The Comprehensive Barnegat Bay Research Program

Abstract

Abstract Buchanan, G.A.; Belton, T.J., and Paudel, B., 2017. The Comprehensive Barnegat Bay Research Program. In: Buchanan, G.A.; Belton, T.J., and Paudel, B. (eds.), A Comprehensive Assessment of Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. A comprehensive ecosystem research strategy was developed and initiated for the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH) estuary in New Jersey, United States. This multiyear program (2011–15) examined several environmental management issues and questions involving concerns with water quality (e.g., nutrients) and the health of this ecosystem (e.g., eutrophication). Multiple projects ranging from the assessment of phytoplankton to fish to wetlands, as well as hydrodynamic/water quality and ecosystem modeling, were conducted each year to fill in critical data gaps and to define the bay's baseline condition for future comparisons (e.g., a nuclear generating station on the bay with a once-through cooling system will close in 2019). Issues of concern for environmental agenci...