This week the Integrated Ocean Observing class learned how RUCOOL is utilizing unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) or commonly known as drones.  The students heard a lecture from Rutgers researcher Dr. Hugh Roarty on how we use drones for the calibration of our HF radar network and in STEM education.  The students got a chance to pilot a drone for a flight over Skelly field on the Cook Campus. The class also welcomed Dr. Michael Stresser as a guest lecturer on the application of UAS for remote sensing.  Dr. Streser is from the Institute of Coastal Ocean Dynamics which is part of the Helmholtz Association which is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers in Germany.  Dr. Stresser provided an introduction to his research group’s focus and how they are utilizing unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the remote sensing of surface currents.  The technology they have developed is named CopterCurrents and provides surface water velocity from UAS video.  A further explanation of the technology can be found here.

Congratulations to Lauren Cook on winning the Mid Atlantic Chapter of the American Fisheries Society’s Best Student Presentation!!

The wooden causeway to the Rutgers University Marine Field Station in Little Egg Harbor Township, where Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. To the left, the casino hotels of Atlantic City can be seen off in the distance. Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The Rutgers Marine Field Station rises on weathered pilings overlooking a fragile wetland, surrounded by a sea of tall salt grass brushed here and there into sweeping hypnotic patterns by the wind. White herring gulls dot the brown marsh as they stand over dark, brackish tidal pools, hunting for fiddler crabs. Ten years ago, this was Ground Zero for Superstorm Sandy, which roared over the inlet when it made landfall in New Jersey. Today, the estuary around the remote research facility in Little Egg Harbor is mostly healed. Yet the ecology of the marsh itself has changed, in response to the rising global temperatures attributed to climate change that many believe is likely to spawn more and even deadlier storms than Sandy and now Hurricane Ian, which only recently devastated Florida. In a place between the land and the sea, researchers are studying those changes. They collect the larvae that floats in with the tide. They keep track of visitors who arrive by air or by sea, and watch the day-to-day life cycle amid the tidal pools left behind when the water recedes, and in the spartina reeds at water’s edge. The field station serves as a window — not only on the impact of climate change, but on just how the next big storm to hit New Jersey might behave. The Rutgers University Marine Field Station, on the estuary in Little Egg Harbor Township where Superstorm Sandy made landfall 10 years ago. Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com   Getting here feels like a journey to the end of the world. The road to the station begins down in Tuckerton and involves a seven-mile-long drive across uninhabited islands and mudflats, over one-lane bridges where fishermen cast their lines, past isolated marinas and then finally to a dead end on the Mullica Hill Estuary where the white buildings capped with red roofs finally make their appearance in the distance. The road is not always passable. High tide sometimes will flood the pavement several times a month, even on sunny days. A walk from the road across a wooden causeway elevated over the marsh finally brings you to Roland Hagan, who came here as an intern in 1989 and now serves as operations manager for the Rutgers lab that has been studying the estuary for the past 50 years. “I make sure the place doesn’t fall apart,” he laughed, before setting off on a tour of the station, from the “clean labs” that are always dirty because no cleaning chemicals are allowed in the room for fear of contaminating samples, to the observation cupola high atop the station that offers a panoramic view of the wetlands. Roland Hagan points to the damage at the Rutgers Marine Field Station, where Superstorm Sandy made landfall 10 years ago,  Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Perched above the water, the lab is “like a boat on stilts,” observed Hagan. Wastewater is collected in holding tanks and pumped out each week so as not to disturb the environment they study every day. Inside are samples of fish and crab larvae collected by researchers and students. Sensors in the water track the passage of marine life. One ongoing study involves documenting the spread of microplastics in fish. He pointed offshore to a pelican, once a rare guest from warmer waters, gliding just offshore, diving and coming up with its lunch. “They don’t like the cold airOr much,” Hagan noted. With the changes in climate, there has been a dramatic shift in the kinds of fish being seen around the station, including more species from south of Cape Hatteras, and fewer from the north of Cape Cod, according to Oscar Schofield, chairman of Rutgers’ Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. “Different fish have been moving into the estuary because the ocean is getting warmer,” he said. And higher water temperatures are not the only changes in the estuary. The sea level rise here is occurring faster than anywhere else in the world, Schofield noted, in part because the South Jersey coastline continues to sink; a legacy of the geology left behind by the last ice age. That could spell even more flooding problems for Atlantic City, which can be seen off in the distance, sometimes casting a hellish red glow in the night sky when the clouds are low. Some studies suggest half of the gaming resort could be uninhabitable by 2060. As part of its research, the station deploys a fleet of underwater drones as well — sometimes to track marine life, and at times to collect data on hurricanes. On the evening before Sandy came ashore, one such drone carrying the designation of RU-23 was already radioing back data about the storm. Launched into the ocean four days earlier by a Rutgers team led by researcher Travis Miles, now an assistant professor at the university, its mission was to collect information about currents and water temperatures, even as the seas roiled. The yellow, sensor-laden torpedo-like robotic craft, known as a Slocum Glider (named for Joshua Slocum, the first man to single-handedly sail around the world), is a unique research tool. It has no propeller, using its ability to rise and sink deep into the ocean to navigate by “flying” through the water in a series of dives. Using minimal power, it can operate for weeks, sinking and gliding, and then rising towards the surface, over and over again. As the storm raced toward the New Jersey coast, Schofield was able to keep tabs on the data being uploaded by RU-23, seeing what was happening in the middle of Sandy in real time from more than 100 miles away. Marine researchers

New students Leslie Birch, Emily Busch, Bre DiRenzi, Rhyan Grech, Yachen Li, and Jake Zappala worked together to ensure the successful deployment and recovery of RU23. The students prepared and deployed the glider on October 11th. For 3 weeks, the students piloted the glider on their own mission: to transect along the Endurance Line and back, and to learn while doing so. Earlier this week, the students successfully recovered RU23 alongside Captain Chip Haldeman aboard the R/V Resilience. Glider RU23, once famous for its service during Superstorm Sandy in 2012, had settled into retirement nearly 7 years ago. Seeing a clear learning opportunity, the students worked alongside the RU COOL glider team in restoring and preparing the glider for another mission. The students split in teams, half on the water for deployment and half in the COOL room for piloting. The MOO cohort deployed the glider with bated breath, despite the potential risk of a leak due to the RU23’s age. With guidance from the RU COOL glider team, the students piloted the glider, adjusting the mission trajectory around storms, ship traffic, and ocean currents. RU23 and the students managed to locate the strong signal of the Mid-Atlantic cold pool in an otherwise well-mixed shelf before turning the glider around and heading it back to Tuckerton, NJ. With the glider now safely home after a successful mission, the students have begun the cleaning and readying of the glider for another round in the winter or spring. The experiential nature of this deployment, from mission conception through deployment, from piloting to recovery, and with data analyses ongoing throughout, is unique to the Rutgers Master’s of Operational Oceanography program. By providing opportunities to learn not just the science but the technologies used to collect that science, and to be part of a real-time ocean observing team, the graduates of the program leave with the skills to be highly competitive in any research or industry career.

In March of 2022, Rutgers junior and Leadership Scholar at the Institute for Women’s Leadership Kirstin Slattery inquired about the possibility of a trip aboard the R/V Rutgers along the Raritan River. She had been tasked with developing a social action plan centered around a personal passion, and as an environmental policy major, the Raritan River and its storied history were a perfect fit. Kirstin reached out to R/V Rutgers Captain Chip Haldeman and initiated discussions in relation to what’s involved, how much it costs, and most importanly, what she’s interested in accomplishing. Feeling perhaps a bit of deja vu, Captain Chip connected Kirstin w/ Dr. Heather Fenyk, Board President and de facto Executive Director of the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership. Dr. Fenyk, one of our resident experts on history and current policies affecting the Raritan River, agreed to accompany the IWL scholars aboard and share her expertise. Additionally, Kirstin was also invited aboard by Dr. Fenyk for LRWP’s annual trip prior to her own discussing similar areas of interest and introducing new concepts as well. Fast forward to October 28th, and Kirstin’s vision, dedication, and planning had come to fruition. Not only had she arranged the scheduling and logistics for the trip, but she had also secured the necessary funding for the vessel’s operation. This can often be a daunting task, but challenges are meant to be overcome, and this now-Rutgers senior delivered. Dr. Jeffra Schaefer, a professor in Rutgers’ Department of Environmental Sciences, volunteered to serve as deckhand, offering further expertise. Dr. Schaefer and Dr. Fenyk are the embodiment of women in leadership roles; perfect examples for aspiring Scarlet Knights. Many thanks to both for volunteering their time. The trip itself was informative and educational – the bonus being perfect weather and beautiful fall colors along the banks – but not without its obstacles. Moon phases and tides had conspired to flood the Rutgers crew boathouse docks, so the R/V Rutgers once again utilized its landing craft ability to board passengers on the banks of the Raritan near Boyd park. The remainder of the trip went off without a hitch, returning as planned and disembarking at the boathouse, just prior to RU crew’s afternoon practice. Congratulations, Kirstin, on a job well done. Truly a moment for Rutgers to be proud!

TEAM EXCELLENCE AWARD  Explorers of the Deep 4-H STEM Challenge Team members include: Janice McDonnell, Marissa Staffen, Matthew Newman, Kasey Walsh, Alesha Vega, Sage Lichtenwalner, Chad Ripberger, Josh Kohut, Douglas Zemeckis, Oscar Schofield, Rachel Lyons, Nicole Waite, Dave Aragon, and Michael Crowley

Travis Miles, Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, explains how ocean robots, known as gliders, have improved the accuracy of forecasts. Full video at Fox Weather