NOAA CESSRST Faculty Maria Tzortziou receives NSF award on RAPID Proposal

Posted on August 10, 2020

NOAA CESSRST Faculty Maria Tzortziou receives an NSF grant on RAPID Proposal titled: “RAPID: Collaborative Research: Understanding linkages between nutrient quality and phytoplankton assemblage responses to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in an urban, estuarine system”.

In addition to health and safety concerns, the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had significant impacts on human behavior worldwide, from business and school closures to stay-at-home orders. As a consequence there have been unprecedented and precipitous drops in global travel for work, education, recreation, and other daily activities. 

To better understand environmental changes associated with the pandemic, this NSF RAPID project will focus on studies of coastal and estuary aquatic habitats, which are known to be particularly biologically productive and diverse. Researchers will measure key biogeochemical (nutrient) and ecological (phytoplankton, bacteria) metrics using water sampling and satellite observations of an urban estuary on the east coast of the US over the COVID-19 shutdown and reopening periods. This project will also train postdoctoral scholars and graduate students, including those from underrepresented groups in science, while enhancing the understanding of connections between societal activity and coastal ecosystems