After six and a half years of dedicated effort, Ying “Cheryl” Yao, scientist at the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI), earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Rutgers University. Cheryl conducted research on emerging contaminants and successfully defended her dissertation, titled “Airborne Microplastics and PFAS: Distribution and Interactions in the Urban Atmosphere,” on March … Read more
The Meadowlands Research & Restoration Institute (MRRI) is proud to recognize Talayeh Aviles for her outstanding contributions as a Field Research Intern with the MRRI–NJSEA team. During her internship, Talayeh played a key role in several ongoing research and monitoring efforts across the Meadowlands. One of her tasks included conducting ichthyoplankton surveys, identifying organisms to … Read more
In the pictures, MRRI scientists are preparing to calibrate a new proSonde from Proteus Instruments in the Hackensack River. This state-of-the-art sensor measures organic pollution in natural rivers and marine ecosystems through parameters such as BOD, COD, TOC, E. coli, ammonium and phosphate with the latest proFluor fluorescence sensor technology. The sensor will monitor water … Read more
Last week, several MRRI staff members participated in the 2026 New Jersey Coastal and Climate Resilience Conference, hosted by the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative (NJCRC) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in the bayside town of Galloway, NJ. The main theme of the three-day event focused on “Navigating Changing Tides” and included … Read more
On February 11th, MRRI hosted LiCOR scientists Jim Le Moine and Sasha Ivans for an introductory workshop on LiCOR’s eddy covariance technique at NJSEA’s Lyndhurst campus. Researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students came from Columbia, NYU, Princeton, and Rutgers University to join MRRI scientists for the one-day workshop. Sasha Ivans introduced the physics and meteorological … Read more
Over the past few months MRRI has had the wonderful opportunity to work with the expert drone team from Warren County Community College’s UAS (unmanned aircraft system) department in order to improve our own drone program & acquire data that we wouldn’t be able to collect ourselves. On December 3rd 2025, the WarrenUAS team came … Read more
The Meadowlands Research & Restoration Institute (MRRI) has officially received New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) certification for dissolved oxygen (DO) measurement using the luminescence-based method SM 4500-O H-21, marking an important milestone in the laboratory’s quality assurance and regulatory compliance efforts. Following a comprehensive on-site audit conducted in October 2025, the NJDEP Office … Read more
Join us this Sunday, January 11 2026, from 10AM–2PM for the NJ Meadowlands Eagle Festival. This special free of charge event welcomes all nature lovers, families, and bird enthusiasts alike. Co-hosted by the NJSEA and the Bergen County Audubon Society, this festival celebrates the incredible beauty of the Bald Eagle and the Meadowlands. Kids: Bring … Read more
NJSEA staff attended and presented at the 20th annual New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management conference in Atlantic City. The NJAFM conference allows hundreds of floodplain managers to network and learn new ways to mitigate flooding. A discussion grounds for flood experts to comingle ideas with the goal of protecting people and property form the … Read more
The 2024 water quality data collected in the Meadowlands Lower Hackensack Estuary have been reviewed through QA/QC and shared with the public via the national Water Quality Exchange (WQX) platform. The Meadowlands Research & Restoration Institute (MRRI) has been contributing water quality data within the District to WQX since 2016. The Meadowlands water quality monitoring … Read more