Microscopic Chalk Discs in Oceans Play Key Role in Carbon Cycle by Propagating Viruses

Scanning electron microscope image of the microscopic chalk disks called coccoliths formed by the marine algae Emiliania huxleyi. Courtesy of Bidle Lab

Rutgers-led research finds biomineral structures formed by marine algae foment viral infection, contributing positively to capture CO2. A Rutgers-led team of scientists studying virus-host interactions of a globally abundant, armor-plated marine algae, Emiliania huxleyi, has found that the circular, chalk plates the algae produce can act as catalysts for viral infection, which has vast consequences for trillions of microscopic oceanic creatures and …

Inaugural Rutgers Shellfish Research Symposium Brings Together Growers and Researchers

Eastern Oysters

The inaugural Rutgers Shellfish Research Symposium, in partnership with the New Jersey Aquaculture Association and the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, was held on January 18 at the NJAES Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve The symposium was organized by Michael DeLuca, director of the Rutgers Aquaculture Innovation Center, and Michael Acquafredda, (GSNB’19) a Rutgers graduate of the doctoral program in Ecology and …

Rutgers Launches Collaborative to Harness University Expertise to Support Offshore Wind Energy Development

wind turbine

Rutgers has launched the Offshore Wind Collaborative to coordinate and build expertise in offshore wind research across the university community and to support workforce development pathways to employment in this industry. Leading the establishment of the collaborative is Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, director of the Office of Resource and Economic Development at Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, along with Josh Kohut, professor, Department of …

SEBS Scientists Explore How Life Flourishes Near Underwater Volcanoes

Costa Ventriani’s science group L-R: Matteo Selci, Martina Cascone, Donato Giovanelli, Costa Vetriani, Olivia Cannon, Ian Schlegel, Avanthika Bharath aboard the RV Atlantis.

SEBS scientist Costa Vetriani, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, is currently on the research vessel Atlantis with three of his graduate students: Avanthika Bharath, Olivia Cannon and Ian Schlegel. They are traveling 1000 miles from the shores of Costa Rica to explore and sample the underwater volcanoes along the East Pacific rise. On board is the deep-sea submarine …

Nationwide 4-H STEM Challenge Highlights Rutgers’ Pioneering Ocean Research

Children in Mercer County recently learned about the role glider technology plays in helping scientists understand the impact of a changing climate and how we can develop solutions to manage and mitigate the problems as part of the 4-H STEM Challenge.

More than 300,000 youth nationwide are learning about Rutgers’ pioneering ocean research using underwater gliders to understand the effects of climate change as part of this year’s 4-H STEM Challenge. This is the first year Rutgers was chosen to develop the challenge in partnership with the National 4-H Council. “This is a great example of taking our work from Rutgers and …

RU COOL Marks 30th Anniversary at the Forefront of Climate Change Research and Ocean Discovery

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Rick Spinrad; President Jonathan Holloway; Distinguished Professor Scott Glenn, co-director of Rutgers Center for Ocean Observing Leadership; and Craig McLean (RC ’79), former assistant administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research at NOAA (left to right), toured the ocean glider maintenance room during a celebration marking the university’s excellence in ocean research and education over the last 30 years. Photo credit: Nick Romanenko.

Rutgers, NOAA, and glider maker mark RUCOOL milestone. For 30 years, Rutgers’ Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RUCOOL) has taken the lead in pioneering research that has changed our understanding of the oceans and the way information is collected. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Rick Spinrad joined Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and marine and coastal science researchers and …

Living at the Shore After Sandy: Should Residents Stay – or Go?

Kenneth Miller stands in front of a rebuilt home in Waretown, New Jersey, off Barnegat Bay. Shelley Kusnetz

New Jersey needs to plan for at least a 3-foot sea level rise by 2100, Rutgers researchers warn. Whether to buy or build a home at the Jersey Shore has become more complicated and personal for Kenneth Miller – a Rutgers expert in sea level change and global warming – since Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey’s seaside communities a decade …

Using Lasers, a Van, and Engineering Models, Rutgers Team Maps Where the Flood Water Will Go

Rutgers engineering professor Jie Gong and his team drove through areas hit hard by Superstorm Sandy to collect 3-D images of hurricane damage to help plan a smart recovery.

A professor of engineering leads an effort to digitalize New Jersey communities to predict flooding and gauge storm damage risk. The forecast calls for a foot of rain. Floodwater will submerge roads and ruin structures. The question is which roads and structures. While flood maps have provided some answers, surveys are laborious and expensive, so they rarely have all the …

Rutgers Sandy Operation Helps Forecasters Predict Severe Storms, Saving Livelihood Worldwide

Travis Miles inspects a Rutgers ocean glider at the Marine Field Station on the Mullica Hill Estuary. Photo: Shelley Kusnetz

Researchers continue to advance hurricane science, leading to increased forecast accuracy and lead times. As Superstorm Sandy approached the New Jersey coastline, a single Rutgers glider deployed off Tuckerton by hurricane scientists at Rutgers University Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RUCOOL), provided an ominous warning. The water mass known as the “Mid-Atlantic cold pool”– an area of cool water off the coast that traditionally …

How Rutgers Is Forging the Next Generation of Climate Change Problem Solvers

Larry Niles, an independent wildlife biologist, describes the ecosystem of the Cumberland County shore to Rutgers students, with the Delaware River behind him. The students are banding migratory shorebirds. Photo: Lisa Auermuller

Training program created in wake of Superstorm Sandy brings graduate students from varied disciplines together to solve real-world climate problems. As a child, Dan Blanco watched low-income neighborhoods in his native Chicago flood during storms while the more affluent enclaves did not. Now, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in atmospheric sciences at Rutgers so he can further explore – …