Category: Ecology

The Abyssal Plain

The Abyssal Plain

The Abyssal Plain

06/09/26

“What is the giant underwater plain on the ocean floor?”

The oceans lie above the Earth’s crust. Between 3,000 – 6,000 km below the ocean surface, so deep that sunlight can’t reach it, lies a giant flat part of the ocean floor known as The Abyssal Plain. The abyssal plain’s ultra smooth flatness is forge by from millions of years of particulate settlement depositing over surface irregularities. This flatness makes the abyssal plain suitable for undersea cable routing. Other interesting facts about the abyssal plain include pressures can reach up to 600 times atmospheric pressure and water temperature ranges between a stable 2 – 3 degrees celsius.

Image credit: https://www.thedailyatom.com/

The Passaic River

The Passaic River

The Passaic River

05/30/26

“What’s so special about the Passaic River?”

New Jersey is a lush state with a mountainous northern portion, granting favorable conditions for river formation. One of these rivers, the Passaic River, has many unique properties. Its headwaters begin in Northern New Jersey, and then it flows 80 miles through forests, wetlands, and suburbs until it empties into Newark Bay. The lower 17 miles of the Passaic River is considered a tidal water body, and industry used this portion for a variety of waste stream discharge since the 19th century. This pollution included byproduct production from Agent Orange production used to terrorize Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Consequently, the lower portion of the Passaic River is designated a Superfund site known as the Diamond Alkali Superfund site. 

Image credit: https://media.istockphoto.com/

The Hackensack River

The Hackensack River

The Hackensack River

05/28/26

“What’s special about the Hackensack River in New Jersey?”

New Jersey has many rivers. One of them, The Hackensack River, is an anchor for North Jersey. With its headwaters in what’s now Southeastern New York, it strikes a meandering path almost parallel to the hudson before draining into the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower portion of the Hackensack river is heavily polluted from industrial runoff and sewage. At one point, the Hackensack River was a hypoxic dead zone.

Image credit: cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com

Filter Feeders

Filter Feeders

Filter Feeders

05/20/26

“How can marine creatures eat using filtration?”

Water bodies can contain a vast supply of organic matter and microorganisms. Some marine creatures consume vast amounts of water and then filter it for organic matter and microorganisms to digest. These creatures, called Filter Feeders, are beautiful specimens that also clean the water bodies they inhabit. Filter feeders have a mighty range in size, from gargantuan whales to tiny krill.

How Oysters Filter Water

How Oysters Filter Water

How Oysters Filter Water

05/18/26

“How do oysters filter water?”

What do you think of when someone says the word “oyster”? For many, an image of delicious seafood pops into their mind. But what if that same organism also acts as a natural filter for waterbodies? Oysters feed off phytoplankton, algae, and suspended particles. Often, these items are rich in nitrogen, and oysters can absorb the nitrogen and use it to build their shells and tissues. The process ends with cleaner water and a satisfied oyster. This is How Oysters Filter Water.

Waterlogging

Waterlogging

Waterlogging

05/17/26

“What happens when soils become completely saturated with water?”

Soils often contain air and water between their solid particles. But when water saturates soil, it pushes out air and creates anaerobic conditions, suffocating plant roots. Waterlogging is a massive problem for agriculture and requires careful monitoring. Waterlogging typically occurs during heavy inundation events like floods or rainstorms.

Planters

Planters

Planters

05/09/26

“How can we store multiple plants in one container?”

People store plants in containers to take care of them. Containers that can store multiple plants at once are labelled Planters. Because planters can store multiple combinations of plants, they tend to be more diverse than pots. Planters can come in irregular shapes instead of stricly cylindrical forms.

Reference Dose (RfD)

Reference Dose (RfD)

Reference Dose (RfD)

01/20/26

“How does the U.S. EPA produce recommended daily lifetime exposure limits for substances?”

NOAELs are the highest level of a substance a person can take without any statistically significant effects, according to research. However, this could be much higher than what may actually be safe for long-term use. The U.S. EPA has created the Reference Dose (RfD) in response. Reference does are the maximum acceptable oral dose of a toxic substance that has no adverse noncancer health effects from a lifetime of exposure. Reference doses are commonly found by dividing the NOAEL for a substance by uncertainty factors.

Mean High Water Mark

Mean High Water Mark

Mean High Water Mark

01/15/26

“What’s the legal and scientific boundary for a water body?”

Water bodies will expand and contract over land, whether it’s a small river or a massive tidal bay. The point delineating the high tide mark from the land has massive geological and ecological implications, given the difference in water saturation. The Mean High Water Mark is the average high tide mark over a long period of time. The mean high water mark often delineates the legal and scientific boundary for a water body, making it very important to quantify.