All Climate Events

Friday, December 10, 2021. 12:00 PM. Webinar: Rutgers Raritan River Consortium Webinar. Robert Chant, Nicole Fahrenfeld, Subhasis Giri, and Michele Bakacs, Rutgers University; Heather Fenyk, Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership.. Sponsored by the Rutgers River Consortium. Register here.

Robert Chant, Professor, Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers - Microplastics in the Raritan (revised title and description coming soon!)

Nicole Fahrenfeld, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Rutgers - Nontuberculous mycobacteria in the Raritan River and home plumbing biofilms. Description: Several nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species are opportunistic pathogens, disproportionately affecting the immunocompromised. A field survey was conducted to understand the prevalence of these microbes in home plumbing biofilms and surface water in NJ.

Subhasis Giri, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Rutgers - Assessing the potential impacts of climate and land use change on water fluxes and sediment transport in a loosely coupled system. Climate and land use change are the two primary factors that affect different components of hydrological cycle as well as sediment transport in the watershed. Quantifying potential impact of these two stressors enables decision makers to formulate better water resource management strategies to adapt to the changing environment. To that end, we have developed an integrated modeling framework employing an Agent-based approach to simulate land use conversion that then serves as input to the Soil and Water Assessment tool (SWAT) in a loosely coupled fashion. The outcomes of this study will facilitate watershed resiliency work which will make communities more resilient under changing climate and land use.

Michele Bakacs, Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers, and Heather Fenyk, Board President, Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership - Update on pathogens sampling in the Lower Raritan River. Little water quality data exists that can inform the safety of recreating on the highly urbanized Lower Raritan River. The Lower Raritan is actively used for fishing, paddling, catching bait fish, crabbing, jet skiing, wading and even swimming on a hot day, yet limited information is available for pathogen levels that have a direct effect on human health. Over the past several years researchers and community volunteers collected pathogen samples at public access sites along the tidal portions of the Raritan River. The sites are not regularly monitored by the state and include non-bathing beaches, kayak/canoe launches and fishing docks. The results were immediately made available to the public so the community could make informed decisions about the safety of recreating on the water.