University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) researcher Matt Gray and a group of University of Maryland researchers and institutions throughout the U.S. received a $10 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to bring advanced technology to the domestic shellfish aquaculture industry, with a specific focus on improving bottom-culture of oysters. The five-year project seeks to develop an autonomous underwater vehicle that can help with management of crops, improve understanding of lease conditions, and do all of this will having a low environmental impact.

Matt Gray

“We believe oyster crops could be better managed and tracked with underwater vehicles equipped with sensors that also have environmental sensing capabilities,” said Matt Gray, an ecophysiologist working on sustainable fisheries at UMCES’ Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, Maryland. “This might sound far-fetched until one learns about how terrestrial farmers can track crop growth and harvest crops while they are far from the field using satellites and computer-controlled tractors.”

Oysters have a long and treasured history in the Chesapeake Bay region, and the aquaculture industry is growing rapidly in Maryland. Gray’s role in this project is to help understand how technology can improve production, as well as explore how technology makes production more ecologically sustainable or even beneficial to the environment. At the Horn Point Laboratory, his work is to broaden the base of knowledge and provide relevant information to help inform stakeholder, management, and policy in Maryland and elsewhere.

“While the wild fisheries are at historic lows, the aquaculture industry is growing rapidly in Maryland and there is a lot of excitement and interest in seeing it grow. Oysters, including those being grown in farms, improve the environment, so the expansion of the industry will also benefit the Bay’s health,” said Gray.

The team, led by Professor Miao Yu of UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering, will develop novel technologies and a sustainable management framework to help farmers tap the economic potential and environmental benefits of shellfish aquaculture, which until now has been bottlenecked by outdated tools and methods.

“Aquaculture of shellfish such as oysters, mussels, and scallops provides a sustainable, environmentally beneficial source of high-protein food, as well a way to grow the economy in rural coastal areas,” said Yu, who will lead the multi-institutional team of engineers, biologists, computer scientists, economists, and educators. “Up to this point, we haven’t really explored this industry’s potential because it still relies on antiquated technologies—in some cases, tools that go back hundreds of years.

“By developing and incorporating advanced technologies into shellfish farming, including the use of underwater drone monitoring and smart harvesting, we can bring about a major boost in production,” Yu said.

Aquaculture of shellfish is perhaps the most ecologically sustainable form of aquaculture, as well as an important driver of coastal economy. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has ranked the U.S. high for potential industry growth of this high-quality and nutritious protein source, but the industry lacks the basic technological advancement found in today’s digital, automated world.

Along with improving the efficiency of aquaculture industries, increasing technological advancements can be beneficial to wild fish populations and the continuing effort to increase the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

“Oysters—including those being grown in farms—improve the environment, so the expansion of the industry will also benefit the Chesapeake Bay’s health,” said Gray. “We’re excited to see how technology can improve production while at the same time making that production more ecologically sustainable or even beneficial to the environment.”

“Drone-based technologies for crop surveying and early disease detection. Vision-guided crop cultivation. GPS-guided harvesting. These technologies exist for land agriculture; why shouldn’t they for shellfish aquaculture, too?” said Clark School Professor Yang Tao, a collaborator on the grant. “It’s a great opportunity for us to help the coastal communities of the U.S. and Maryland, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf, and Chesapeake.”

Current practices and technologies used in shellfish farming have many shortcomings. For example, harvesting of bottom-culture shellfish relies on dredging, in which machinery drags a net across the bottom of an ocean, bay, or other body of water to scrape up and collect buried shellfish. The process is highly imprecise and can be ecologically catastrophic by damaging reefs, which are important habitats for oysters and other aquatic species.

By synthesizing recent advances in the fields of robotics, agricultural automation, computer vision, sensing and imaging, and artificial intelligence, the team will develop new, smart technologies and a management framework to help enhance productivity and profitability for both farmers and coastal economies while better protecting fragile aquatic ecosystems.

“In land agriculture, tractor operators use visual cues such as rows of crops to achieve precise harvesting; however, there are no geo-visual cues available for shellfish farmers. This, coupled with the inaccuracy of naval GPS, leads to disorganized and wasteful dredging paths,” said Tao. “A smart dredging process that incorporates available, modern technologies such as real-time, high-precision GPS, underwater imaging and sonar positioning, and advanced environmental sensing would help—and these are solutions within reach.”

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Talbot Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here

Camper George gathers creatures in his bucket.

With the coronavirus causing the cancellation of this year’s wildly popular EcoCamp at Pickering Creek Audubon Center in a traditional format this year, the Center is excited to present EcoCamp From Home! This program consists week long themed adventures over four weeks from mid July to mid August and gives your outdoor adventurer the guidance and inspiration they need to experience nature this summer the EcoCamp way!  Campers will receive a kit with themed indoor and outdoor activities, a guided activity book and supplies to help them explore outdoors in their own backyards. Camp families will have the opportunity to continue learning with self-guided activities at Pickering Creek, and may safely borrow supplies and equipment at the 400 acre Center.

EcoCamp From Home’s flexible formatting allows families to adapt to their own schedules, and the wide range of activities included helps each camper engage with nature on their terms. Bi-weekly online meetings will provide social interaction, while campers learn about nature and science from Pickering educators and other guest scientists!  It’s a great way for kids to have fun in this summer while connecting with the natural world. This summer program is designed to get kids outdoors for discovery in your own backyard, with adventures in learning that inspire a life-long curiosity in nature and science.  Our fun, time-tested camp programs, adapted for home, spark curiosity and sharpen thinking skills through experimentation, exploration, art, community science and sharing our findings. 

EcoCamp from Home begins with Backyard Bugs from July 13-17 and explores what kinds of bugs are in your backyard or nearby park. Kids will fill their nets with butterflies, beetles, and dragonflies, dig for worms and ants, and check plants for caterpillars! They will see how many bugs they can catch, learn how a bug sees, and improve habitats for bugs at home.  The second week’s theme is Super Scientist from July 20-24 and focuses on learning how to hone investigative science skills.  Campers will observe a seed beginning to germinate, extract DNA from a strawberry, survey wetlands at Pickering Creek or nearby their home and test their engineering skills. Science is all about asking questions about the world around you, and we have a lot of questions!

 Week three features Habitat Heroes from July 27-31 and explores the question, “What makes a habitat thrive?”  Campers will explore local habitats, learn how to tell if they’re healthy or not, and find out how you can help! Build a bird feeder for your yard, test the water at Pickering Creek or a stream near your home, and engineer your own bird’s nest at home. Campers will be heros to local animals and plants! The final week of EcoCamp from Home is entitled Night & Day from August 3-7.  Campers learn how are early birds different than night owls and whether we have the same senses as bugs or bat.  We’ll find out the answers to these questions during this week of daily and nightly games and experiments! Campers will test their senses to their limits, discover how animals sense their habitats, and learn how your own senses can make you a better nature explorer.

EcoCamp From Home activities are designed so that most campers can complete them on their own, however taking on the program as a family activity can be very rewarding and is welcome.

Each week’s themed kit contains an EcoCamp 2020 drawstring bag to keep your camper’s exploration supplies together, plus a wood cookie necklace for their nature names and containers for scooping, collecting, and earth moving. Additional supplies vary by week, including outdoor equipment (i.e. bug nets, kids binoculars), experimental setups (i.e. pipettes, test tubes), and crafts (i.e. pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks).

To learn more and register visit https://pickering.audubon.org/programs/ecocamp-home

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Talbot Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has launched a new online environmental learning series designed to be a resource for teachers, parents, and students during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Washington, D.C., announced schools would be closed until May 15. Virginia and Pennsylvania schools are closed through the end of the school year, while Maryland’s school closure is likely to be extended.

Since the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) founding in 1967, CBF’s education work has focused on a simple motto: Learn Outside. But due to restrictions related to coronavirus, for the first time CBF has cancelled all educational field experiences this spring on CBF boats and outdoor education centers across Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

That’s why CBF is undertaking a new effort to bring outdoor education experiences to teachers and students tasked with learning remotely. This new remote learning series, called “Learn Outside, Learn at Home,” features videos of CBF’s professional educators discussing environmental science topics from around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The online resources are carefully crafted to align with school curriculum and state learning standards.

“These are tough times for everyone. We realize many parents are juggling work and life responsibilities while also caring for children at home due to school closures,” said Tom Ackerman, CBF’s Vice President of Education. “Meanwhile, teachers are grappling with the best ways to educate students remotely. CBF is ready to help. Several new education videos, investigations, and activities are already available and during the next several weeks we’ll add many more. They’re all designed to bring our award-winning Bay education programs into your homes and get students exploring nearby nature.”

Each video is paired with an investigation for students to complete. Students can also explore nature journaling activities to document the environment around their homes and backyards. Schools and teachers both locally‑-such as in Alexandria, VA, and Harford County, MD–as well as from as far away as Oregon are integrating the Learn Outside, Learn at Home series into remote learning efforts.

For adults restricted by stay-at-home orders, CBF is creating educational and entertaining webinars, videos, and blog posts related to news, wildlife, and the environment along local rivers and the Bay. The wide variety of topics include a webinar on dolphins in the Bay, a video and blog post on how COVID-19 is affecting oyster farmers, and an Ask an Expert video series covering topics from oysters to regenerative agriculture.

Over the next few weeks, CBF’s team of educators and scientists will continue creating new material that anyone can benefit from during the pandemic. The new videos and investigations are being compiled at cbf.org/bringhome. To get CBF’s weekly e-mail roundup of engaging new resources, subscribe to the special Save the Bay e-newsletter at cbf.org/newsletter

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Talbot Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here

The recently published work of two oceanographers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory (HPL) displays how ocean warming, sea level rise, and the hardening of shorelines will lead to increased storm surges for Baltimore and other parts of the upper Chesapeake Bay.

The research article by HPL Professor Ming Li and Assistant Research Scientist Fan Zhang was made available in a publication from AGU (American Geophysical Union).

HPL Professor Ming Li and Assistant Research Scientist Fan Zhang.

Using the climate model projections to drive regional atmosphere‐ocean models, Li and Zhang investigated how ocean warming, sea level rise, and coastline management affect storm surge in the semi enclosed Chesapeake Bay. The results: Warmer ocean surface produces stronger storms and leads to higher storm surge throughout the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, the hardening of shorelines will further raise the peak surge height in areas such as Baltimore, which reside in the upper parts of the Chesapeake.

“Although ocean warming and sea level rise are global phenomena, what local people do with coastline management could make a big difference to storm surge and flooding in a semi-enclosed Bay like the Chesapeake Bay,” said Ming Li.

The scientists used Hurricane Isabel (2003) as a case study, showing projections of climatic conditions for 2050 and 2100. While ocean warming is shown to be the main driver of storm surge amplification in the future climate, energy budget analysis also shows that allowing flooding over low‐lying areas leads to a significant energy loss and reduction in the storm surge height in the estuary.

AGU graphic

The research notes the challenges involved in managing coastal inundation risk in the Chesapeake Bay due to its long and convoluted coastlines. Given the large difference in the storm surge height between soft and hard shorelines, coastal communities around the Bay need to explore different mitigation and adaptation strategies to deal with coastal inundation.

For example, allowing for the low‐lying coastal plains of Maryland’s Eastern Shore to be flooded – and assisting the affected coastal communities in elevating their houses and/or migrating to higher grounds – could significantly reduce the storm surge at the metropolitan cities located further upstream.

“By retreating from low-lying rural areas, surge height in Baltimore and Washington, D.C could be reduced by 1.5 feet. The coastal communities around the Chesapeake Bay need to engage in discussions about how to collectively mitigate the flood risk,” said Li. “A potential cost-effective management strategy might be to assist low-lying rural communities to relocate rather than building higher seawalls around the cities.”

It was also noted that while sea level rise will add to the total water level, it only has a moderate effect on the storm surge height itself.

HORN POINT LABORATORY
From the banks of the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, scientists engage in  world-renowned research in oceanography, water quality,  restoration of sea grasses,  marshes and shellfish, and expertise in ecosystem modeling. www.umces.edu/hpl

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Talbot Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here