Research efforts from the Coastal Critical Zone Network (CZN), a project led by the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN), made national news with the premiere of the CBS News documentary An American River.

The crew of An American River embarked on a five-day journey along the Delaware River, showcasing threats to the river’s waterways and the ongoing efforts to lessen further damage. The trip concluded in the Delaware Bay, where documentarians met the CZN team, including Lead PI and DENIN Director Holly Michael. The CZN aims to quantify the factors transforming the transition zones between freshwater and saltwater ecosystems to better predict and prepare for future changes.

Researchers took CBS to two CZN test sites—a plot of coastal farmland outside Dover, Delaware, and a forest bordering the Delaware Bay marshes. Both areas have been threatened by saltwater intrusion, a process through which rising sea levels bring saltwater into freshwater zones. On the farmland, findings have shown that the briny soil chemistry of nearby marshes has begun mirroring the farm’s soil composition. In the forest, trees are dying at accelerating rates due to a lack of nutrients in the soil.

As saltwater intrusion reaches $100 million in annual damages to farmlands and threatens the river’s drinking water sources, the CZN findings are crucial to creating solutions that mitigate its effects. Researchers encourage impacted farmers to plant salt-tolerant crops and take advantage of programs incentivizing the conversion of farmland into wetland habitats, and future reports may aid decisions made on waterway development.

For further information, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F8FLiHG1sc.