Browsing by Subject "Estuary"
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Item Open Access A GIS Approach to Habitat Restoration Site Selection and Prioritization in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary(2005) Kunert, KellyThe New York-New Jersey Harbor is an urban estuary that has suffered the effects of industrial pollution, urban development, and harbor dredging. One of the most prominent issues arising from the Harbor’s urban history is the loss of wetland habitat. The New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program (HEP) has made it a priority to protect and restore habitat in the Harbor. The current method employed by the HEP to identify and prioritize habitats for restoration is a consensus decision approach. While this approach has been effective for identifying approximately 60 acquisition sites and 88 restoration projects, concern has been expressed by representatives from the agencies that fund these restoration projects that the current method is not scientifically grounded. This paper explores an alternate approach to habitat restoration site selection and prioritization in the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary using a geographic information system (GIS). A set of habitat restoration criteria was developed and criteria grids depicting the developed parameters were created and analyzed using ArcGIS 9.0. The analysis results in three maps, identifying wetland sites, HEP acquisition sites, and HEP restoration sites that are most suitable for restoration efforts. From the maps, ten sites were identified as recommended sites for inclusion on the HEP Priority Acquisition and Restoration Sites List. Two accompanying tables prioritize the HEP acquisition and restoration sites based on their final suitability values indicated by the maps. Grids of the current HEP restoration and acquisition sites were overlain on the final wetlands suitability grid to compare the current restoration site selection method with the GIS approach. The comparison indicates that three wetland sites identified as top priority restoration sites by the GIS method were also identified by the current HWG consensus planning method. Seven of the GIS-selected sites are not currently listed on the HEP Priority Acquisition and Restoration Sites List.Item Open Access A Rapid Assessment Protocol for the Identification of Invasive Species in the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary(2013-04-26) Diaz, MarthaThe Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES) is the second largest estuary in the continental U.S. comprising 3,000 square miles of open water and a wide variety of physical and chemical characteristics. These characteristics allow for a highly diverse community composition, but also make APES a favorable host for the settlement and propagation of invasive species. In an effort to gain information regarding the invasive species already existing in APES, the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership would like to conduct an annual rapid assessment survey of the estuary. This rapid assessment protocol outlines suggested sampling sites within brackish and saline areas of the estuary for fouling, intertidal and benthic habitats. In addition, a directory of potential samplers, field forms, a sample database, and a trip budget were developed as part of this protocol.Item Open Access Assessing the effectiveness of the Neuse nitrogen TMDL program and its impacts on estuarine chlorophyll dynamics(2011) Alameddine, IbrahimCoastal eutrophication is a complex process that is caused largely by anthropogenic nutrient enrichment. Estuaries are particularly susceptible to nutrient impairment, owing to their intimate connection with the contributing watersheds. Estuaries experiencing accelerating eutrophication are subject to a loss of key ecological functions and services. This doctoral dissertation presents the development and implementation of an integrated approach toward assessing the water quality in the Neuse Estuary following the implementation of the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program in the Neuse River basin. In order to accomplish this task, I have developed a series of water quality models and modeling strategies that can be effectively used in assessing nutrient based eutrophication. Two watershed-level nutrient loading models that operate on a different temporal scale are developed and used to quantify nitrogen loading to the Neuse Estuary over time. The models are used to probabilistically assess the success of the adopted mitigation measures in achieving the 30 % load reduction goal stipulated by the TMDL. Additionally, a novel structure learning approach is adopted to develop a Bayesian Network (BN) model that describes chlorophyll dynamics in the Upper Neuse Estuary. The developed BN model is compared to pre-TMDL models to assess any changes in the role that nutrient loading and physical forcings play in modulating chlorophyll levels in that section of the estuary. Finally, a set of empirical models are developed to assess the water quality monitoring program in the estuary, while also exploring the possibility of incorporating remotely sensed satellite data in an effort to augment the existing in-situ monitoring programs.
Item Open Access Decision rules of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) movement in wind-driven systems(2015-04-24) Chen, JuliaBlue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are the most economically valuable fishery in North Carolina, and the commercial harvest is mainly from the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES). Because of small inlets which restrict ocean tidal forcing in addition to large expanses of shallow water, circulation in the APES is primarily wind-driven. While much is known about how crabs move in tidally-dominated systems where movements are based upon selective tidal-stream transport, crab movements in wind-driven systems, and their response to environmental factors, remain poorly understood. This study aims to increase understanding of environmental controls on blue crab movements in order to inform management of crab resources in wind-driven systems. We studied crab movements in Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a 40,000-acre shallow, wind-driven system within the APES. During October 2014, free ranging crabs were tracked using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and an antenna array deployed along the Central Canal connecting the lake to Pamlico Sound. Colocated and simultaneous meteorological and physical oceanographic data were collected to understand environmental drivers that may affect crab movements. Analyses of these data indicate: 1) a significant net export of blue crabs from the lake to the sound; the drivers of that export remain unclear; 2) crab movements coincided with the direction of water flow in the canal, and 3) at small-scales, crabs were able to move against the water flow. These results suggest that there is a fall migration, during which crabs move from the lake to the sound, and at a relatively constant rate that is slower than the mean water flow. If crabs are to move out of the lake at this time it is essential to open water control structures in order to facilitate migration. This is particularly important for the females, who because of their large size may contribute disproportionately large amounts of larvae to the Pamlico Sound broodstock. Crabs in the larger fishery may also move toward higher salinity water if they behave similarly to those studied here.Item Open Access Evolution of Coastal Landforms: Investigating Sediment Dynamics, Hydrodynamics, and Vegetation Dynamics(2018) Yousefi Lalimi, FatemeCoastal ecosystems provide a wide range of services including protecting the mainland from the destructive effects of storms, nutrient cycling, water filtration, nurseries for fish and crustaceans, and carbon sequestration. These zones are threatened by human impacts and climate change through more frequent intense storms and sea level rise with a projected increase of up to 16 mm/yr for the last two decades of the 21st century. However, it is not fully understood what mechanisms control the formation and degradation of these landforms, and determine their resilience to environmental change. In this work, I highlight the role of various physical characteristics and environmental parameters that contribute to the formation and stability of coastal environments.
First, I develop and use remote sensing analyses to quantitatively characterize coastal dune eco-topographic patterns by simultaneously identifying the spatial distribution of topographic elevation and vegetation biomass in order to understand the coupled dynamics of vegetation and coastal dunes. LiDAR-derived leaf area index and hyperspectral-derived normalized difference vegetation index patterns yield vegetation distributions at the whole-system scale which are in agreement with each other and with field observations. LiDAR-derived concurrent quantifications of biomass and topography show that plants more favorably develop on the landward side of the foredune crest and that the foredune crestline marks the position of an ecotone, which is interpreted as the result of a sheltering effect sharply changing local environmental conditions. The findings reveal that the position of the foredune crestline is a chief ecomorphodynamic feature resulting from the two-way interaction between vegetation and topography.
Next, to shed light on the vertical depositional dynamics of salt marshes in response to sea level rise, I investigate the hypothesis that competing effects between biomass production and aeration/decomposition determine an approximately spatially constant contribution of soil organic matter (SOM) to total accretion. I use concurrent observations of SOM and decomposition rates from marshes in North Carolina. The results are coherent with the notion that SOM does not significantly vary in space and suggest that this may be the result of an at least partial compensation of opposing trends in biomass productivity and decomposed organic matter. The analyses show that deeper soil layers are characterized by lower decomposition rates and higher stabilization factors than shallower layers, likely because of differences in inundation duration. However, overall, decomposition processes are sufficiently rapid that the labile material in the fresh biomass is completely decomposed before it can be buried and stabilized. The findings point to the importance of the fraction of initially refractory material and of the stabilization processes in determining the final distribution of SOM within the soil column.
Finally, I develop a process-based model to evaluate the relative role of watershed, estuarine, and oceanic controls on salt marsh depositional/erosional dynamics and define how these factors interact to determine salt marsh resilience to environmental change at the estuary scale. The results show that under some circumstances, vertical depositional dynamics can lead to transitions between salt marsh and tidal flat equilibrium states that occur much more rapidly than marsh/tidal flat boundary erosion or accretion could. Additionally, the analyses reveal that river inputs affect the existence and extent of marsh/tidal flat equilibria by both modulating exchanges with the ocean (by partially “filling” the basin) and by providing suspended sediment.
Item Open Access Governance Recommendations for the Implementation of Ecosystem-Based Management within the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership(2013-04-25) Page, Jordan; Pool, Taylor; Menaquale, AndrewThe Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP) is an estuarine management program operating from within the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources with financial support from USEPA. The program area extends across most of the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed, including a large portion of southern Virginia. Recently, APNEP has revised its management plan to implement an Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) strategy that takes a multimodal approach to conservation. In this report, we use case studies of other individual state, bi-state, regional, and international conservation partnerships to produce a set of objectives for APNEP to increase its institutional ability to implement EBM goals throughout its program area. Findings include recommendations and advice to: (a) establish mechanisms of accountability for essential management organizations; (b) develop EBM agendas for specific agencies; (c) establish priority management areas; (d) expand APNEP’s program area to include the entire Roanoke River Basin; (e) expand cooperative GIS mapping capability between NC and VA; (f) update and renew the MOA between NC and VA agencies for cooperative regional conservation management; and, (g) address the possible relocation of the APNEP office from a state agency.Item Open Access Governance Recommendations for the Implementation of Ecosystem-Based Management within the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership(2013-04-25) Pool, Taylor; Page, Jordan; Menaquale, AndrewThe Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP) is an estuarine management program operating from within the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources with financial support from USEPA. The program area extends across most of the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed, including a large portion of southern Virginia. Recently, APNEP has revised its management plan to implement an Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) strategy that takes a multimodal approach to conservation. In this report, we use case studies of other individual state, bi-state, regional, and international conservation partnerships to produce a set of objectives for APNEP to increase its institutional ability to implement EBM goals throughout its program area. Findings include recommendations and advice to: (a) establish mechanisms of accountability for essential management organizations; (b) develop EBM agendas for specific agencies; (c) establish priority management areas; (d) expand APNEP’s program area to include the entire Roanoke River Basin; (e) expand cooperative GIS mapping capability between NC and VA; (f) update and renew the MOA between NC and VA agencies for cooperative regional conservation management; and, (g) address the possible relocation of the APNEP office from a state agency.