Streaming live at 3:20-3:28 p.m ET on Fri. Jan. 22 on https://www.sciencefriday.com/. Science Friday (Public Radio) interviews Asa Rennermalm. An associate professor in the Department of Geography, at Rutgers University New Brunswick, Rennermalm is a physical geographer specializing in climate change, hydrology, and glaciology of the polar regions. In 2019 she was both a Kavli Fellow (National Academy of Sciences) and …
Greenland Melting Likely Increased by Bacteria in Sediment
Microbes in meltwater stream sediment may help boost island’s contribution to sea-level rise Bacteria are likely triggering greater melting on the Greenland ice sheet, possibly increasing the island’s contribution to sea-level rise, according to Rutgers scientists. That’s because the microbes cause sunlight-absorbing sediment to clump together and accumulate in the meltwater streams, according to a Rutgers-led study – the first of …
Big Differences in How Coral Reef Fish Larvae are Dispersed
Rutgers-led research could help scientists improve conservation of species How the larvae of colorful clownfish that live among coral reefs in the Philippines are dispersed varies widely, depending on the year and seasons – a Rutgers-led finding that could help scientists improve conservation of species. Right after most coral reef fish hatch, they join a swirling sea of plankton as tiny, …
How to Identify Heat-Stressed Corals
“Coral hospital” tool could help safeguard reefs facing climate change Researchers have found a novel way to identify heat-stressed corals, which could help scientists pinpoint the coral species that need protection from warming ocean waters linked to climate change, according to a Rutgers-led study. “This is similar to a blood test to assess human health,” said senior author Debashish Bhattacharya, a Distinguished Professor in …
Department of Environmental Sciences Wins Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award
By the Office of Communications at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Rutgers Department of Environmental Sciences (DES) was named winner of the 2020 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award, in the Environmental Education (Educator Led) category, at a virtual ceremony held on Dec 14. This award category recognizes “an educator, student, group of students, or class that has planned …
COVID-19 Pandemic had Big Impact on Commercial Fishing in Northeast
Rutgers study shows resilience among fishermen facing market disruptions With restaurants and supply chains disrupted due to the global coronavirus pandemic, two-fifths of commercial fishermen surveyed from Maine through North Carolina did not go fishing earlier this year, according to a Rutgers study that also documented their resilience and adaptation. Of those who kept fishing, nearly all reported a decline …
Planning Ahead Protects Fish and Fisheries
Effective planning for climate change helps avoid conflicts over ocean uses Conservation of fish and other marine life migrating from warming ocean waters will be more effective and also protect commercial fisheries if plans are made now to cope with climate change, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Science Advances. “Sticking our heads in the sand doesn’t work,” said lead author Malin …
The Department of Environmental Sciences is Awarded a 2020 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award
The award recognizes the department’s excellence in environmental education The Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2020 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Education (Educator Led). In a December 7 email, Marc Rogoff, Lead Education Specialist at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Public Participation and Environmental Education, notified Donna Fennell, professor and …
#EOAS in the News: Heidi Fuchs Discusses how Snail Adaptations to Climate Change are Potentially Deadly
Noticing that two snail species on the U.S. east coast have adapted to climate change by moving into shallower, warmer water, a habitat that could be potentially deadly for them, #EOAS faculty member Heidi Fuchs and her colleagues examined 60 years of data on 50 invertebrate species including shellfish, sea stars, and worms in the Atlantic, and saw that they too had …
#EOAS in the News: How Snowy will this Winter Be? David Robinson Weighs In
La Niña will be strong during the upcoming winter, so does this mean New Jersey will get more than the average amount of snow this year? EOAS faculty member and N.J. State Climatologist David Robinson told The Star Ledger (nj.com) in the article La Niña has strengthened, what this means for N.J. this winter, “snow is awfully difficult to predict, as …