State of the Climate Report: Temperature, Sea Level Continue to Rise in NJ

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Rutgers-led report details 2022 climate trends for state and local leaders. New Jersey’s summer of 2022, with the warmest August on record and the lowest rainfall levels seen in more than 50 years, offers a glimpse into how climate change may affect future summers in the Garden State, according to a new report being released by researchers from Rutgers and …

Rutgers Partners With New Jersey Schools to Develop Historic Climate Change Curriculum

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Experts from the university to launch series of workshops in collaboration with teachers throughout the state. Rutgers will play a central role in New Jersey’s historic move to become the first state in the nation to teach all public school students – from K-12 – about climate change across all subjects. Experts in climate science, science communication and science, technology, …

Rutgers Senior Studies the Ocean’s Impact on the World

Salvatore Fricano’s curiosity about the ocean fueled his research on everything from ocean observation modeling technology in Antarctica to the effect of climate change on fish in the mid-Atlantic. Courtesy of Salvatore Fricano

Salvatore Fricano is helping plan for the first worldwide navigation of a new underwater ocean glider. Salvatore Fricano grew up spending summers on the Jersey Shore, where the vastness of the ocean captivated his imagination. “I just saw the horizon with nothing on it and it looked like an adventure waiting to happen,” he says. “I was interested in exploring …

Rising Waters on Our Coasts and What It Means for Public Access?

Flooding along Great Bay Blvd in Tuckerton, NJ in March of 2023. Photo: Matt Drews

New Jersey law ensures the public’s right to access coastal shorelines and waters. To help people know where to access tidal waterways and get information about the amenities at each location, the state has an online map that shows over 3,900 public access points. However, the impacts of climate change are likely to affect public access to New Jersey’s coast. Many locations …

Rutgers Students Work to Bring Wind Energy to New Jersey

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This September, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an order to increase New Jersey’s offshore wind goal to nearly 50 percent by 2040. A group of 12 Rutgers students is hard at work to help the state meet that deadline. They are part of the inaugural cohort of the Wind Institute Fellowship Program: a pilot launched last April at Rutgers and several …

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

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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 …

On 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, New Jerseyans Believe in Climate Change, See It as a Threat, and Are Concerned About Its Effects

Point Pleasant New Jersey on Sunday October 28th, 2012. One day before Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Photo is 32 hours prior to the superstorm making landfall on the evening of October 29th. Photo: Shutterstock

Support for Various Climate-Related Policies, but Not How to Pay for It As the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches and more than a year out from Hurricane Ida, the vast majority of New Jerseyan believe the Earth’s climate is changing, see it as a serious threat to the state and are concerned about the effects of changing climate conditions …

Reflections on Superstorm Sandy, 10 Years Later

Scenes like these were common along the Jersey shore in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The borough of Mantoloking (pictured) was particularly hit hard. Photo: Matt Drews

Combating climate change is one of our greatest challenges. Rutgers experts break down the policies, infrastructure changes, social justice reforms and other work that will be necessary to weather the storm. Robert Kopp Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesCo-Director, University Office of Climate ActionPI, Rutgers Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) Sandy caused extreme flooding across our region. In New …

Blue Acres: The Art and Science of Managing Flood-Prone Open-Space Properties in New Jersey

Looking north along a former block of Watson Ave in Woodbridge, NJ. Formerly a quiet residential street with houses, frequent flooding has resulted in this segment of roadway being repurposed into open space with a walking path through the Blue Acres program. Photo: Matt Drews

By Carol Peters, EOAS Communications A wildlife and conservation management expert for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, EOAS faculty member and Associate Professor Brooke Maslo works with local NJ municipalities to help them manage and restore properties in FEMA-established flood-prone areas purchased through the DEP Blue Acres program. Imagine the plight of families in New Jersey who own homes in the state’s …

JC NERR Plays a Key Role in New Jersey Coastal Community Resilience Consortium

Killifish sampling in the Grassle Pocket Marsh

Task One: Complete Last December, the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR), along with multiple other NJ partners and institutions, were awarded a grant to fund the implementation of the newly-established New Jersey Coastal Community Resilience Consortium. In addition to the JC NERR, partners include Monmouth University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Stockton University, NJ Sea Grant Program, Montclair …