Producing sound science has been a part of the core mission of the Buzzards Bay Coalition throughout the organization’s history. The Coalition’s water quality monitoring program began in 1992 and continues through the present – providing critical information to federal, state, and local decision makers about the health of local waters. In 2019, the Coalition began long-term monitoring of salt marshes, which are being threatened by rising sea levels. In addition to these long-term monitoring projects, the Coalition engages with researchers to partner on a variety of shorter-term projects that help to provide valuable information about the environment of Buzzards Bay and ways to improve its management. The Coalition has a Science Advisory Committee consisting of technical experts on a range of disciplines from local institutions including the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Science Advisory Committee provides insight and feedback on issues that the Coalition Science team are working on.
The following list provides example products of previous research.
Scientific Journal Publications
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- Besterman, A. F., Jakuba, R. W., Ferguson, W., Brennan, D., Costa, J. E., and Deegan, L. A. 2022. Buying time with runnels: A climate adaptation tool for salt marshes. Estuaries and Coasts, 45, 1491-1501, doi: 10.1007/s12237-021-01028-8
- Lloret, J., Valva, C., Valiela, I., Rheuban, J., Jakuba, R. W., Hanacek, D., Chenoweth, K., Elmstrom, E. 2022. Decadal trajectories of land-sea couplings: Nitrogen loads and interception in New England watersheds, discharges to estuaries, and water quality effects. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 277, 108057. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2022.108057
- Jakuba, R. W., Williams, T., Neill, C., Costa, J. E., McHorney, R., Scott, L., Howes, B. L., Ducklow, H., Erickson, M., and Rasmussen, M. 2021. Water Quality Measurements in Buzzards Bay by the Buzzards Bay Coalition Baywatchers Program from 1992 to 2018. Scientific Data. 8, 76. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00856-4
- Rheuban, J. E., Doney, S. C., McCorkle, D. C., Jakuba, R. W. 2019. Quantifying the effects of nutrient enrichment and freshwater mixing on coastal ocean acidification, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124, 9085–9100. doi: 10.1029/2019JC015556
- Rheuban, J. E., Williamson, S. C., Costa, J. E., Glover, D. M., Jakuba, R. W., McCorkle, D. C., Neill, C., Williams, T., and Doney, S. C. 2016. Spatial and temporal trends in summertime climate and water quality indicators in the coastal embayments of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, Biogeosciences, 13, 253-265, doi: 10.5194/bg-13-253-2016.
Publicly accessible data
- Buzzards Bay Water Quality Data: Downloadable datasets
Documents for Public Audiences
Webinars
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- HOBO webinar: Using environmental data to inform management in Buzzards Bay
- University of Florida Water, Wetlands, and Watersheds Seminar: Buying time – Salt marsh adaptive management to sea level rise using runnels
Media Coverage
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- New Bedford Light – 2025, High-tech sensors show more serious problems in Buzzards Bay
- New Bedford Light – 2024, Saving a salt marsh
- National Public Radio, WCAI Cape and Islands NPR Station (All Things Considered/Morning Edition) – 2023, Local salt marshes suffer major losses over last 20 years: new report
- National Public Radio, WCAI Cape and Islands NPR Station (Morning Edition) – 2020, Water Quality Shows Signs of Decline in Buzzards Bay
- National Public Radio, The Public’s Radio, Rhode Island NPR Station – 2018, Ready Or Not: MA Residents Worry Time Is Running Out For Salt Marsh Islands
- National Public Radio, WBUR Boston’s NPR New Station (All Things Considered) – 2017, Concerned Citizens And Fishermen Help Scientists Track Ocean Changes In Effort To Fight Climate Change
- National Public Radio, WCAI Cape and Islands NPR Station (The Point) – 2015, Volunteers’ Data Revealing Impacts of Climate Change on Buzzards Bay