Ildiko C. Pechmann, Ph.D., Senior Environmental Scientist with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority’s Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI), recently shared her team’s work at the annual Mid-Atlantic Wetland Workgroup Meeting, held at Canaan Valley Resort State Park, Davis WV, September 22-25, 2025. Hosted by the National Association of Wetland Managers, the meeting … Read more
On June 5, MRRI GIS personnel attended the NJ Geospatial Forum. Christopher Blackley presented his animated flood models created using a software called HEC-RAS. These flood simulations use the most recent terrain elevation available to MRRI in order to create animated flood simulations. When completed the simulated flood models display an animation of water over … Read more
From April 7th to the 11th our GIS specialist Eric Manke had the opportunity to attend the 2025 JACIE workshop on remote sensing, held at the USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia. The workshop is an annual collaborative effort between a variety of federal agencies (NASA, NGA, NOAA, NRO, USDA, & USGS) to bring together professionals … Read more
MRRI scientists have kicked off the field season by deploying the first of six sediment traps at Anderson Creek Marsh (Secaucus, NJ). A complex cluster of sensors, designed to monitor the mass of sediment carried in and out of the marshes on the back of the tide, were placed into the tidal creek. At every … Read more
At the Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit on February 11, 2024, MRRI’s senior environmental scientist Joe Grzyb presented the marsh sediment elevation data from the Meadowlands District. MRRI is part of the New Jersey Tidal Wetland Monitoring Network (NJTWMN) with the oldest sediment elevation monitoring sites in New Jersey dating back 15 years. The … Read more
NJSEA hosted the Harbor Herons annual meeting on January 24, 2025, which was attended by 40 people in person and 40 virtually. The Harbor Herons Work Group is a subcommittee to the NY&NJ Harbor & Estuary Program and is a multi-organization, multidisciplinary, collaborative initiative created to coordinate colonial waterbird conservation projects. The conservation effort has … Read more
MRRI Scientists are leveraging 3D printing technology to enhance field-deployed sensing equipment by producing custom parts. This innovative approach allows researchers to design and print lightweight, durable components tailored to specific sensor configurations. By reducing production time and costs, 3D printing enables rapid prototyping and deployment of sensing equipment for monitoring water quality, air pollution, … Read more
Two MRRI staff members have recently obtained their Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) licenses, also known as a “Six-Pack” license. This credential, issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, required them to pass rigorous exams covering safety, seamanship, maritime laws, navigation, and chart plotting. The license allows them to captain vessels carrying up to six … Read more
At the 2024 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting (December 9-13, 2024), Ying ‘Cheryl’ Yao, Chief Chemist and Laboratory Supervisor at the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI), presented the institute’s research titled “Distributions and Partitioning of Airborne Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Urban Atmosphere of Northern New Jersey.” The research highlights the significant … Read more
The picture shows an MRRI scientist in 2024 with a device designed to measure the relative elevation change of wetland sediments. The device is a Surface Elevation Table (SET) Rod SET, created by Donald Cahoon at USGS. It is used in 22 states in the U.S. and 22 countries worldwide. The SET provides a nondestructive … Read more