event together. 
 
An old copper fuel pipe attached to the slough edge was getting swept around as if it were a twig. The river seemed angry and violent to me. But by Sunday morning, the ice suddenly stopped moving altogether, while the village continued to flood; and I realized this was far scarier. This year was, indeed, the worst spring freshet flooding conditions the village has seen in years. We heard of an ice jam downriver and an ice jam upriver, and the question in everyone’s mind was which would break first.
Picture
Flood water marker along the Alakanuk Slough on May 27, 2023.
​By midday, the ice in Alakanuk Slough began to slowly move. A woman passed in a pickup truck and struck conversation. We all exclaimed how relieved we were to have the ice moving again, preventing possibly massive flooding. She mentioned that she had had a large group praying for Alakanuk. Augusta offered that tides likely helped get the ice going again, which provided a logical explanation for my science-driven brain. But this still felt lucky.
Picture
Saying goodbye to Augusta and Ted at the Alakanuk airport.
​By Monday, May 30th, the Alakanuk Slough was mostly ice-free. People were out collecting wood. There were sawdust remains from the early birds who had already chopped theirs. Unlike the challenging logistics of getting most things to Alakanuk, the Yukon had delivered this wood right to them. Everyone seemed to be basking in the change of season. Boulders of ice littered the banks, being laid to rest after a long winter and journey. One man on a motorboat was already zipping around in the Alakanuk Slough. This felt like an extension of what Teddy had described as a fascination with being first on the ice and last on the ice, now first on the ice-free river. Feeling a deeper understanding of the power and importance of the Yukon, Maria and I went out to collect a water sample.  
 
 
]]><![CDATA[A summer exploring Long Island Sound from boats and satellites]]>Fri, 03 Feb 2023 20:32:29 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/deans-summer-experienceBy Dean Wilson Gelling 
Picture
Dean at the Great South Bay, Photo by Minsun Lee
When I set foot on the campus of Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) for the first time in May, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was selected alongside 30 students as a participant in Lamont's Summer Intern program to conduct research under some of the most talented minds in geosciences. The internship took place during a time of tremendous change in my life, as I was in the process of transferring to Columbia University.

​I had experience in environmental education and conservation but never worked in a research setting. Yet, when offered the mentorship of Dr. Joaquim Goes and Dr. Maria Tzortziou, I dove right in
The topic of my research was to identify the drivers of biogeochemical processes in the coastal waterways of Long Island. The Long Island Sound is one of the world's most densely populated tidal estuaries, with many industries, people, and wildlife who rely on it. As a result, it has been the subject of detailed, periodic research by universities and government agencies. However, less is known about the dynamics of the shallower waterways that line the coast of Long Island, especially as they relate to the more extensive marine system of which they are a part. These bays and inlets form the primary interface between the open water and the heavily developed land surrounding it. Still, it can be difficult to use satellite imagery to monitor these shallow coastal waters due to obstacles like bottom reflectance and low spatial resolution sensors.

Many early mornings were spent in the Tzortziou Bio-Optics Lab at the Center of Discovery and Innovation on the CCNY campus. The lab members and I prepare equipment and set out for our two principal research areas, the Great South Bay and the Peconic Bay. We met up with one of the local fishing captains, Greg or Brad, and sailed to stations that we wanted to analyze. Using an EXO2 water quality sonde and sampling the water directly at the surface, we could understand the water's characteristics at various depths. By combining these measurements with hyperspectral reflectance spectra taken from an SVC spectroradiometer, we were able to understand how the water absorbs and reflects light based on its underlying biogeochemical properties. The ultimate hope is that models based on satellite imagery from these days would agree with our in-water observations. Ultimately, their correlations were quite strong, and I presented my findings in a symposium at the LDEO campus when summer ended.
​
Working in a lab is like no job I've ever had, and I couldn't have anticipated how challenging yet extremely rewarding it would be. So rewarding, in fact, that I've decided to come on for the rest of the academic year as a part-time research assistant in the lab, performing similar biogeochemical analysis on the data our team brought back from their field excursions in Alaska this summer. I am so excited to see where the future takes me, but for now, I am simply seizing the exciting opportunities that I am so lucky to have before me.

​
]]><![CDATA[Measuring bio-optical properties across Alaska's remote North Slope]]>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 18:09:59 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/field-campaign-along-the-north-slope-of-alaskaBy Jonathan Sherman
Picture
​Kyle and Jonathan loading equipment onto R/V Ukpik
​We recently returned home from a successful field campaign along the North slope of Alaska, where we studied the optical properties of coastal Arctic waters to support a research project on remote sensing of environmental change in arctic coastal aquatic ecosystems. This is one of our lab’s projects focusing on Arctic systems with collaborators from the Navel Research Laboratory, NASA, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For this project, we travelled to Prudhoe Bay, the terminus of the “Dalton highway” built to support the Trans-Alaska pipeline originating in the many oil fields of Prudhoe Bay.

At Prudhoe Bay, we met Captain Mike Fleming and boarded R/V Ukpik, a 50-ft research vessel supporting scientific Arctic research for 35 years. Aside from overcast skies (not ideal for some of our above-water radiometry), we enjoyed great weather that allowed us to sample most of our intended stations over five days.
​Ahmed and Steve (NRL) setting up the optics package at a station
Optics package at the surface of the water
Above water radiometry ​using the SVC ​HR-512i ​
Our research plan included sampling stations from the mouths of the Colville, Kuparuk and Sagavanirktok rivers and out towards the open waters. These rivers are three of the largest river system on the North Slope. We aimed to capture the transition in the optical properties of the water as they transition from riverine and coastal waters to open ocean waters.

A typical station included deploying an optic package that measured several inherent optical properties of the water, such as absorption and scattering of light by various water constituents, above-water radiometry measurements (essentially measuring the color of the water surface) as well as surface water collection. At the end of each day, we anchored in the shelter of the barrier islands, where we filtered the water samples for various analyses, such as phytoplankton and nutrient concentrations and other components of the marine carbon cycle.
​Collecting water using a Niskin bottle  ​
Picture
End of day filtering
Life on R/V Ukpik was somewhat tight but still comfortable. We took turns making breakfast and lunches between stations and every evening enjoyed gourmet dinners made by Captain Mike (like Stake night, hamburger night and pasta night). We were extremely lucky on our first day out to see a pair of polar bears (a mom and a pup) napping on a small island before our boat disturbed their slumber. Further offshore, we came across large areas of sea ice, remnants of the previous winter. We spent a lot of time hearing about Captain Mike’s previous experiences doing research and other work in the Arctic.
Picture
Polar bears 
When not on the boat, we enjoyed our time at the Aurora hotel, one of several hotels that house and feed the many oil industry employees. There is not much to do there aside from many hours of pool and ping pong, but we were able to spend a few hours driving South on the Dalton highway, where we saw vast arctic tundra scenery and the Sagavanirktok River. 

​The research cruise and drive down the highway were amazing and really emphasized how remote this region of the world is and how lucky we are to study it.​
Steve (NRL) making grilled cheese
End of the cruise photo
Picture
]]><![CDATA[Gathering native testimony about environmental changes in Alakanuk]]>Sun, 28 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/gathering-native-testimony-about-environmental-changes-in-alakanuk
Picture
Photo Credit: Emily Raboteau and Maria Tzortziou
I was invited by my colleague Dr. Maria Tzortziou to join her on a research trip to the Yukon Delta where her NASA-funded team is studying coastal changes due to the climate crisis. (We are being financed by an interdisciplinary research grant through City University of New York.) As a climate writer interested in environmental justice, I feel excited and fortunate to be partnering with an environmental scientist who can help me understand the larger picture of global warming and its implications for frontline communities such as here in the remote village of Alakanuk, Alaska, by sharing her scientific observations. While Maria’s team continues methodically gathering water samples and taking satellite imagery that over time have a story to tell about environmental change in the most rapidly warming part of the planet, we have come for five days to gather stories from members of the local Yup’ik community – some of them collaborators in the larger research program - about what changes they have observed in their home place, how they are adapting to these changes on sociocultural and spiritual levels, stewardship, and traditional ecological knowledge.
Before journeying to the Arctic, I asked my friend, environmental historian Bathsheba Demuth, author of the epic Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait, what books I should read about this region to help me prepare. One of the many illuminating texts she recommended was Wise Words of the Yup’ik People: We Talk to You because We Love You by Anne Fienup-Riordan. It documents traditional Yup’ik qanruyutait (guiding wisdom) regarding a balanced way of life between men and women, parents and children, siblings and cousins, fellow villagers, visitors, strangers, and non-Natives, recorded by elders in the community twenty years ago in an effort at cultural preservation. According to this book, the Yup’ik people of southwest Alaska were among the last Arctic peoples to encounter non-Natives, and as a result, Yup’ik language and many traditions have remained intact.
 
One of the elders whose knowledge was collected in this book was Joe Joseph, born in Alakanuk in 1922.  Imagine my surprise to find him commemorated on the wall of elders in the same Tribal Council building where Maria and I are now sleeping among pictures of dozens of other elders who have passed on—a century after his birth.  In my short time here, it’s already clear that respect for elders is a pillar principle and way of life. I am grateful to Augusta Edmund, head of the Tribal Council, for helping to orchestrate interviews with some elders in the community, to learning more from them, and (with their permission) to sharing their wisdom.  

- Emily Raboteau

]]><![CDATA[Arriving in Nome, Alaska]]>Fri, 05 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/arriving-in-nome-alaskaBy Kyle Turner
Picture
Photo Credit: Kyle Turner, Jonathan Sherman 
We had a long but safe and successful trip to Nome, AK! Jonathan Sherman and I made it to all of our quick layovers leaving from New York City earlier this morning (but the last plane had to hold for us). We met Chelsea Lopez while boarding for Nome at the Anchorage Airport. As we landed in Nome, Scott Freeman picked us up from the airport, and the team loaded all of our supplies and instruments and headed to the ADF&G (Alaska Department of Fish and Game) bunkhouse, where we were staying in town. Our collaborator Jenefer Bell, Arctic Area Research Biologist with ADF&G, has been so helpful and supportive throughout the planning of our coastal Arctic fieldwork this summer! Our plan over the next few days is to have a 3-day trip with Captain Adem Boeckmann and his large fishing vessel Anchor Point to transect south and collect measurements across a strong marine-coastal-estuarine gradient in Norton Sound and near the Yukon River Delta. Saturday looks like our one chance at (some) sunshine, so we plan to spend Friday steaming and collect the majority of data on Saturday.

Meanwhile, we've been enjoying the quaint but small town of Nome. We played pool at the local saloon, Nome's oldest saloon since 1900 with an old "gold rush" facade. At that time, Nome was one of Alaska's largest cities, with people flocking to strike it rich in the golden sands. We walked the beach along Norton Sound and admired a sprawling collection of old rusted machinery from Nome's "golden era". The team assembled the optics package that will be used over the next few days to collect profiles of optical parameters, including absorption and backscattering, critical for linking in-situ measurements to satellite imagery. The weather is slightly chilly, but not too bad! I haven't had to pull out my heavy winter coat yet.

​
]]><![CDATA[Clear Sky, Clear Bay: Improving Water Quality in the Great South Bay.]]>Wed, 20 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/clear-sky-clear-bay-improving-water-quality-in-the-great-south-bayBy Shangtong Li

Photo Credit: Shangtong Li

96.8 F, radiant sun, clear sky, and a cool breeze brings the fresh briny smell of the sea. Tzortziou Bio-Optics Lab members boarded Patty Ann at the Captree State Park in Babylon, New York again—to sample stations along the Great South Bay. 

An almost cloudless day, conditions were optimal for conducting radiometric measurements of the color of the water and linking to water quality state.

We noticed a new face sitting at the seating area of the boat—Gino—Captain Greg's son. He grew up hanging around the boat with his dad. Gino is graduating middle school and is excited to be a high schooler. He dreams of becoming a marine biologist, and his favorite fish is the sea robin. 

Upon setting sail, Captain Greg told the team about the mysterious red algae that had appeared in the waters a week after our last visit. The red algae is a naturally occurring species in the Bay. The recent weather and water conditions seem to be conducive to their growth.

When asked about the tuna trip that the captain mentioned when we said our goodbyes at the end of the last trip, Greg was proud to say that they caught eight yellowfin tuna ranging from 40-75 pounds, with a big grin on his face.

He has also been catching bountiful fluke, sea bass, and sea robin, as well as species not from the New York region, such as blacktip and spinner sharks.

"The water has been so clear this year!" said Captain Greg. According to him, the water in the Bay during the summer times usually looks like chocolate milk, and 2022 is the first year in the past five years that the water is this clear. "It is definitely improving." A friend of Greg's lives on the water, who usually can't see anything in the canal, but now he can. However, the water clarity ten years ago was still better.

Captain Greg linked the improved water conditions this year to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased diesel prices. While sailing through the main channel to Fire Island, the captain was surprised to see so few boats around us. "Normally, hundreds of boats would be out on a day like this." 
​
When asked how natural disasters affected the area, Hurricane Sandy was the first thing that came to Greg's mind. He pointed at the marshes and houses within our horizon, "these were all underwater." One of Greg's friends' street never flooded before Hurricane Sandy, but since then, it has flooded six times. His other friend had to hire a crane helicopter to pick up their boat because it floated away during the hurricane. This friend had to place the boat in his swimming pool for two weeks. Amid all the chaos and loss during the hurricane, Captain Greg was thankful that his family was not affected.

]]><![CDATA[Chasing carbon plumes and brown tides in the Peconic Bay.]]>Sat, 16 Jul 2022 12:50:03 GMThttps://blogmariatzortziou.weebly.com/blog/chasing-carbon-plumes-and-brown-tides-in-the-peconic-bayBy Sandy Shangtong Li
Photo credit: Sandy Shangtong Li
On Monday, Tzortziou Bio-Optics Lab members Kyle, Dean and Sandy visited the Peconic Bay and Shinnecock Bay again to sample seven stations. Joining the fieldwork was a new undergraduate intern Andrew, funded as part of the NOAA CESSRST REU program.

​This time, the team started farther west in Flanders Bay near the mouth of the Peconic River, in hopes of capturing the influence of freshwater inputs of dissolved carbon and particulate matter into the Peconic Bay. 
Boarding the deck of Someday Came fishing boat, the team was welcomed with the familiar smile and greetings of Captain Brad Reis.

​The sky was crisp blue and exceptionally clear, the ideal weather condition for radiometric measurements of the water-leaving radiance (i.e., color of the water). The team also used the citizen science app HydroColor in addition to the Spectra Vista Corporation handheld spectroradiometer (SVC), in order to compare radiometric results and water turbidity. HydroColor provides a simple above-water method to measure the reflectance of natural water bodies; it estimates water turbidity, suspended particulate matter, and light backscattering, which relates to the concentration and size of particles in the water. It is an accessible and easy-to-use tool for anyone with a smartphone to contribute to measurements of water color and quality.

Captain Brad said that the locals have been sharing concerns about the nitrogen levels in the water because of the past brown tides that happened in the Bay. Brown tides are harmful algae blooms, intense rapid growth of phytoplankton (algae) which can overwhelm marine life and create chaos in the ecosystem. One high school senior, Ryan Hughes, whose mother is a friend of Brad’s, researched one of the main algae species (C. Polykrikoides) in the brown tides that occurred in Long Island Sound.
Brad suspects the leaching of the household septic systems is the culprit of increased nitrogen levels in the Bay. Even with the new regulation that requires a $40,000 septic system for new houses, the captain is still skeptical of the effectiveness of these systems in preventing effluence from going into the Bay, threatening fish species and seagrasses. Luckily, the Bay has yet to experience a brown tide this summer. 

When asked about the effects of hurricanes in the area, although Captain Brad and his family did not personally experience the impact of Hurricane Sandy, he still remembers the smell of diesel fuels from busted boat engines floating on the surfaces of the water. Bridges were destroyed, boats on boat stands floated off, some areas were completely flattened off, and water was 10 to 12 feet up and through houses. Everything was underwater.
​
Now the bridges are rebuilt, houses are fixed, and new ones underway. Brad was happy to share that his business is doing well, but with increased global temperatures, the severity of natural disasters that impacts coastal communities the most, such as storms and hurricanes, are increasing as well. The team is concerned about the communities and species in Long Island Sound (LIS) and hopes our research on water conditions in the area will give us a fuller understanding of the changes for better preparedness and action. ​
]]>