Articles By Austen Verrilli

A sampling crew progresses along a Great Lakes coastal wetland (Credit: Matthew Cooper)

Wetlands

Five-year Great Lakes coastal wetlands monitoring campaign updates public on progress

Scientists in the midst of a five-year monitoring campaign in coastal wetlands across the Great Lakes recently updated the public on progress.

Posted March 11, 2014

Water snake (Credit: Wibble_Roisin, via Flickr)

Technical Notes

Australian researchers basing UAV design on water snake

Researchers from the University Adelaide in South Australia are working to build an unmanned aquatic vehicle in the form of a sea snake, according to a release from the university. Sea snakes evolved from terrestrial snakes. They have a flatter body and paddle shaped tail and travel through the...

Posted February 7, 2014

Yellow perch (Credit: USDA, via Wikimedia commons)

Technology

Infrared fish passage counter tested

Researchers found mixed results when testing an infrared fish scanner to monitor fish movement through man-made passages in southeast Australia’s Murray Darling Basin, according to the journal Ecological Management and Restoration. A team from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries tested the Vaki Riverwatcher in the field...

Posted February 6, 2014

Rivers

Oil and gas company monitoring air and water after waste spill

A Texas-based oil and gas company is monitoring air and water quality in Alberta, Canada after its fourth chemical spill in the past year, according to a report from the Northern Journal. An employee from Apache Corp. recently discovered that an injection well was leaking waste water onto the...

Posted February 6, 2014

Wetlands

World Wetlands Day celebrated across globe

People from across the world celebrated World Wetlands Day on Sunday with outings, water quality testing and newly established commitments to improving habitats. The yearly event is sponsored by the Ramsar Convention, which has been protecting wetlands since 1971. This year the theme of the day was wetlands and...

Posted February 5, 2014

Earth

Massachusetts plant reports tritium contamination

Radioactive tritium was found in levels three times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommend safe drinking water thresholds in a monitoring well near Massachusetts’ Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, according to a report from the Cape Cod Bay Watch. Representatives from Entergy, the company that owns the power plant, said...

Posted February 1, 2014

Nescopeck State Park, near where the camp takes place (Credit: Nicholas_T, via Flickr)

News

Pennsylvania high school students invited to DCNR Eco Camp

Pennsylvania high school students will get an opportunity to attend a camp where they can learn about building a career in environmental science, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The DCNR will host the Eco Camp for 20 to 25 Pennsylvania...

Posted February 1, 2014

The project will deploy the K-Rex rover (Credit: Lorenzo Fluckiger/NASA)

Earth

NASA researchers study Earth’s volcanoes to prepare for space exploration

NASA researchers will study volcanoes and craters in Idaho and Canada to learn more about how other planets may have developed and to test methods for future space studies, according to a NASA press release. The team from NASA Ames Research Center will study volcanic formation, magma chambers and...

Posted February 1, 2014

Susquehanna River (Credit: Nicholas A. Tonelli, via Flickr)

Rivers

Penn. DEP to study smallmouth bass habitats in lower Susquehanna River

The decline of smallmouth bass in the lower Susquehanna River has spurred the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to monitor water quality in the river for the next three years, according to the National Water Quality Monitoring News. The study was spurred by findings that young smallmouth bass have...

Posted January 28, 2014

Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota (Credit: Michael Hicks, via Wikimedia Commons)

Rivers

Minnesota nitrate study finds most nitrate pollution from farmland

Minnesota researchers found 158 million pounds of nitrates leave the state through the Mississippi river each year on average, according to a report from National Water Quality Monitoring News. Scientists from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency initiated the study. They analyzed 50,000 samples from 700 stream sites across...

Posted January 28, 2014

Rivers

EPA and BLM embark on first collaborative study of western streams

Scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management are collaborating to conduct a streams assessment for the first time, according to the National Water Monitoring News. Teams from both organizations started gathering data in 2013. They are monitoring conditions and sampling in public lands in...

Posted January 28, 2014

Long Island Sound (Credit: Doc Searls, via Wikimedia Commons)

Oceans

Long Island Sound Study to be updated for 2014

Researchers have been working on the Long Island Sound Study for more than 30 years and they plan to update their core management plan for 2014, according to a newsletter for the study. The program started in 1985 through a partnership between the New York and Connecticut Environmental Protection...

Posted January 24, 2014

The restored shoreline near the Indian River Power Plant (Credit: Cardno ENTRIX)

Wetlands

NOAA monitoring shows successful Delaware salt marsh restoration

After five years of monitoring, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers have determined that a Delaware salt marsh has been successfully restored, according to a NOAA blog post. Simeon Hahn, regional research coordinator for NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, said about 500,000 gallons of oil leaked from a...

Posted January 22, 2014

Great white shark (Credit: Terry Gross, via Wikimedia Commons)

Oceans

North Florida researchers tracking great white sharks with sensors

University of North Florida researchers are tracking great white shark travel patterns near some northeastern Florida beaches, according the Florida Times Union. Many great white sharks have been tagged by scientific groups over the years. The researchers are monitoring the sharks with sensors that detect signals emitted from the...

Posted January 22, 2014

A DISCOVER-AQ ground site operated by Penn State at Porterville, Calif. (Credit: Doug Martins/Penn State)

Earth

NASA’s DISCOVER-AQ mission hones satellite tools with aircraft- and ground-based sensors

A NASA air quality campaign gathers data from aircraft- and ground-based sensors to help improve the satellite tools that assess air pollution from space.

Posted January 21, 2014

Stonefly nymph (Credit: Dave Huth, via Flickr)

Rivers

Huron River Watershed Council to host stonefly search

The Huron River Watershed Council will host its annual stonefly search on Jan. 25 to help judge the health of the Huron River and its tributaries, according to an announcement from the watershed council. Stoneflies are an indicator species. The presence of stonefly nymphs under rocks shows that a...

Posted January 20, 2014

The Jason ROV (Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Oceans

WHOI mission to study deep sea microbes underway

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution science cruise pushed offshore in early January to study the sea floor west of Costa Rica, according to the WHOI Dive and Discover website. Researchers will be using the Remotely Operated Vehicle Jason to study microbes on the Pacific Ocean floor. Exploration will be...

Posted January 16, 2014

San Francisco Bay estuary (Credit: NASA, via Wikimedia Commons)

Wetlands

San Francisco Bay Estuary Workshop to convene in February

A collaborative, interagency group of scientists will meet this February in Folsom, Calif., for a workshop on the health of the San Francisco Bay Estuary, according to an announcement from the San Francisco Bay Estuary Interagency Ecological Program. The conference will be held from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28....

Posted January 15, 2014

The In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System, or ISIIS, towed behind a research vessel (Credit: University of Miami)

Technology

ISIIS imaging system gets researchers up close with zooplankton

A new plankton imaging instrument gets researchers up close and personal with zooplankton to reveal how the creatures live in their natural surroundings.

Posted January 14, 2014

Alberta tar sands (Credit: Howl Arts Collective, via Flickr)

Earth

Study finds tar sands operations broadcast airborne mercury

Airborne mercury wafting off of Canada’s tar sands mining and production facilities in northeast Alberta has been found in a 19,000 square kilometer area surrounding operations, according to a report from the Vancouver Sun. A study conducted by Environment Canada found that mercury is deposited in the surrounding environment...

Posted January 13, 2014