I was asked to give a presentation at the New York State of the Science on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy workshop. My work was included in a panel session titled "If we build it, who will come? Exploring artificial reef effects associated with offshore wind installations". In the panel, I presented research on the artificial reef communities that utilize the oil and gas platforms offshore of Santa Barbara, CA. I shared what we have learned in California to provide insight on the design of offshore structures, methods for monitoring and assessing the artificial reef community, and considerations for the phases of offshore infrastructure: installation, maintenance and operation, and decommissioning. Today our lab began a 3-year project analyzing real-time baleen whale acoustic detection data from a buoy placed offshore of Norfolk, VA. The buoy was installed by Mark Baumgartner at Woods Hole, and it was funded by the transportation corporation CMA-CGM. The buoy has a DMON2 hydrophone that listens for, and automatically detects baleen whale vocalizations. My graduate students and I will assess real-time data each day to determine whether fin, humpback, sei or right whale vocalizations have been detected near the buoy. These data will be shared on websites like Whale Map and cell phone apps such as WhaleAlert to alert vessel captains of baleen whale presence and aid in management decision-making. You can follow our detections at the Robots 4 Whales website. I spent a few days at the McKenzie field station participating in the Teachers On The Estuary workshop. We spent time on all three rivers of the ACE Basin (Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto) exploring the salt marsh - tidal creek ecosystem. We did some trawling and a plankton tow in the Edisto river, we conducted a Surface Elevation Table survey to monitor sediment accretion in the salt marsh and we toured the rice trunks at Nemours Plantation. We also got to experiment with traditional indigo tie-dye. The goal of the workshop was to think through curriculum plans for bringing students into the estuary. I had a great time and met a lot of fantastic teachers! |
AuthorErin Meyer-Gutbrod is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina. Her lab researches human impacts to marine ecosysems. Archives
April 2024
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