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Home Volume 14 Number 3 Life in the Ocean Next Door

Oct. 2015 · Volume 14 Number 3

Life in the Ocean Next Door

Protecting the Resources of Our Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean

With the sea level lower, the area that is now a continental shelf was then dry land. Archeological evidence indicates that paleo-Indians once inhabited this coastal plain. There was no Chesapeake Bay then, only a river valley through which flowed what is now the Susquehanna River, stretching across this plain eastward to the ancient coastline. Starting around 15,000 years ago, the earth warmed, the glaciers melted, the sea rose, and the coastal plain flooded. Over several thousand years, the valley filled, creating the Chesapeake Bay. Rising waters moved the ocean-facing coastline westward, where it eventually reached its current location. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers. more . . .

The Grand Canyons off Our Coast

Jeffrey Brainard

NOAA-OER/BOEM/USGS
It was back in 1981 when scientists caught an early glimpse of the extraordinary sea life dwelling at the bottom of Baltimore Canyon. A diversity of coral and other surprising sea life species hide in deep gorges in the Mid-Atlantic. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers. more . . .

The Mid-Atlantic's Other Big Crab

Daniel Strain

Crustacean biologist Bradley Stevens struggled to keep his gear from scattering across the bucking deck. The scientist had hitched a ride on the Hannah Boden in order to collect samples of the Atlantic deep-sea red crab. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers. more . . .

Whale Watching, Beneath the Waves

Jeffry Brainard

Every three months, a crew of scientists and assistants rides a boat out into the Atlantic Ocean off Ocean City to do a kind of submarine surveillance - but not the Defense Department kind. The scientists retrieve reams of data about the signature sounds made in these waters by dolphins, porpoises, and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. By analyzing data about the animals' clicks and calls, the researchers hope to learn more about where these animals live and when they travel through these offshore waters. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers. more . . .

Bay Sentinel Site Cooperative Gains First Coordinator

Jeffry Brainard

Sarah Wilkins has been named as the first-ever coordinator of the Chesapeake Bay Sentinel Site Cooperative. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers. more . . .