榴莲视频

PhD student Alan Austin is shedding light on the importance of water quality to help stakeholders better manage the ecological health of estuaries in parts of New England and Brazil.

As an undergraduate student, Alan Austin developed a passion for ocean dynamics after listening to many stories about how oceanographic research benefits the environment. 鈥淚t was hard to believe that so many large-scale physical and biological features that we take for granted are completely dependent on oceanic processes,鈥� he said.

While pursuing his master鈥檚 degree at 榴莲视频鈥檚 School for Marine Science & Technology, he worked as a field and lab assistant in the Coastal Systems Program lab at SMAST where he learned about the problems within our coastal waters and estuaries. 鈥淎lan just volunteered for everything and is an excellent field scientist, so we just had to keep him at SMAST,鈥� says Brian Howes, Chancellor Professor at SMAST and one of Alan鈥檚 co-advisors. 鈥淗aving earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in wildlife biology, with a minor in chemistry, and then earning his master鈥檚 degree studying physical oceanographic processes, he was well-positioned to work on estuarine processes, which span all three disciplines 鈥� biology, chemistry, and physics,鈥� says Professor Miles Sundermeyer, his other co-advisor.

The result? Alan is now earning his PhD in the dual-degree program jointly offered by 榴莲视频 and the University of S茫o Paulo. 鈥淚 thought that this could be a great opportunity to work with two lagoonal estuaries in two separate parts of the world,鈥� said Alan who is comparing the structure and function of a temperate and subtropical estuary in different coastal settings within different regimes of precipitation, temperature, and wind variation. 鈥淭here are large differences in watershed land-use with higher population densities in New England temperate estuaries, and greater agricultural activity associated with the sub-tropical estuary I am studying in Brazil. All of these differences influence the water quality and ecological health of the estuaries.鈥�

Part of Alan鈥檚 research involves conducting field studies to support his circulation/water-quality models. 鈥淲ithin Pleasant Bay on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the barrier beach that forms the lagoon has been changing on about a decadal cycle,鈥� he explained. 鈥淢odeling the hydrodynamics and water-quality patterns within the Pleasant Bay estuary will provide neighboring towns with information on how the water quality of the system is likely to change with changes in the barrier beach and tidal inlet. This will help towns to anticipate and better manage nutrient loading and habitat/water quality within the estuary under ever-changing conditions.鈥�

His work in Brazil focuses on the Canan茅ia estuary, primarily modeling the hydrodynamics and the water-quality patterns based on collected data. 鈥淯nlike Pleasant Bay, which is influenced significantly by changes in its connection to the open ocean, Canan茅ia is mainly influenced by a large river that feeds into it. As the first area inhabited in Brazil, and also a very important area for numerous fisheries and with expansive mangrove forests (largest mangrove forest in the state of S茫o Paulo); determining whether or not water quality is negatively influencing the aquatic habitats is important,鈥� Alan said. 鈥淲hile they clearly differ in numerous ways, relating the similarities between these two environments will hopefully help improve understanding of environmental planning and research in other tropical and subtropical estuarine systems.鈥�

Alan鈥檚 research will address the watershed-based nutrient loads, which are feeding into these lagoon-type estuaries. 鈥淢odeling the water quality of Pleasant Bay as it changes over time will aid in computing what nutrient load the estuary can withstand and how this might change over time. In Canan茅ia, the collected data and modeling will provide a clearer picture of what is going on within the estuary in terms of circulation and nutrients,鈥� he explained.

His research will benefit the towns bordering the estuary by helping them prepare for various problems associated with nutrient loading. 鈥淕ood ecological health fosters biodiversity and habitat stability. Poor ecological health leads to habitat degradation and decreased biodiversity and reduced resource value, which can happen as the result of excessive nutrients,鈥� he said. The ultimate goal is to understand the linkage between hydrodynamics, nutrients, and ecological health within both regions.

鈥淭he number and density of people living on the world鈥檚 coasts is as high as it has ever been. With Pleasant Bay鈥檚 barrier beach and inlet changing every decade, its nutrient tolerance, as well as the hydrodynamics within the system, also change. This changing estuary influences the surrounding population,鈥� Alan explained. 鈥淐ollecting data and modeling these systems will help prepare local communities for future changes in both of these systems and help them develop management actions that might need to occur.鈥�