The Waters of Long Island Sound: How Local Perspectives Influence Ecological Research
I took a deep breath, smelling the fresh, salty smell of Shinnecock Bay as the wind blew in my face. Standing on the deck of a roaring 26-foot fishing boat on a sunny morning, my ears pounded by the roar of the boat’s engine, my body trembled with its vibrations. As a Chinese student who grew up on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, this is the first time I have come to the Long Island Sound.It’s the summer of 2022, and I’m a graduate student at the Columbia Climate Institute at Tzortziou Bio-Optics Laboratoryprofessor led Maria Tzortziou.
Research in the Tzortziou Biooptics Laboratory focuses on assessing the impact of anthropogenic pressures and environmental hazards on inland, coastal, and open ocean biogeochemical cycles, ecological processes, and ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales.
As the Lab’s communications and community outreach intern, I focus on interviewing Long Island Sound residents and gathering their observations of how the Sound—a priceless urban estuary—has changed over the years.
The perspective of Long Island Sound residents is an important part of laboratory research, as people’s everyday experiences and insights into the challenges of the acoustic environment can provide unique information for field measurements. Observations of local communities are essential to a comprehensive understanding of environmental regulations in urban areas and how climate change affects communities.
For more than six years, Tzortziou’s team has been visiting the waters of Long Island Sound in different seasons to measure the optical and biogeochemical properties of the water under various environmental conditions. The goal is to improve remote sensing algorithms to enhance the study of the changing ecology and biogeochemistry of sound in space.
During these fieldwork, Tzortziou and colleagues Joaquim Goes and Helga Gomes in Lamont have been working closely with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Conservation and the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation to study changing pressures on phytoplankton communities across the Channel in response to climate change.
Captain Brad Reis shares his story with members of the Tzortziou Bio-Optics Laboratory in Peconic, NY.Photo: Li Shangtong
During the summer of 2022, lab members visited the Long Island Sound’s Peconic, Shinnacock and Great South Sounds from June to August. We sail with local skippers who have lived, fished and worked in these waters for most of their lives.
One of the captains we work with is Captain Brad Reis of Someday Came Fishing Charters. Reese was born on the Jersey Shore, where salt water was his home. He moved to the Peconic Bay and Shinnecock Bay areas over 30 years ago to start a family and a business.
During our trip with Captain Reis, he shared the many restoration activities that are going on in Peconic Bay.Water clarity improves with the addition of clams and seaweed planted Shinnecock Indian Nation. “Sometimes the water is so clear that one can see 12 feet deep [all the way to the bottom in some locations],” He said.
But locals remain concerned about nitrogen levels in the water because of nutrient-rich conditions, low-oxygen areas and recurring harmful algal blooms– Including green tide, red tide and brown tide. Harmful algal blooms occur when algae grow out of control, sometimes producing toxins that negatively impact fish, marine mammals, birds and humans.
Captain Reis suspects leaching from the household septic system is to blame for the increased nitrogen levels in Peconic Bay. As more and more houses are built on the shore, Regulations now require septic systems For use in new homes to prevent discharge into surrounding waters. “It’s over $40,000!” said Captain Reis, reiterating his doubts about the effectiveness of the new septic system.
Fortunately, Shinnecock Bay and Peconic Bay did not experience brown tides last summer.
Peconic Bay’s population has been growing since the COVID-19 pandemic. Reis has noticed a growing number of people leaving the city and making their summer homes their primary residence. “Real estate offers are often higher than asking prices these days,” he said.
Hidden among the multimillion-dollar homes and resorts of the Hamptons is the land of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. The tribe proposed opening a casino and installing two billboards to generate revenue, but they faced a formidable challenge. Objection from wealthy Hamptons residents on these items. Reis expressed his support for the tribe: “They have to make a living somehow.”
People come to the area to enjoy the “Hamptons Summer” lifestyle. But for the locals, the period from mid-May to mid-September is the most critical time of year for livelihood. “We have four months to do it,” Captain Reis said. He also emphasized the importance of data for the health of the bay: “We need data to better monitor water quality and study marine life in the bay.”
As for the Peconic and Shinnecock Bay fish populations, Reis says, “Sea trout are making a comeback!” with a big smile on his face.
Another Long Island Sound study area for the lab is the Great South Sound, a lagoon between Long Island and Fire Island. People have fished, swam and sailed the bay for generations, but concerns about pollution from sewage and stormwater runoff are growing. Residents from all walks of life formed an organization——Save the Great South Bay—— Fight for the revitalization of the Gulf.
Driven by deteriorating water quality in the Great South Bay, the lab made two field trips to the bay from Caputree State Park in Babylon, New York.
we boarded Partiana 35-foot Downeast boat operated by Captain Greg Gargiulo of Patty Ann Charters.
Captain Gargiulo grew up near the Great South Sound. He was laid off from his office job selling marine engines because of the pandemic. The summer of 2022 will be his third full-time fishing season. “Business has been good,” he said, admiring the view from his new office, the wheelhouse of the ship.
When asked about changes in the bay, Gargiulo said the water was cleaner when he was younger. He now sees red tides more frequently in the summer, especially in July when the water is warmer. He suspects fertilizer loss and rising temperatures are responsible for the algal blooms.
As for the fish population in the Great South Bay, Captain Gargiulo shared that some species have made a comeback, such as the sand eel, while others appear to have disappeared, such as the black-backed flounder. He has been catching plenty of flukes, bass, and sea robins, as well as non-NYC species such as blacktips, triangular sharks, mackerel, and cobia.
According to Gargiulo, the blackback flounder is the best species and the reason for the port, as it is plentiful and tasty. “There are so many fish in the bay, sometimes one person can catch 20!” But he hasn’t seen them in Great South Bay for a long time. Gargiulo doesn’t think the blackback’s disappearance is due to overfishing, but to the expansion of residential areas in the area.
Another source of pollution in the Great South Bay, Gargiulo suspects, is the Bergen Point sewage treatment plant – known locally as the “chocolate factory”. The plant discharges treated effluent into the Atlantic Ocean through ocean outfalls below the Great South Bay and below Jones Beach Island.
according to a 2015 EIA Report The New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery determined that the sewer line was in a faulty condition and required replacement. Construction has continued since then, but Gargiulo is unsure it will do enough to prevent sewage from leaking into the Great South Bay.
Despite concerns about water quality, Captain Gargiulo shared some good news about the bay. “The water is so clear!” he said. According to him, the water in the bay often looks like “chocolate milk” in summer, and 2022 is the clearest water he’s seen in the past five years. “It’s definitely improving,” Gargiulo said. However, he feels that the water was clearer 10 years ago.
Captain Gargiulo links cleaner water conditions in 2022 to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising diesel prices.
Noting Gargiulo’s observations, the lab applied observations from space to examine changes in water clarity across the Great South Bay in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. They compiled data from January 2017 to August 2022 using satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Ocean Land Color instrument and water measurements collected during fieldwork. Lab members found that after the strictest COVID-19 lockdown measures, turbidity in the bay fell by about 20% to 40% in summer 2020 compared to pre-pandemic average conditions. The finding supports Captain Gargiulo’s theory that improved water quality in the Great South Bay is linked to the pandemic.
The topic of storms naturally came up as we made our way across the coastline. Reis and Gargiulo vividly remember areas that were flooded and devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012—a disaster that devastated the Long Island Sound and its people.
when. . .when Partian Stopping near the swampy wetlands of the Great South Bay for lab members to take water samples, Gargiulo pointed to the swamps and houses in our field of vision and said: “It’s all gone [during Hurricane Sandy]”
Reis still remembers the smell of diesel fuel floating on the water, leaking from the broken boat engine. “Bridges were destroyed, boats were adrift on cradles, some areas were completely flattened, the water was 10 to 12 feet high, going through houses … everything was underwater,” he said.
Amid all the chaos and loss during Hurricane Sandy, both captains thanked their families for not being affected.
Now bridges are being rebuilt, houses are being secured and new ones are being built. Captain Reis and Gargiulo are happy to share that their business is doing well. But as global temperatures rise, the storms and hurricanes that hit coastal communities the hardest are increasing in severity.
Climate change is everywhere, especially for coastal communities. Members of the Tzortziou Bio-Optics Lab believe that community experiences should be incorporated into climate change and environmental research. We must work with communities on the front lines. Their lived experience and knowledge is an important part of the study of coastal systems, informing satellite applications to better prepare and act in the face of the climate crisis.
