Smithsonian Scientist to Share Research on Harmful Nutrient Flows into the Bay

CHESTERTOWN, MD—A Smithsonian scientist who studies harmful nutrient flows into the Chesapeake Bay will talk about his research when he visits Washington College Thursday, September 15. Thomas Jordan, Ph.D., senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), will lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, John S. Toll Science Center, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

The title of Jordan’s talk is “Nutrient Overload to Chesapeake Bay: Where It Comes From, and Ways to Control It.” Presented by the Joseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi, the event is free and open to the public.

Jordan works in SERC’s Nutrient Lab, where he and colleagues study the flows of nitrogen and phosphorus in ecosystems, the effects of human-induced nutrient enrichment on marine life and water quality, and ways of removing excess nutrients. Since the early 1970s, the lab has monitored discharges from watersheds of the Rhode River, in Anne Arundel County. In the 1990s, it expanded its research to encompass the entire Chesapeake Bay basin, comparing discharges from hundreds of watersheds. SERC scientists explore the effects of geological differences and agricultural and urban land uses, as well as the restorative potential of riparian forests and wetlands.

Photo, bottom: Dr. Thomas Jordan inspects an automated monitor that records flow and samples water flowing in and out of a restored wetland. The wetland removes nutrients from the runoff it receives from nearby cornfields. Photo courtesy of SERC.

Chivalry Dead in Migratory Birds, Smithsonian Bird Expert Says

Chestertown, MD — What happens after nesting is done and birds migrate to their winter quarters in the tropics? Peter Marra, Ph.D., terrestrial animal ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, relates that all is not sweetness and happy-times between breeding seasons in the north. His slide-lecture, "Chivalry is Dead in Migratory Birds," uncovers the story and its consequences for bird populations at 7:30 p.m., Weds., Nov. 17, in the Casey Academic Center Forum at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, is dedicated to increasing the knowledge of the biological and physical processes that sustain life on earth. Marra, who has been working in the Caribbean and Central America, is beginning to study birds of the Chesapeake Bay area. His talk is sponsored by the McLain Program in Environmental Studies.