Underwater baselines established by URI students after Hurricane Sandy

UNIVERSITY OF Rhode Island doctoral students, from left to right, who are involved in the ocean floor mapping project: Casey Hearn, Monique LaFrance Bartley, Sean Scannell, Nicholas Englehart and Mitchell Kennedy. Scannell graduated this year with a marine affairs degree from URI; Englehart and Kennedy earned degrees in geological oceanography. Hearn and Bartley are Graduate School of Oceanography doctoral students. / COURTESY MONIQUE LAFRANCE BARTLEY
UNIVERSITY OF Rhode Island doctoral students, from left to right, who are involved in the ocean floor mapping project: Casey Hearn, Monique LaFrance Bartley, Sean Scannell, Nicholas Englehart and Mitchell Kennedy. Scannell graduated this year with a marine affairs degree from URI; Englehart and Kennedy earned degrees in geological oceanography. Hearn and Bartley are Graduate School of Oceanography doctoral students. / COURTESY MONIQUE LAFRANCE BARTLEY

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Using sonar and other tools, researchers and University of Rhode Island students are mapping the Atlantic Ocean floor to measure changes after Hurricane Sandy. The group is also offering an online multimedia story on “The Big Reveal: Developing Habitat Maps of the Seafloor of Key Coastal Natural Resources,” so the public can view project photos, interactive maps and more.
Without a baseline, it’s uncertain how Hurricane Sandy affected marine life and areas where they spawn or feed. Researchers are documenting status of those areas now, before the next hurricane.
“The initial step in effectively managing submerged natural resources is to have an accurate and detailed understanding of what resources you actually have,” John King, a URI oceanography professor, said in a statement. “Our project is providing that knowledge about the study sites to the National Park Service for the first time.”
Underwater mapping took place in four areas affected by the 2012 hurricane: Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts; Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland; Fire Island National Seashore in New York; and part of Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey. The URI team examined the Fire Island waters.
“Habitat mapping helps us better understand the ecosystem as a whole and how it’s resilient to or vulnerable to change,” Monique LaFrance Bartley, a doctoral student at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography who is working on the project, said.

The research was funded as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s post-Hurricane Sandy recovery projects. Also participating are the University of Delaware, Rutgers University and the Center for Coastal Studies in Massachusetts.

No posts to display