Core 2 Research Program - University of Mississippi

 
 

Principal Investigators: Greg Easson, Marc Slattery

Graduate Students: Luke Campbell, Alexandra Warren, Benton Schenk

Award Amount: $377,388

Project Description

Goals:

  • Continue monitoring water quality using oyster platform sensors (landers) from previous Core Research Program project

  • Integrate remotely sensed imagery and water quality data to evaluate and predict the impact of the opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway on Mississippi Sound

  • Synthesize and distribute all data from Phase 1 and coordinate and distribute data from Phase II for all MBRACE participants

Why it is Important:

The Bonnet Carre spillway was opened 2018 and again in 2019.  In 2019, the spillway was opened twice for the first time in its history. The fresh, sediment laden water from the Mississippi River flowed into Lake Pontchartrain, mixed with the brackish water of the lake and flow through Rigolets pass into the western Mississippi Sound. The impact on the ecosystem of the Mississippi Sound estuary was shown as water salinity plunged below 1 ppt, mega-fauna (dolphins and turtles) died and the oyster reefs were decimated. The spillway has now closed and the western Mississippi Sound has a chance to recover from this event. 

Objectives:

  1. To monitor this recovery of the water in the sound, two types of data are needed; water quality data and satellite imagery. The research questions to be answered in this part of the core program are:

    • How quickly do the water quality conditions in the sound return to ‘normal’?

    • How effective is daily multi-spectral imagery in tracking water movement and quality

  2. The data synthesis project will consist of compiling all of the locational and metadata into geospatial database that will be published through ArcGIS online and available to all MBRACE partners and the research community. All of the detailed data will be compiled and uploaded into GRIIDC and available for download.

 
 

Project Outputs

    1. Campbell, L. 2023. “Using remote sensing as a monitoring and early warning system for future Bonnet Carre Spillways operations” Masters’ Thesis, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA.

    2. Bell, J. 2021. “Correlating remote sensing and water quality data to assess the impact of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on the Western Mississippi Sound” Masters’ Thesis, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA.

    1. Campbell, Luke. 2023. Water quality data collected from northern Mississippi Sound, Mississippi from 2022-02-25 to 2022-03-16. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/pqm1jr4e

    2. Campbell, Luke. 2023. Water quality data collected from northern Mississippi Sound and effects on oyster populations, 2022-03-17 to 2022-04-12. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/ta2xgf2m

    3. Easson, Greg. 2022. Water quality data collected from northern Mississippi Sound, 2021-07-23 to 2021-08-19. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/V9NB0VW8

  • Boudreaux C, Pruett JL, Carpenter A, Willett KL, Gochfeld DJ. 2023. Effect of ploidy on salinity and temperature tolerance in early life stages of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Aquaculture Reports 32:10172. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352513423002624