It's flux season! Our researchers took to the field yesterday to retrieve sediment cores from Crocker Pond in Barnstable, MA!
Big shout out to our amazing divers, Jen and Jill! š¤æ
Some pictures from today's IMS Symposium at SMAST! Master's student, Gracie Dixon, presented preliminary results of nitrogen attenuation studies at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Reserve, a cranberry bog restoration project in Harwich, MA. This work is only made possible by the incredible and talented team of interns and staff at the CSP! š
āWelcome our new Lab Manager to the CSP Crew āļøš
Anna lisa Mudahy is a research associate and the analytical lab manager at CSP. Anna lisa got her BS in Marine Sciences (2018) and her Master of Oceanography (2022) from the University of Connecticut. She loves food, chemistry, rocks, space and a good fantasy book! Anna's goal is to help protect the earth so that it can be a gift to those who live here now and in the future.
This week was a double header for the CSP Crew!
Our very own Jessica Thomas completed her PhD dissertation defense on "Micro-siting and Nitrogen Removal Efficiency of Liquid Injection Permeable Reactive Barriers in Residential Watersheds of Southeastern Massachusetts"! Her research findings are impactful, inspiring, and incredibly useful to the water quality initiatives our team is working towards. Dr. Thomas, we are very proud of you!
John Clark, our elemental analyzer guru, has defended his master's thesis today on the "Effects of Tidal Inundation and Biogeochemical Factors on Revegetation of a Long Term Occluded Salt Marsh"! This research is directly informing marsh restoration initiatives currently taking place in the Nonquitt Salt Marsh of Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Long days of intense field work and data work ups have paid off! John, we are so proud of you! Master of the Marsh!
ššNew CSP Memberšæš»
šŖ“šŖ»Our brilliant PhD student Julia Charestš„¼š«§
Hi! My name is Julia and Iām a PhD student and graduate research assistant at CSP. I have my masterās in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, where I conducted research on the effect of prescribed burning on denitrification in a restored tidal marsh. Before that I worked as a summer research assistant for Woodwell Climate Research Center and I attended Union College where I received my bachelorās in Biology with minors in Geoscience and French. I love running, reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors. Getting to work in the coastal ecosystems of Massachusetts is my childhood dream and Iām so excited to call CSP home in this new chapter of my graduate studies!
In this month's edition of The Current, read about our very own @sarajanebean , as she reflects on 23 years at the Coastal Systems Program! We are beyond proud of all she has accomplished, and so incredibly grateful for her contributions to our lab. She is a foundational pillar in everything we do, and although starting a new position, is still very involved in our mission to support coastal environments and those who live there.
Use the QR code to read more or click the link in our story and bio!
How do you wrap up 23 wonderful, amazing, beautiful years with the Coastal Systems Program, SMAST???? The truth is ā¦. you canāt. There arenāt enough words for a place and a group of people who shaped more than half my life.
As excited as I am to start my next chapter with the RI Audubon Stormwater Innovation Center on December 1 (and I truly am!), my heart is also heavy. Leaving UMassD SMAST feels like leaving home. These arenāt just colleagues Iām saying goodbye toā¦ they are my friends who have become my family.
I walked into CSP in 2002 as a tiny silly intern who had no idea what the future held. Everything I have become as a researcher came from here. Brian Howes took me under his wing, and surrounded me with knowledge, support, and tough love. CSP taught me about eutrophication, nutrient management, fieldwork grit, scientific curiosity, and what it means to work with passion. I would not be who I am today without this.
Twenty-three yearsā¦ 23 years of learning, stumbling, succeeding, laughing, and crying. Long days in the sunshine and longer days in yucky storm pipes and places such as āmuddy butt creekā. Choppy waters, quiet marshes, messy boots, and unforgettable sunrises & sunsets. 23 years of growing up alongside some of the most incredible people Iāve ever met. I met my husband through CSPā¦ my maid of honor & lifelong friends. I have built a life intertwined with this work and honestly my kiddos have too!!! They have been visiting the lab and sampling with me before they could even walk.
So yesā¦ this beautiful chapter is ending. But the love, the lessons, the friendship, and the memories arenāt going anywhere.
I am grateful beyond words. For the beautiful days and the hard ones. For every muddy, salty, and exhausting moment. For all the equipment failures and snafusā¦ For every laugh and every challenge. For all of it.
Feeling all the feelsā¦ and holding onto every single one. I love you CSP. You will always be my family. Canāt wait to for this new chapter and to continue collaborating but in a different way!!!
The Town of Barnstable and Coastal Systems Program finished the field season for the floating wetlands project today! 10 rafts, over 200 plugs of native plants, lots of digging, weighing, and organizing by species! Next up is to take subsamples back to the CSP laboratory and to find out how much phosphorus these wetlands helped remove from Long Pond-Marston Mills! Stay tuned!
