Full Report | Fact Sheet

This study used novel plasma-based treatment technologies to improve our understanding of mechanisms to break down PFAS and 1,4-dioxane into inert components. Further, the study sought to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective process for the destruction and ultimate removal of these contaminants from water, rather than simply filtering the contaminants. Plasma-based water treatment is a promising technology that uses ionized gas to break down PFAS and 1,4-dioxane in water. Plasma water treatment was tested on wastewater, leachate-impacted groundwater, and landfill leachate. It is hoped that, if successful, plasma can be used in a device to create a Point of Entry Treatment (POET) system, which would be installed at the entry point to a building or home and treat all water entering the building.

Full Report

New Jersey’s coast, encompassed within the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), is characterized by physical and seasonal dynamics that drive phytoplankton growth, abundance, and composition. Phytoplankton are generally highest in abundance during the fall bloom, when the temperature-induced stratification breaks down stimulating mixing and increasing nutrient concentrations in surface waters. The MAB is one of the fastest warming regions of the ocean, which has coincided with small decreases in primary productivity and shifts in the timing of seasonal transitions. The relative contribution of larger groups (e.g., diatoms) to the phytoplankton community has decreased, whereas the relative contribution of smaller groups (e.g., dinoflagellates, green algae) has increased. These trends, including the variation in growth patterns, are likely to continue as climate change progresses. These variations may result in the increase in the harmful overgrowth of the phytoplankton population, known as a harmful algal bloom (HABs). Harmful algal blooms have occurred in NJ marine waters for decades with the potential to negatively impact New Jersey residents and ecosystems. While there is a lack of short- and intermediate-terms studies investigating the future of HABs in the MAB, future conditions associated with climate change will likely increase the potential for marine HAB events.

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The study aimed to improve our understanding of mechanisms to breakdown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane and to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective process for their removal in water using novel electrochemical treatment technologies. The BiOSMART Center at NJIT has created a new class of bimetallic alloy nanocatalyst materials (NcM) that show promising results for the breakdown of some PFAS. The best performing NcMs identified during this study were further characterized and tested for groundwater, drinking water, and wastewater applications. It is hoped that, if successful, such materials can be used in a device to create a point-of-use, electrochemical treatment technology for destruction and removal of PFAS and 1,4-dioxane from drinking water.

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Offshore Wind infrastructure in the region is anticipated to impact commercial clam fishing within developed lease areas and affect the federal survey vessel’s ability to assess the health of clam populations. Given the importance of the surfclam industry to New Jersey, the Research and Monitoring Initiative is funding the development and calibration of a novel clam dredge that can be employed within windfarms, which will enable the continuity of the survey and provide critical data for managing the population. For more information about offshore wind, please visit the NJDEP offshore wind site.

Full Report | Fact Sheet

The main goal of this study was to reconstruct last millennium sea-level changes on the western coast of southern New Jersey (Delaware Bay) shore. The project used proven paleoecological techniques (sediment archives/cores) to provide quantitative information on sea level/subsidence in Dennis Creek over the last millennium through analysis of biogeochemical indicators accumulated and preserved in Dennis Creek wetland sediments. Salt-marsh sediment cores were used to understand the underlying stratigraphy, and cores were analyzed using foraminifera, geochemistry, and sediment characteristics. Results from this investigation were used to analyze relative sea-level changes associated with extensive subsidence previously observed at Dennis Creek. The timing of subsidence and relative sea-level change at Dennis Creek were determined with radiocarbon dating and pollution chronomarkers. Changes in fossil foraminifera species abundances isolated from dated core intervals were used to reconstruct relative sea level changes through time.

The results from this project were compared to the available sea-level studies on the east coast of New Jersey to determine whether similar processes are occurring on both the Delaware Bay and a Cape May site located on the Atlantic Ocean-facing coast of New Jersey. Understanding the local and regional physical processes controlling relative sea-level change is crucial for sea-level projections and future mitigation efforts, especially at locations where such high rates of change are documented. Project results revealed that relative sea-level started to accelerate earlier in Delaware Bay’s Dennis Creek than sites located along the New Jersey Atlantic coast, and also maintains present day higher rates. This finding underscores that there could be significant differences in local processes contributing to relative sea-level change at individual locations along the New Jersey coast. At Dennis Creek, relative sea-level rise reached a rate of 2 mm/yr by the mid 1600s and 3 mm/yr by 1800 CE, roughly a hundred years earlier than a site located at Cape May Courthouse, around 15km from Dennis Creek. In the 20th century, relative sea-level rise was approximately 3.6 mm/yr at Cape May Courthouse, but 4.2 mm/yr at Dennis Creek. Results from this project have profound implications for understanding local and regional processes controlling relative sea-level change and projections into the future. As the present results suggest, potentially significant local differences in relative sea-level rise could highlight important implications for how individual coastlines respond to accelerating sea-level rise. The protection and mitigation strategies that wetland stakeholders will need to provide at local levels may need to correspond with local conditions.

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This technical report investigates the bioaccumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Jersey’s aquatic ecosystems, providing critical data to aid the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in developing surface water quality standards (SWQS). PFAS, a group of over 9,000 synthetic chemicals, have been widely used since the 1950s. They are persistent in the environment, bioaccumulate in organisms, and are linked to significant human health risks, including immune suppression and cancer. Understanding PFAS behavior, particularly in fish species across various water bodies, is essential for informed regulatory decisions.

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The goal of this project was to investigate the use of DNA metabarcoding for evaluating and monitoring environmental health of waterbodies in the New Jersey Pinelands. Metabarcoding is a technique of taxonomic identification of organisms in environmental samples via analysis of short DNA sequences. We explored metabarcoding of diatom and other protistan assemblages in ephemeral ponds which are increasingly appreciated as valuable ecosystems and targets for environmental conservation. Metabarcoding has proven to be an efficient approach to monitor changes in aquatic biological communities circumventing the need for time and labor-consuming visual identification of organisms. While this approach has many advantages, such as reduced cost and the ability to characterize multiple taxonomic groups simultaneously, it also has some shortcomings. The major limitation of metabarcoding is incompleteness of the taxonomic reference databases that leaves many DNA sequences unassigned to taxa. For example, the reference database suitable for diatom metabarcoding (Diat.barcode) was developed mostly using diatoms from European rivers and therefore, does not have a good coverage of other geographic areas and habitats. Adding new records to this database typically involves culturing and sequencing diatoms, which is often prohibitively expensive. In this project we explored an opportunity to establish diatom barcodes from natural samples with low species diversity to establish correlation between dominant morphospecies and most abundant sequences.

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Contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has emerged with increasing concern in New Jersey and other states across the country. In this project, we first developed sensitive and reliable PFAS analytical methods using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and nano-electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (Nano-ESI-HRMS). Particularly, analysis by Nano-ESI-HRMS can be complementary to the standard method using LC/MS/MS, since this new approach enables the non-target screening of new PFAS features in environmental and laboratory samples. A standard operating procedure (SOP) for PFAS analysis by this newly developed Nano-ESI-HRMS was generated and attached in the appendix. Second, we further analyzed PFAS in a multimedia environment from four sites in New Jersey. The highest PFAS concentration in surface water was found near the Ringwood Superfund site downstream a waste disposal area on a foamy stream (PFOS 445.56 ng/L). The highest sediment concentration was found near the landfill in Kearny (PFOS replicate range of 3.17-5.79 ng/g). The highest plant concentration was found in Little Pine Lake (PFOS replicate range of 22.79-24.90 ng/g). Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was dominantly detected in both plant samples and environmental matrices where the plants were collected, supporting the occurrence of bioaccumulation. Furthermore, perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) was primarily detected in shoot samples of plants, suggesting the uptake and translocation of PFAS from the environment. Using Nano-ESI-HRMS, chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates (ClPFPECA) in soil and plant samples were screened. However, none of these samples showed significant detection of ClPFPECA, warranting further optimization of the extraction and analytical procedures for the analysis of ClPFPECA in environmental samples. Third, pairing with the observation of PFAS in the field, we characterized the biotransformation of 6:2 fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (6:2 FTCA) by Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, a model rhizospheric bacterium. This bacterium exhibited significant biodefluorination activities that can be sustained by the amendment of carbohydrate substrates, such as glucose and fructose. Coupling with the liberation of free fluoride, a 6:2 FTUCA conjugate molecule (m/z = 696.20) was identified as an important biotransformation product of 6:2 FTCA. Such process was regulated by the presence of copper and other metallic anions, though the molecular foundations remains unknown. Collectively, findings of this study underscore the needs to investigate the PFAS contamination and attenuation in the environment and natural biota (i.e., plants and aquatic animals) in the proximity of landfills. This project has contributed to two research publications to date.

Methods for the Development of Fish Consumption Advisories in the State of New Jersey

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issues fish consumption advisories to protect public health from contaminants like mercury and PCBs found in fish. The NJDEP’s Toxics in Biota Committee (TIBC) develops and recommends these advisories, considering factors like contaminant levels, consumption frequency, and fish species. These advisories are based on scientific research and monitoring data, aiming to balance the health risks and benefits of consuming fish. The TIBC also includes a Risk Subcommittee, that’s responsible for developing risk assessments and methods for fish consumption advisory development. This document from the TIBC Risk Subcommittee provides a framework for how fish advisories are calculated for different contaminants and shared with the public.

Final Report & Fact Sheet

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) in Forked River, Lacey Township, NJ, closed in September of 2018. The plant exerted significant stresses on the ecological and biological
communities of Barnegat Bay during its 50 years of operation. Closure of the OCNGS provided the NJDEP the opportunity to engage with researchers to investigate ecosystem and biotic community
(i.e., phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, fish, and crabs) response pre- and post closure. This project examined how the OCNGS closure influenced phytoplankton community composition and dynamics using both light microscopy observations and DNA analyses.

Final Report & Fact Sheet

Within New Jersey, there are approximately 66,000 hectares of tidal saltwater wetlands. These wetlands are integral to the health and well-being of the residents that live within these coastal areas, as they provide a number of invaluable ecosystem services, including: carbon sequestration (Were et al., 2019), coastal storm energy reduction (Rezaie et al., 2020), flood water storage (Rezaie et al., 2020), water quality enhancement (Fisher and Acreman, 2004), and traditional and cultural significance (Pedersen et al., 2019). However, New Jersey has lost a significant portion of its coastal habitat as a result of climate change and other anthropogenic factors, such as reduced hydrological function from agricultural ditching (Smith et al., 2022). A first step to intervene in these losses is to determine vulnerable habitat as quickly, accurately, and efficiently as possible, in order to prioritize areas of marsh for protection or enhancement.

Summary Report | USGS Data Release

Soil cores were collected in 2018 at four locations in the Burlington-Bordentown-Hamilton region of central New Jersey to examine occurrences of elevated concentrations of arsenic (As), vanadium (V), and other metals at various depths in this region. Chemical analyses by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), and mineralogical studies by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning-electron microscopy (SEM) were performed on collected soil samples to evaluate geologic factors that may control the distribution of the high As and V zones in soils.

Fact Sheet | Full Report

The purpose of the project was to fill reference data gaps from tidal wetlands in New Jersey and to make monitoring data more accessible to the public. This project developed the NJ Reference Wetland Tool, filled data gaps on tidal wetland hydrogeomorphology, added a long-term tidal wetland monitoring site in the Raritan River, and developed tools that will assist standardized data collection in the future.