Thomas Santangelo (far left) and lab-mate Kelsey Moxey (second from left) meet with fellow Delaware Estuary Summit participants between sessions.

Delaware Estuary Summit

UD students, faculty participate in 10th annual Delaware Estuary Summit

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8:50 a.m., Feb. 19, 2015--As water resources in Delaware and surrounding areas come under increasing stress from development and industry, the annual Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit draws together partners like the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment to encourage collaboration on protecting these resources.

Approximately 20 UD students and faculty members joined over 300 scientists, educators and public agency representatives at this year’s summit, held Jan. 25-28 in Cape May, New Jersey. 

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The summit’s theme, “Balancing Progress and Protection — 10 Years of Science in Action,” focused on uniting strong science with public education to advance conservation efforts around the Delaware River and Inland Bays.

Faculty members and students alike connected with researchers and policymakers from throughout the bay area on environmental issues ranging from shellfish aquaculture to climate change.

“The summit was an exciting opportunity for us to showcase our work and engage with scientists and other professionals,” said Thomas Santangelo, a water science and policy master’s student working under Luc Claessens, assistant professor of geography

Santangelo’s poster display, titled “Geospatial Analysis of Nitrogen Removal by Riparian Buffers,” earned Best Student Poster Award at the summit.

John Callahan, associate scientist with Delaware Geological Survey, emphasized that the summit was an important experience for both students and faculty to learn, share and network. 

“Working at a university, sometimes it's easy to become too focused on our own area of research,” said Callahan, who presented a talk on coastal inundation in the Delaware Inland Bays. “The summit presents the big picture of all the ongoing activities and role of research within a single geographic region.” 

UD has long had ties to the Delaware Estuary Summit through a close relationship with its sponsor organization, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. Jonathan Sharp, UD professor emeritus, was a founding member and the first chair of the partnership’s board. Sharp has contributed widely to the body of knowledge surrounding the Delaware River and Bay systems, and is known for his instrumental work on global water quality standards.

At the 2011 Delaware Estuary Summit, the partnership presented Sharp with a lifetime achievement award. The Delaware Estuary Jonathan Sharp Lifetime Achievement Award remains a high honor of the summit, and a standing tribute to the shared goals among UD researchers, the partnership and other participating organizations. 

The summit aligns with CEOE’s mission to spread awareness about the complexity of natural systems and the human actions that influence them. The college works to achieve this through “engaged interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach.” The Delaware Estuary Summit provides an outlet for all three.

A complete list of presentations from UD students and faculty and other participants at the 2015 summit can be found here.

Article by Caren Fitzgerald

Images courtesy of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Inc.

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