Aquatic connectivity is a key restoration goal for the New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) and its partners. The creation of connectivity assessment protocols, training methods and data sharing developed by the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) streamlined the effort to prioritize barrier removal to improve aquatic habitat. HEP combined […]
Near-real-time water-quality monitoring of different variables in the Raritan River is critical to protect the aquatic life and to prevent propagation of the potential pollution in the water. Using only static sensors attached to fixed monitoring stations with predefined configurations is not a real-time and efficient solution for data collection as the phenomenon of interest […]
Tidal marshes provide a range of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. Although New Jersey’s tidal marshes appear to have kept pace with historical sea level rise in the pre-industrial period (Kemp et al., 2013), accelerating rates of sea level rise (Sweet et al., 2017) coupled with land-use changes (Lathrop et al., 2014) and sediment starvation […]
The changing climate and development patterns of the Lower Raritan Watershed occur against a backdrop of substantial impervious surface coverage (approximately 34%), high population density, and significantly modified stream networks (e.g., stream straightening and burial, culverts, underground retention). Through hundreds of years of anthropogenic influence, the historic stream channels have been altered or “disappeared,” resulting […]
Little water quality data exists that can inform the safety of recreating on the highly urbanized Lower Raritan River. The Lower Raritan is actively used for fishing, paddling, catching bait fish, crabbing, jet skiing, wading and even swimming on a hot day, yet limited information is available for pathogen levels that have a direct effect […]
The burden of non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM) infections on the US healthcare systems is estimated to cost $815 million annually. NTM causes chronic lung infections most commonly in older, immunocompromised, and cystic fibrosis patients. NTM can by-pass drinking water treatment and has been shown to proliferate in household plumbing biofilms after chlorine-sensitive competitors have been inactivated. […]
There is very little information on the density and or the species of bivalve mollusks present in the watershed of the Raritan River basin. The work that was conducted involved examining the presence or absence of bivalve mollusks from the mouth of the Raritan River to just past the Route 18 bridge in New Brunswick. […]
Mid-Atlantic populations of river herring (Alosa pseudoharengus, alewife, and A. aestivalis, blueback herring) have declined precipitously in recent years. River herring are listed as “Species of Special Concern” by the National Marine Fisheries Service. With over 1,700 dams in New Jersey, barriers to spawning migration are significant impediments to restoring river herring populations. Over the […]
The objective of this project was to develop an elevation/bathymetry grid for the Raritan River Basin as a precursor for a hydrodynamic model. In addition, by identifying data gaps the project provides guidance on future side-scan sonar surveys of the river. Finally, the project assessed options for processing of side-scan sonar data and makes recommendations […]
This research study by the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI) at Rutgers – Newark, aimed to fill in data gaps in river and marsh sediment contamination in the Lower Raritan River. The main tasks of this study were: (1) Measure trace metal and organic contaminant levels in surficial sediments along 20 km of the Lower […]
