Recent work from researchers at several LTER sites has synthesized the current understanding of ecological impacts of man-made coastal armoring. The study looked at diverse systems, including constructed oyster reefs at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER. Former UVA Environmental Sciences student Kyle Emery (now a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara) is a coauthor on the study and is quoted in an article on the knowledge gaps it identified.
Environmental Sciences professor Dr. Stephen Macko will present findings from analyzing stable isotopes in Edgar Allan Poe’s hair for information on his diet and death. The presentation will take place at 7PM on August 24th at the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA. For more information see the Poe Museum Brochure.
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum in association with the Environmental Sciences Department opens the exhibit “Defending the Ocean with Art” on Friday August 25th at 4pm (reception at 5pm) in the Brown Library of Clark Hall. On view are twenty-one sculptures and prints by contemporary indigenous artists that celebrate the central importance of the ocean to human life and responds to its current threats. Plastic debris and abandoned fishing nets are trapping and killing a rich array of marine life, eventually drifting to the bottom of the sea, suffocating the seabed and coral reefs.
A Delmarvanow article covering work by the Nature Conservancy and UVA’s Environmental Sciences Department was pick up by UVA Today. Scientists, graduate students, and volunteers are using “oyster castles” constructed from concrete blocks to protect eroding shorelines and provide habitat for oysters. Read more in the Delmarvanow article.
Professor Thomson’s guest editorial in Scientific American comments on the Trump Administration’s decision to suspend a study of the health consequences of mountaintop mining for residents of coal communities.
Department of Environmental Sciences research on coastal erosion has been highlighted in UVA Today. Graduate student Amy Ferguson’s work at the Virginia Eastern Shore was featured in a video on coastal erosion and living shorelines. Check out the video and read more here.
Department of Environmental Sciences graduate student Bin Wang’s recent paper “Sensitivity of global greenhouse gas budgets to tropospheric ozone pollution mediated by the biosphere” has been featured on environmentalresearchweb. Wang and his coauthors/advisors Hank Shugart and Manuel Lerdau found that high concentrations of tropospheric ozone pollution could stimulate soil carbon dioxide emissions, transforming rural areas from a sink into a source of greenhouse gases, according to scientists in the US.
UVA Environmental Sciences Professor Deborah Lawrence was interviewed by UVA Sustainability about her new, 1-credit course “Words on paper: history of climate science, policy and art”. The course will combine climate science, climate policy, art, and politics, and will also allow for those not enrolled in the course to participate. For more information check out the video interview on UVA Sustainability’s Facebook page.
A paper led by University of Maryland’s Sujay Kaushal and co-authored by UVA Envi Sci’s Professor Mike Pace has been published in PNAS and covered by Technology Networks. The study used data from 232 USGS sites to find that most streams and rivers in the eastern U.S. are becoming saltier and more alkaline. Read the paper at PNAS and the article and author interviews on Technology Networks.
