Coast Watchers
UNH's Jackson Estuarine Lab celebrates 50 years!
For the last 50 years, scientists and students have kept their fingers on the pulse of Great Bay and coastal New Hampshire thanks to a UNH outpost tucked along the shores of the state’s largest estuary. The Jackson Estuarine Laboratory (JEL), located on Great Bay’s Adams Point, celebrates its 50thanniversary this year — that’s five decades of research on microbes, oysters, seaweeds eelgrass, lobsters, horseshoe crabs, water quality and so much more. A lot has changed since 1970, but one thing has remained steadfast: JEL’s commitment to advancing the understanding and preservation of estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems.
Pandemic-hit oyster farmers turn to conservation to survive
When the pandemic hit, oyster farmers found the restuarants that sold their bivalves had largely closed.
DURHAM, N.H. -- When the pandemic struck last year, oyster farmer Chris Burtis soon realized the restaurants that bought his oysters had mostly closed. Without a new market, his Ferda Farms faced potential economic ruin.
By Transplanting Eelgrass, Scientists Aim to Restore Balance to Great Bay
Great Bay is a complex, convoluted system, with seven tidal rivers feed into the estuary that connects to the sea.
Great Bay is a complex, convoluted system. That's the first thing that Melissa Paly will tell you about it. She's been a waterkeeper there for five years, working with the Conservation Law Foundation to advocate for the health of the ecosystem.
Assaulted Marsh
New research looks for answers to save salt marshes from sea level rise
New UNH research is shedding light on why salt marshes are being lost to sea level rise and how to save them from destruction. The study, which was recently published in the scientific journal Estuaries and Coasts, is the first to assess the impact of flooding stress on belowground plant growth in a Gulf of Maine salt marsh and link the results directly to the marsh’s ability to keep pace with rising sea level.
Building Coastal Resiliency
UNH researchers are partners in salt marsh study
There is a large section of salt marsh along Crommet Creek in Durham, New Hampshire, that doesn’t look the same anymore. What was once a productive stand of lush marsh grass is now a barren mudflat. The change is a symptom of the degradation of coastal wetlands taking place across the country due to accelerated flooding and sea level rise.
UNH research ID bacteria contaminating seafood
DURHAM — University of New Hampshire scientists in partnership with the FDA and public health and shellfish management agencies in five states have identified a new strain of a bacterial pathogen that has contaminated seafood, sickening shellfish consumers along the Atlantic Coast at increasing rates over the last decade.
