An Adaptive Framework for Selecting Environmental Monitoring Protocols to Support Ocean Renewable Energy Development

Offshore renewable energy developments (OREDs) are projected to become common in the United States over the next two decades. There are both a need and an opportunity to guide efforts to identify and track impacts to the marine ecosystem resulting from these installations. A monitoring framework and standardized protocols that can be applied to multiple types of ORED would streamline scientific study, management, and permitting at these sites. We propose an adaptive and reactive framework based on indicators of the likely changes to the marine ecosystem due to ORED. We developed decision trees to identify suites of impacts at two scales (demonstration and commercial) depending on energy (wind, tidal, and wave), structure (e.g., turbine), and foundation type (e.g., monopile). Impacts were categorized by ecosystem component (benthic habitat and resources, fish and fisheries, avian species, marine mammals, and sea turtles) and monitoring objectives were developed for each. We present a case study at a commercial-scale wind farm and develop a monitoring plan for this development that addresses both local and national environmental concerns. In addition, framework has provided a starting point for identifying global research needs and objectives for understanding of the potential effects of ORED on the marine environment

Comparison of surface chlorophyll, primary production, and satellite imagery in hydrographically different sounds off southern new England

Block Island Sound (BIS) and Rhode Island Sound (RIS) are adjacent inner conti -nental shelf ecosystems with contrasting hydrographic regimes. BIS exhibits more energetic tidal mixing, and water column stratification remains weak but persists year-round due to nearby estuarine exchange flow; RIS is less influenced by estuaries, and more seasonal with strong stratification in summer. We compared annual cycles of phytoplankton biomass and primary production in BIS and RIS using measurements (surface chlorophyll,14 C primary production), primary pro -duction models (Webb/Platt and BZE models), and satellite ocean color products. During 22 mo of sampling, measured surface chlorophyll was not significantly different between BIS (mean = 1.86 mg m-3 ) and RIS (1.69 mg m-3 ), and bimodal peaks of phytoplankton biomass and production occurred concurrently in both Sounds. In contrast, a 12 yr ocean-color based chlorophyll time series indicated higher long-term average surface chlorophyll in the more well-mixed system (BIS, mean = 1.50 mg m-3 ; RIS, mean = 0.86 mg m-3 ). BIS annual primary production (318 to 329 g C m-2 yr-1 ) was higher than RIS (239 to 256 g C m-2 yr-1 ; p \u3c 0.001). These differences were most apparent during the summer, concurrent with the largest differences in water column stratification. Phytoplankton bloom phenology was driven by physical processes, with chlorophyll significantly related to water column stratification (r = -0.51, p = 0.01), depth of the euphotic zone (r = -0.54, p = 0.05), and surface water salinity (r = 0.54, p = 0.04). Primary production was correlated with surface water temperature (r = 0.57, p = 0.03) but the mechanisms underlying production differences between the Sounds remain unresolved. We hypothesize that different hydrographies give rise to different productivity between the Sounds

An Adaptive Framework for Selecting Environmental Monitoring Protocols to Support Ocean Renewable Energy Development

Offshore renewable energy developments (OREDs) are projected to become common in the United States over the next two decades. There are both a need and an opportunity to guide efforts to identify and track impacts to the marine ecosystem resulting from these installations. A monitoring framework and standardized protocols that can be applied to multiple types of ORED would streamline scientific study, management, and permitting at these sites. We propose an adaptive and reactive framework based on indicators of the likely changes to the marine ecosystem due to ORED. We developed decision trees to identify suites of impacts at two scales (demonstration and commercial) depending on energy (wind, tidal, and wave), structure (e.g., turbine), and foundation type (e.g., monopile). Impacts were categorized by ecosystem component (benthic habitat and resources, fish and fisheries, avian species, marine mammals, and sea turtles) and monitoring objectives were developed for each. We present a case study at a commercial-scale wind farm and develop a monitoring plan for this development that addresses both local and national environmental concerns. In addition, framework has provided a starting point for identifying global research needs and objectives for understanding of the potential effects of ORED on the marine environment

Mutational and DNA binding specificity of the carcinogen 2-amino-3, 8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline.

The mutagenic specificity of 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4, 5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), a food-borne mutagen and carcinogen, was studied. Plasmid pK19 was modified by photolysis with the 2-azido form of the carcinogen. High pressure liquid chromatography confirmed that the photoactivated azide formed primarily C8 and N2 guanyl adducts. Transformation of modified pK19 into excision repair competent Escherichia coli resulted in dose-dependent increases in genotoxicity and in mutagenesis within the lacZalpha target sequence. Upon induction of the SOS response, a 20-fold increase in mutation frequency over background was observed. A mutational spectrum for MeIQx, generated by sequencing 125 independent mutants, revealed base substitutions (41%), frameshifts (54%), and complex mutations (5.6%); >90% of the mutations occurred at G-C base pairs. Two hotspots were evident at runs of three or five G-C base pairs; approximately 60% of the mutations occurred at the hotspot sites. The hotspot at position 2532 produced mainly base substitutions, while that at position 2576 gave exclusively frameshift mutations. A polymerase inhibition assay mapped the sites of MeIQx adducts. Arrest sites were primarily at or one base 3' to a guanine residue, which correlated well with the distribution of mutations. No direct correlation was seen, however, between intensity of modification and hotspots for mutation