Your editor, Ben Sherman, will become the new NOAA Public Affairs Officer for NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) effective Monday, April 7. He can be reached there by email at ben.sherman@noaa.gov or by telephone at 301-713-3066. For Sea Grant inquires please contact NOAA Research Public Affairs Officer Jana Goldman at jana.goldman@noaa.gov or by telephone at 301-713-2483 or visit the Sea Grant Media Center website at www.seagrantnews.org .
Sea Grant Research News:
Oregon Sea Grant Research May Help Solve Non-Point Source Pollution Riddle
Record Low Water Levels Possible On Great Lakes
Media Relations Office Suspending Services
Sea Grant Web Spotlight: HazNet - http://www.haznet.org
Sea Grant Calendar Spotlight:
"Inaugural National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration"
April 13, 2003 - April 16, 2003, Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor Hotel, Baltimore, MD
SEA GRANT RESEARCH NEWS:
Oregon Sea Grant Research May Help Solve Non-Point Source Pollution Riddle
Non-point source pollution is one of the great riddles of environmental management. If you don't know where it is coming from, how are you going to keep it from coming back?
Oregon Sea Grant funding of research by microbiologist Katharine Field has led to the development of a new test for the source of water-born fecal contamination, a test that is both faster and far more specific than existing ones. Instead of focusing on fecal coliform, as do most existing tests, the new test looks for different bacteria associated with feces. Field chose "Bacteroides-Prevotella," an anaerobic bacteria associated with feces.
Using a process called polymerase chain reaction, Field creates millions of copies of a particular gene. Using those genes she then looks for specific markers, gene sequences that are unique to particular species. By isolating the genetic markers for different species, she can build a "library" of such indicators to compare with marker genes in samples taken from polluted water. The results should help trace whether the fecal pollution is coming from human, wildlife or farm or other sources.
The existing standard tests can take two weeks to a month to determine results. The "Bacteroides-Prevotella" test, which is still under development should have results in about a week, according to Field. who has a patent application pending for the new technology. She hopes to greatly expand the "library" of genetic markers to include all animals likely to be a source of contamination - from cows, and pigs to other ruminants, marine mammals and even dogs and cats. Scientists who have reviewed Field's work say that it could be enormously important for efforts to control contamination of rivers and the ocean.
CONTACT: Katharine Fields, Oregon Sea Grant Research Scientists, Oregon State University, Phone: 541-737-1837, Email: fieldk@orst.edu
Record Low Water Levels Possible On Great Lakes
Unusually low water levels in the Great Lakes for this time of year may combine with lingering El Nino conditions to yield the lowest summertime water levels in decades, according to Philip Keillor, coastal engineering specialist at the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. Keillor notes, "This is the first time since the 1960s we've had such low water-levels on Lake Michigan coinciding with El Nino conditions. The last time that happened we had some of the lowest water levels on record."
El Nino conditions occur every three to four years, and usually bring warmer and drier than average weather. Little snow has fallen in the Great Lakes basin this winter and according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers precipitation is down substantially. Compounding the problem are dry soils throughout the basin, soils that absorb more melted snow and rainwater, leaving less to replenish the lakes.
For more visit Keillor's Great Lakes Water Level website at: http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/outreach/coastal_engr/whatsnew/ce_lakelevelupdate.asp
CONTACT: Philip Keillor, Coastal Engineering Specialist, Wisconsin Sea Grant, 608-263-5133; Email: jkeillor@seagrant.wisc.edu
Media Relations Office Suspending Services; Sherman Heads to NOAA's National Ocean Service
The Sea Grant National Media Relations Office, a nine-year service connecting members of the news media and other interests with sources throughout the National Sea Grant College Program's 30-state program network, will close its National Press Building Office this Friday, March 28 and suspend operations. Ben Sherman, Sea Grant's National Media Relations Director since the project's start in 1994, has accepted the position of Public Affairs Officer for NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) and will commence his work in Silver Spring, MD beginning on April 7.
Members of the Sea Grant Communications Network as well as NOAA Research Public Affairs officer Jana Goldman will continue to provide media services. The twice-monthly tip sheet news service, of which this is the final edition, will not be continued in the near future. The Sea Grant Media Center website will be updated regularly to assist the media and the public in accessing Sea Grant information. Sherman will also continue to forward any Sea Grant media queries received at his "sherman@nasw.org" email address to appropriate people in the Sea Grant community for response.
For future information please visit the Sea Grant Media Center website at
http:// www.seagrantnews.org or contact Jana Goldman at 301-713-2483, Email: jana.goldman@noaa.gov. Ben Sherman can be reached at NOS at 301-713-3066 or by email at: ben.sherman@noaa.gov .
Sea Grant Web Spotlight:
HazNet - http://www.haznet.org
Natural hazards, like hurricanes and shoreline erosion, affect everyone who lives and works on the coast. While one cannot control the forces of nature, one can learn how to protect one's home, community, business and loved ones. Haznet is the place to find out how Sea Grant programs nationwide are working together to better understand coastal natural hazards and develop ways to reduce their impacts on lives, property and coastal economies. The site also has links to information on man-made hazards, such as oil spills or natural and other man-made hazards, including tornadoes, wild fire, hail and others. A South Carolina Sea Grant maintained website.
Contact: Robert Bacon, South Carolina Sea Grant Extension Leader, Phone: 843-727-2075, Email: robert.bacon@scseagrant.org
Sea Grant Calendar Spotlight:
"Inaugural National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration"
April 13, 2003 - April 16, 2003, Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor Hotel, Baltimore, MD
Description: The purpose of the "Inaugural National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration" is to mobilize the coastal and estuarine habitat restoration community including participants from the government, corporate, non-profit and education sectors to advance our knowledge, practice, pace and success in habitat restoration. Program topics will include: Best practices and models for successful restoration; Monitoring and adaptive management; Regional and local planning and priority setting strategies; Outreach and education; Partnerships and funding opportunities; National and state policy initiatives.
Conference Website: http://www.estuaries.org Contact: Heather Bradley, Conference Coordinator at Restore America's Estuaries - 703-524-0248 or hbradley@estuaries.org.
Sea Grant is a nationwide network of 30 university-based programs that works with coastal communities and is supported by NOAA. Sea Grant research and outreach programs promote better understanding, conservation, and use of America's coastal resources. For more information about Sea Grant visit the Sea Grant Media Center Website at: http://www.seagrantnews.org , which includes on-line keyword searchable database of academic experts in over 30 topical areas.