Browsing by Author "Pecchioli, Joel A."

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Beneficial Use of Dredged Material to Enhance Salt Marsh Habitat in New Jersey : Project Summary and Lessons Learned
(Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, 2021-08) Doerr, Patricia; Pecchioli, Joel A.; Yepsen, Metthea
Brown Tide Assessment Project in NJ Coastal Waters: A comparison of three bloom years (2000-2002) with two non-bloom years (2003-04): Research Project Summary
(Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Technology, 2006-08) Pecchioli, Joel A.; Lathrop, Richard; Haag, Scott
Brown tides are caused by the rapid population growth (“bloom”) of a minute alga, Aureococcus anophagefferens. To determine whether these blooms are a threat to coastal waters in New Jersey, the Division of Science Research and Technology implemented the Brown Tide Assessment Project from 2000-2004. The primary objectives of this study are to (1) characterize the spatial and temporal occurrence of brown tides in Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor, (2) identify those environmental factors that may promote the development and maintenance of brown tides, and (3) analyze the risk of brown tides to submerged aquatic vegetation communities. Category 2 (> 35,000 cells ml-1) and Category 3 (> 200,000 cells ml-1) A. anophagefferens blooms occurred throughout the study area in 2000-2002 (mean abundances exceeded 190,000 cells ml-1), while none of the monthly means in 2003/04 were classified as a Category 2 or 3 bloom. Category 3 blooms generally occurred during months with mean water temperatures above 14 C, and a minimum temperature above 13.5 C; and with mean salinity between 26 and 31 ppt, and a minimum salinity of at least 17 ppt. However, these environmental conditions do not always result in the occurrence of a Category 3 bloom. Concentrations of total nitrogen, dissolved organic nitrogen, and nitrite + nitrate were higher during the bloom year of 2002 compared to the non-bloom years of 2003/04. In contrast, ammonia showed lower concentrations during 2002. Category 3 brown tides did not occur in any month where the Toms River flow exceeded 200 ft3 sec-1. A Cartographic and Regression Tree Analysis identified ammonia and dissolved organic nitrogen concentrations, and the Toms River flow, as factors that distinguished Category 1 (< 35,000 cells ml-1) and Category 3 A. anophagefferens blooms. However, it appears that the observed differences in nitrogen species concentrations may be a result of A. anophagefferens blooms impacting nutrient cycles, rather than nutrient levels initiating the brown tides. Analysis of the risk of brown tides to submerged aquatic vegetation habitat indicated that 50% of the mapped habitat in Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor is potentially at risk of negative impacts. Graphic displays of the spatial patterns of A. anophagefferens abundance and selected environmental factors can be viewed at: http://crssa.rutgers.edu/projects/btide/index.html.
Contaminant transfer in coastal aquifers / [by] Joel A. Pecchioli and Yuan Ding.
(Trenton, NJ: State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Science, 2009., 2009) Pecchioli, Joel A.
The New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for New York - New Jersey Harbor: Phase One Ambient Water Quality Studies: Research Project Summary
(Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Technology, 2007-11) Pecchioli, Joel A.; Wilson, Timothy; Dimou, K. Nadia; Bonin, Jennifer
The presence of toxic chemicals in water and sediments throughout New York-New Jersey Harbor has resulted in reduced water quality, fisheries restrictions/advisories, and general adverse impacts to the estuarine and coastal ecosystems. To help remediate the harbor, Phase One of the New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for NY-NJ Harbor (NJTRWP) included a set of ambient water quality studies designed to provide the NJ Department of Environmental Protection the information it needs to identify sources of the toxic chemicals of concern, and to prioritize these sources for appropriate action. Samples were collected at the heads-of-tide and within the tidal reaches of the five major New Jersey tributaries to the harbor (the Passaic, Hackensack, Elizabeth, Rahway, and Raritan Rivers), and within the estuarine areas of Newark Bay, the Kill van Kull, and the Arthur Kill.
The New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for New York - New Jersey Harbor: Phase One POTW, SWO, and CSO Studies: Research Project Summary
(Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Technology, 2008-04) Pecchioli, Joel A.; DeGraeve, G. M.
The presence of toxic chemicals in water and sediments throughout New York-New Jersey Harbor has resulted in reduced water quality, fisheries restrictions/advisories, and general adverse impacts to the estuarine and coastal ecosystems. To help remediate the harbor, Phase One of the New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for NY-NJ Harbor (NJTRWP) included a set of ambient water quality studies designed to provide the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) the information it needs to identify sources of the toxic chemicals of concern, and to prioritize these sources for appropriate action. In addition, discharges from the twelve New Jersey publicly-owned wastewater treatment plants (POTWs) and selected stormwater outfalls (SWOs) and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) that discharge to the harbor were sampled.
The New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for New York - New Jersey Harbor: Study I-E – Hydrodynamic Studies in the Newark Bay Complex: Research Project Summary
(Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Technology, 2006-12) Pecchioli, Joel A.; Bruno, Michael S.; Chant, Robert; Pence, Anne Marie; Blumberg, Alan F.; Fugate, David; Fullerton, Brian J.; Glenn, Scott; Haldeman, Chip; Hunter, Eli; Rankin, Kelly L.
The Newark Bay Complex, which is part of New York-New Jersey (NY-NJ) Harbor, consists of Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull tidal straits, and the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers. The presence of toxic chemicals in water and sediments throughout the harbor has resulted in reduced water quality, fisheries restrictions/advisories, and general adverse impacts to the estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Study I-E of the New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for NY-NJ Harbor is a comprehensive hydrodynamic study completed between the years 2000 and 2002 to begin to understand the effects of tidal, meteorological, and freshwater forces on circulation pattern in the system. In addition, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the complex has been developed that replicates the available water elevation, salinity, and current velocity data. Circulation in the Newark Bay Complex responds to a combination of influences in a complex event-driven fashion, making the identification of a long-term average circulation pattern difficult. Within the navigation channel of Newark Bay, classic estuarine gravitational circulation occurs, with daily-averaged currents directed seaward near the surface and landward near the bottom. This circulation pattern can be broken down during periods of very low discharge from the Passaic River, such that daily-averaged currents are largely directed landward throughout most of the water column. Persistent east/west wind events can produce large “flow-through” flushing events in the Newark Bay Complex, with currents predominantly directed through the Kill Van Kull. Large Passaic River flow events produce higher suspended sediment concentrations in Newark Bay. Such events also increase both vertical stratification and the current velocity in the landward-flowing bottom layer of the bay, and thus can trap material that rapidly settles to this layer. However, these events also increase the surface outflow and can transport slowly settling material towards the Kill van Kull, where stronger tidal currents can carry this material into Upper New York Bay. The fate of the suspended sediment will depend on the settling rate of the particles. The partitioning of contaminants across sediment size and the settling velocity of the suspended sediment particles will significantly modify the fate and transport of contaminants in NY-NJ Harbor. An initial estimate of the suspended sediment flux through the Kill van Kull indicates that approximately 100,000metric tons of suspended sediment (net) are transported from Upper New York Bay into Newark Bay each year.