The economics of sediment quality on barrier shoreline restoration.

This paper depicts a simulation-based assessment of sediment quality on the performance of dedicated dredging projects for barrier island restoration in coastal Louisiana, USA. The research involved the development and integration of two sub-models. In the first, geomorphic modeling was used to simulate sediment transport dynamics within a proxy barrier island template over a 50-year trajectory. The template was assumed to be nourished with one of two sources of dredged material: nearshore (NS) sediments of lower quality (smaller grain diameter, higher organic fines); or higher quality sediments from distal sources located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). In the second model, agency project records and commercial bids were used to estimate project construction costs as a function of dredge material quantity, transport distance, and project target elevation. These sub-models were coupled within a net present value framework from which average annual break-even values for ecosystem services (EBEV) were derived as an efficiency metric for comparing the economic performance of NS- and OCS-sourced projects. Results indicate that in some cases, the physical resiliency afforded by even small increases in sand diameter (+4 µm d50) can translate to greater long-term economic viability (lower EBEV) for OCS-sourced sediment transported over longer distances. Moreover, projects constructed with much higher diameter OCS sediment (+44 µm d50) with low fines and transported over relatively long distances (200 µm, 5% fines, 15-20 miles) were found to be more cost-effective than all comparably-sized projects constructed with lower quality NS sediments obtained from proximal sources (156 µm, 20% fines, 3-5 miles). For some comparisons, this quality advantage yielded a lower EBEV for OCS-sourced projects with transport distances exceeding 30 miles. Under storm-punctuated simulations, these quality advantages were more pronounced, with greater physical and economic implications for earlier (Y5) versus later (Y20) occurring storms. Budgeting for dedicated dredging projects has traditionally centered on the value of sediment as a commodity, with a focus on material placement cost. The findings of this study, however, indicate that a more comprehensive accounting of sediment quality and performance is required to maximize the economic efficiency of coastal restoration spending.

Design and Cost Analysis of a Self-contained Mobile Laboratory for Commercial-scale Aquatic Species Cryopreservation.

Although aquatic species cryopreservation protocols have been studied around the world over the past 60 yr., germplasm repository development efforts and commercialization have begun only recently. The goal of this project was to develop a self-contained mobile laboratory for on-site high-throughput cryopreservation of aquatic species. The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify how a mobile laboratory would function in different operational scenarios, (2) customize an enclosed cargo trailer to function as a mobile laboratory, (3) evaluate the laboratory layout and ability of cryopreservation equipment to operate from generator power, and (4) document the investment costs for private and public groups to integrate a mobile laboratory into an existing cryopreservation facility at three levels of automation and estimate the total cost per trip based on hypothetical assumptions for two scenarios (aquaculture production and repository development). There were three operational designs identified for the mobile laboratory: (1) self-contained work inside the unit using generator power, (2) work inside the unit using external facility power, and (3) using the equipment inside of a host facility. The investment costs for a base-level mobile laboratory ranged between US$5670 and US$5787 for private groups and between US$5208 and US$5315 for public groups. With the addition of a range of automated processing equipment, total investment costs ranged from US$13,616 to US$103,529 for private groups and US$12,494 to US$94,891 for public groups. The total cost per trip to cryopreserve sperm of 59 blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, males to produce 6300 0.5-mL French straws was estimated to range from US$6089 to US$14,633 for private and between US$5703 and US$16,938 for public groups depending on the level of automation. Total cost per trip to cryopreserve sperm of 500 males of five different species in the genus Xiphophorus to produce 641 0.25-mL French straws was estimated to range from US$6653 to US$7640 for private and US$7582 to US$8088 for public groups depending on level of automation. Overall, a commercial-scale mobile laboratory was developed that can assist current germplasm activities and support future repository and industry development, and the layout information provided can help others to design and build comparable units.

COVID-19 influences on US recreational angler behavior.

Recreational angling in the United States (US) is largely a personal hobby that scales up to a multibillion-dollar economic activity. Given dramatic changes to personal decisions and behaviors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we surveyed recreational anglers across the US to understand how the pandemic may have affected their fishing motivations and subsequent activities. Nearly a quarter million anglers from 10 US states were invited to participate in the survey, and almost 18,000 responded. Anglers reported numerous effects of the pandemic, including fishing access restrictions. Despite these barriers, we found that the amount of fishing in the spring of 2020 was significantly greater-by about 0.2 trips per angler-than in non-pandemic springs. Increased fishing is likely associated with our result that most respondents considered recreational angling to be a COVID-19 safe activity. Nearly a third of anglers reported changing their motivation for fishing during the pandemic, with stress relief being more popular during the pandemic than before. Driven partly by the perceived safety of social fishtancing, recreational angling remained a popular activity for many US anglers during spring 2020.

Framework for a Community Health Observing System for the Gulf of Mexico Region: Preparing for Future Disasters.

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) region is prone to disasters, including recurrent oil spills, hurricanes, floods, industrial accidents, harmful algal blooms, and the current COVID-19 pandemic. The GoM and other regions of the U.S. lack sufficient baseline health information to identify, attribute, mitigate, and facilitate prevention of major health effects of disasters. Developing capacity to assess adverse human health consequences of future disasters requires establishment of a comprehensive, sustained community health observing system, similar to the extensive and well-established environmental observing systems. We propose a system that combines six levels of health data domains, beginning with three existing, national surveys and studies plus three new nested, longitudinal cohort studies. The latter are the unique and most important parts of the system and are focused on the coastal regions of the five GoM States. A statistically representative sample of participants is proposed for the new cohort studies, stratified to ensure proportional inclusion of urban and rural populations and with additional recruitment as necessary to enroll participants from particularly vulnerable or under-represented groups. Secondary data sources such as syndromic surveillance systems, electronic health records, national community surveys, environmental exposure databases, social media, and remote sensing will inform and augment the collection of primary data. Primary data sources will include participant-provided information via questionnaires, clinical measures of mental and physical health, acquisition of biological specimens, and wearable health monitoring devices. A suite of biomarkers may be derived from biological specimens for use in health assessments, including calculation of allostatic load, a measure of cumulative stress. The framework also addresses data management and sharing, participant retention, and system governance. The observing system is designed to continue indefinitely to ensure that essential pre-, during-, and post-disaster health data are collected and maintained. It could also provide a model/vehicle for effective health observation related to infectious disease pandemics such as COVID-19. To our knowledge, there is no comprehensive, disaster-focused health observing system such as the one proposed here currently in existence or planned elsewhere. Significant strengths of the GoM Community Health Observing System (CHOS) are its longitudinal cohorts and ability to adapt rapidly as needs arise and new technologies develop.