New Jersey is often used as an example of a natural system gone awry. The unflattering term "New Jerseyization" was coined by a prominent scientist to describe a developed, eroding coast, where natural beaches have been replaced by engineering structures. This view may have been correct in the past, when seawalls and bulkheads replaced many of our beaches, but our beaches are being brought back by artificial nourishment projects. Hard protection structures are only one phase in the cycle of changes on a developed coast. Human efforts can help regenerate landforms and biota, providing we take a proactive approach to shore protection that accommodates a wide range of resource values. The preferred method of shore protection in New Jersey has changed from groins, to bulkheads and seawalls, to beach nourishment. Hard protection structures are less likely to be built in the future, but many structures still exist, and some new structures may have local usefulness. Accordingly, it is important to know how these structures function. It is also important to know that all protection strategies have usefulness, but they are not readily interchangeable at a given location. Beach nourishment can help restore lost natural values, but many municipalities have elected to grade and rake their nourished beaches, preventing them from evolving into topographically and biologically diverse natural environments. The large amount of sand scheduled to be pumped onto New Jersey beaches in the future represents an invaluable resource, but the full potential of nourishment will not be realized without addressing habitat improvement and nature-based tourism in addition to the goals of protection from erosion and flooding and provision of recreation space. A dune is another valuable natural resource that is often overlooked. Dunes provide protection from flooding and…
1. What are the benefits of comparing contaminant concentrations and biological impacts in Tidal Bay sediments with those of a reference area?…
We began our study by surveying Ft. DeSoto’s East beach for sand dollars and their parasites. In order to avoid duplicate data collection we began 100m offshore and worked our way bacl towards the shore placing all collected samples behind us after recording the data. For each sand dollar collected, we measured its diameter and counted the number of adult and juvenile crabs present on it. Adult crabs were considered to have a width of 2mm or more and juvenile crabs were considered anything below that. We surveyed the area until approximately 100 sand dollars were collected before returning to analyze the data.…
At the entrance of the Winyah Bay, there is extensive southerly spit growth, which indicated a dominance of longshore transport to the south. This is very similar to the conditions in Long Beach Island as well. The sediment transport rate along the coast of Long Beach Island is 38,250 m3/yr to the south. This southward longshore transport is due to the gradual change in the shoreline configuration (Van Gaalen, pg. 28).…
Holland, R. T., 1993. Changes in Planktonic Diatoms and Water Transparency in Hatchery Bay, Bass Island Area, Western Lake Erie Since the Establishment of the Zebra Mussel. Journal of Great Lakes Research 19: 617-624.…
The Great Lakes (Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario) are the largest surface freshwater system on the Earth. They form a great part of the American and Canadian physical and cultural heritage. They form 84% of America’s fresh water and about 21% of the world’s surface fresh water, providing water for consumption, energy, transportation and recreation. One of the biggest problems to these lakes is sediment toxins caused by such factors as industrial and municipal discharges, sewer overflows, and urban and agricultural. To fix this problem, the EPA has provided financial assistance as well as field and technical support for remediation of these areas of concern (AOC) and each have implemented a remedial action plan (RAP). The process of remediation for these areas of concern has accelerated due to the efforts of the Great Lakes Legacy Act and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.…
The restoration of the regions in San Francisco Estuary are based on many applications from water use, land use, dredging and waterway modification, wetlands management, and the pollution prevention and reduction fazes. I will be taking a look at the aspects of the pollution prevention and reduction within the San Francisco Estuary program. Estuaries are unique, dynamic transition zones, between the watershed and the world ocean system. In this paper I will try to discuss the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the San Francisco Estuary and how they are important to the diversity and productivity of the organisms in the estuary. Reviewing the population growth and how it affects the estuary. The behavior of humans that affects the habitats…
In the Ggreat Llakes for example, as people continue to use many hand soaps that contain triclosan and triclocarban in could have harmful effects to an ecosystem , like the chemical triclosan having an acute effect on to aquatic organisms, such as algae, fish and crustaceans (Gao et. al., 2015). They could have harmful effects on many organisms, by disrupting the food chain, as well as creating toxins that contaminate many marine organisms (Pignataro, 2015). The filtered water compositionThey couldan also not have a significant effect on an ecosystem, since the filtered water did not have an effect on the growth of the algae, but there was not a test conducted to see how toxic the algae were. After the growth was conducted for a week. The effect of the filtered water can go either way, with the soap chemicals not having a significant impact on the interactions or health of organisms within an ecosystem, or the soap chemicals having a possible major impact on the interactions of organisms within an ecosystem due to the harmful chemicals contain in the hand soap used. However, scientists should focus attention on pollutants far worse than hand…
There have been attempts for decades to clean up the Bay, but any expert would eagerly tell you that there is more to it than that. In order to keep the Chesapeake Bay healthy, you have to start with eliminating pollution in the entire watershed. If we are to rebuild the population of Maryland Blue Crabs, oysters and rockfish, we have to start small. The numbers that we have lost over the past thirty years are outstanding. Since the 1980s the oyster population alone has decreased by 70%. The sewage lines that dump into the watershed, the fertilizer and other agricultural run-off are the biggest issues causing the decline in the Bay’s health, and subsequently the tourism on the Eastern Shore that depends so heavily on the watershed (Woodward, December…
The ones used in pesticides or herbicides often amplify the chemicals already entering the water from the wastes of hospitals, cities, factories, and laboratories.…
Baird, C., & Cann, M. (2008). Environmental Chemistry. (4th ed.). New York (NY): W.H Freeman and…
Lake Huron, the second largest of the Great Lakes, is being polluted every day. There are three categories the different types of pollution can be separated into they are non-point, point, and environmental. Non-point means there are several sources of run-off, point comes from direct sources, and environmental comes from air and ecological systems in and around the lake. With all of the pollution, it is hurting the people and the economy of Lake Huron.…
Ocean pollution is such a broad topic, and one that has many facets to it. As a group, we found it to be a very intriguing topic that it relevant to our everyday lives. As New Jersey residents, we have all spent time at the Jersey shore. We have all enjoyed the small and big beach towns, the sand, and of course the ocean. Recently, we have each noticed reduced pollution and cleaner water. Then we read article after article on increased pollution, damaging toxins, deteriorating health and wellbeing of sea life. How can this be, with all the scrutiny and awareness placed on litter and pollution is general. Then we realized that it was more than just leaving a plastic bottle on the beach or failure to through away a paper wrapper. In fact, it is more damaging than this. It is more so about the toxins and chemicals that seep into the land, the runoff from building and homes, the ground and air pollution that comes from industry and factories, and the pesticides that are evident in farming and everyday lawn care.…
“U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare defines water pollution as ‘The adding to water of any substance, or the changing of water’s physical and chemical characteristics in any way which interferes with its use of legitimate purposes’” (Rana, 2006, p. 41). Domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastewaters are the three main ways that harmful chemicals end up in our water bodies. Daugton (2007) wrote, “of the major chemical synthesis industries, the pharmaceutical industry produces the most waste…per unit of actual product” (p. 15). Pharmaceuticals such as painkillers, anti depressants, and birth control that…
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