OPS 2003 Final Presentation

The OPS 2003 class set out to investigate whether a raw sewage bypass during the August 14, 2003 blackout caused the 2003 hypoxic/anoxic event in Long Island Sound. To investigate the hypothesis, the class conducted one research cruise covering the length of the eastern sound. On the cruise, 17 samples of the bottom sediments were taken from the eastern sound for analysis. Back in the lab, the class decided to test for the following parameters: clostridium perfringens, silver, carbon isotopes, macrofauna diversity and abundance, biogenic silica, grain size, and sedimentation rates. As the class worked through the analyses, each person learned new analytical techniques and how to operate in a group environment. With each analysis, the class also learned more about the extent and effects of sewage input into Long Island Sound. As the semester came to a close, the OPS class presented their findings in a seminar on December 12, 2003. Images presented here are snapshots from that presentation. The entire presentation can be viewed in the Slide Gallery.

At the presentation, the class presented a brief summary of how seasonal hypoxia develops, a detailed history of hypoxia in Long Island Sound, results from our lab analyses, a mass balance model, and final conclusions. Upon the completion of the lab analysis, consideration of tides, analysis of chlorophyll-a satellite imagery data, and the construction of a mass balance model, the class came to some interesting conclusions. We concluded that the sewage bypass event contributed to this year's hypoxic event but was not the main cause. The system was already poised towards hypoxic conditions. Under those conditions, the class believes that other factors including tidal influences, primary production, and the intensity of stratification may have also been important contributions to 2003's hypoxic event.