Located in Cambridge, MD, Horn Point Laboratory is part of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science --
a fully-accredited graduate school and research facility conducting environmental research on a variety of ecosystems. From dealing with the effects of climate change to oyster restoration and other
science-based efforts that lead to a healthier Chesapeake Bay,
Horn Point Laboratory IS environmental science.
|
|
UMCES/HPL remains closed to the public through the rest of 2020. We look forward to sharing time with you on campus as soon as it is safe and possible. Until then, please stay safe and follow us on facebook |
|
Screen shot from MWEE Academy where HPL faculty and students, ShoreRivers educators, and 14 teachers from the across the Eastern Shore were connected virtually for a 5 day day workshop. |
|
Collaboration Expands Environmental Education on the Eastern Shore |
|
ShoreRivers and Horn Point faculty and students teamed up to create a five-day professional development summer workshop, Meaningful Watershed Environmental Experience (MWEE) Academy. 14 teachers, ranging from third grade through high school, from across the Eastern Shore, began a year-long experience aimed at growing environmental education. Held virtually, it was declared a "great success" by all. The next step in this year-long MWEE Academy experience involves teachers working in collaboration with ShoreRivers and UMCES’ Horn Point Laboratory to construct their own environmental education modules designed specifically for their class grade level and school community environmental issues.
|
|
Impoverishing Our Rivers, Estuaries and Oceans with Excess Nutrients |
|
Sharp increases of nutrient pollution are negatively impacting human health and water quality. To maximize production, be it crop or meat, too often what goes by the way side are excess nutrients, a process called cultural eutrophication. The result is disruption of delicate eco-balances from rivers and streams to our coastal estuaries and oceans. By enriching the land to feed a growing population we are impoverishing the sea and starving our rivers and estuaries. In two recent papers Pat Glibert and Tom Malone HPL Professors, describe how human activity is resulting in reduced water quality, oxygen depletion, and toxic algal events. “In both fresh and marine systems nutrient pollution is increasing, harmful algal blooms are increasing, hypoxic zones around the world are now found, all related to nutrient sources,” said Glibert.
|
|
Dr. Kenny Rose, the France-Merrick Professor in Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration at Horn Point Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. |
|
By the Way, How Do You Predict the Behavior of Rockfish or Crabs? |
|
Mathematical models—like those used for weather forecasts or to predict storm tracks—are key to studying and predicting many environmental phenomena. The bottom line is that the health of the Bay and of its fisheries now depend on careful management, and today’s management practices in turn depend increasingly on detailed data collection and on sophisticated modeling—including modeling the behavior of fish. Many large-scale restoration projects rely heavily on computer simulation models to determine the best ways to restore the system and how progress will track in time.
Spy science editor, Al Hammond, dives into the subject of modeling and its importance to predicting the future for the Chesapeake Bay with Professor Kenny Rose.
|
|
Records are Being Broken
as Extremes Become the New Normal
|
|
It’s not just your imagination: July was Baltimore’s hottest month in our lifetimes. Marylanders should expect more extremes. Dr. Victoria Coles', Associate Professor of Physical Oceanography, latest research focuses on climate extremes rather than averages in areas surrounding the Chesapeake Bay since 1900. While hottest temperatures are not trending up, there is a trend of more warm days and warm nights. "It's the difference between intensity and duration", says Coles. "I really worry about these nighttime temperatures and individuals who can't afford air conditioning."
|
|
Daniella Hanacek, HPL student, Receives Prestigious Fellowship |
|
Daniella is one of two UMCES students to receive a NOAA, Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship. The new, two-year fellowship includes a generous stipend, tuition, travel, and research (supply/analysis) funding, as well as extensive professional development. “I am thrilled to participate in this fellowship and work towards helping scientists and communities understand coastal challenges right here in the Chesapeake Bay,” says Hanacek. “Ultimately, I hope this work will enhance coastal resilience by informing marsh restoration and conservation.” Daniella is completing her fellowship at the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve - Maryland, Monie Bay component of the Reserve, located in Somerset County.
|
|
HPL Virtual Fall Seminar Series
Assessing Coastal Risk and Enhancing Resilience
Horn Point Lab is hosting 12 virtual seminars with speakers from around the world sharing their knowledge about about risks to our coastal communities and ecosystems and ways to enhance resilience.
Seminars are Wednesday at 11:00 am and are free and open to the public.
|
|
Other Events that connect science with the environment....
|
|
Chesapeake Film Festival October 1-4
Virtual and Free
|
|
With ongoing research programs spanning from the estuarine waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the open waters of the world's oceans, Horn Point Laboratory is a national leader in applying environmental research and discovery to solve society’s most pressing environmental problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
