Chris Evangelista Christopher Blackley, GIS specialist at MRRI, was invited to take part in a panel discussion at Montclair University on November 9th, 2026. The event formed part of Montclair’s GIS Day and job fair, giving junior and senior students the chance to put their questions to professionals working across both the public and private sectors of … Read more
Terry Doss, CERP, and Dr. Ildiko C. Pechmann attended the joint meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Workgroup (MAWWG) and the New England Biological Assessment of Wetlands Workgroup (NEBAWWG) in the Pocono Mountains, October 27–29, 2026. Adapting to a changing climate and more frequent storm events was the main focus at the annual joint meeting of … Read more
Professor Hao Wang and Dr. Ruo-Qian (Roger) Wang from Rutgers University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering visited the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI) on November 5 to explore opportunities to work together. Their discussions focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand long-term trends in water, sediment, and air quality in the … Read more
Last week from October 21st-23rd, MRRI’s GIS staff had the opportunity to present some of their work at the 2026 Geospatial Professional Network Mid-Atlantic conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This year’s conference was an exciting chance to meet with other professionals from across the geospatial industry in order to exchange ideas and experiences that … Read more
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) maintains an oasis of native plants and pollinator gardens along the Hackensack River. One important pollinator plant is milkweed, which plays a crucial role in monarch butterfly reproduction and growth before their great migration to Mexico. The number of Monarch butterflies that arrive in Mexico each year … Read more
Ildiko C. Pechmann, PhD, of MRRI presented a comprehensive assessment of wetlands in the Lower Hackensack Estuary at the Restore America’s Estuaries 2026 Summit in San Francisco on September 24, 2026. The conference convened practitioners, scientists, and representatives from state and federal agencies to discuss strategies to restore and protect coastal wetlands. Sessions highlighted emerging … Read more
At the intertidal zone of Saw Mill Creek, new monitoring equipment has been installed to precisely track changes in carbon sink strength – that is, the balance of carbon sequestration and emissions – over a 4- to 5-year wetland restoration. This robust instrument cluster includes a tower fitted with an open-path CO2/H2O analyzer, a 3D … Read more
On July 22nd, MRRI’s lab staff began their work collecting water samples from the Hackensack River for the 2026 summer season. This is a continuation of our seasonal water quality monitoring efforts which have been ongoing since 1993. Each season, water samples are collected from various points along the Hackensack River & its tributaries as … Read more
On June 18th, MRRI staff completed the final retrieval of a suspended sediment trap deployed in Anderson Creek as part of an ongoing EPA study examining the movement of contaminated sediments within the lower Hackensack River estuary. The bi-directional sediment trap was installed to collect suspended particles transported by flood and ebb tides independently. This … Read more
Credit: NJCCRC Rutgers University, 2026 On June 10th, Rutgers University’s NJ Climate Change Resource Center hosted the 2026 NJ Climate Change Research Symposium in Piscataway, NJ. The day-long event provided scientists with an opportunity to share the latest research in natural and social science, economics, engineering, and policy, all aimed at better understanding the challenges … Read more