By 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.
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