Marine GEO Virginia
The Smithsonian Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) is a network of researchers that are committed to conducting coordinated experiments and annual monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem processes throughout the world. The focus is on understanding how and why biodiversity is changing in coastal waters and on understanding the implications of those changes.
CEEL is leading the coordination of several MarineGEO sites, collectively known as MarineGEO Virginia, that includes the VA Coastal Bay region near the VIMS Eastern Shore Lab, the VA Coastal Bay region centered on South Bay lead by the VCR-LTER, and the region nearby the VIMS main campus in partnership with CBNERRS-VA. The work in the coastal bays is also being supported by The Nature Conservancy.
At each site, monitoring is occurring on the dominant habitats that are present. These currently include seagrass and oyster reefs, as well as bare sediment. Marsh habitat will eventually be added to these efforts as well.This partnership is an important mechanism for building collaborations among these institutions and the broader network of partner sites. Over time, we hope that these efforts will contribute to a significant advancement of our understanding of coastal ecosystems and where VA ecosystems fit into the grand scheme of things.
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