I continue as a member of both the Nantucket Shellfish and Harbor Advisory Board (SHAB) and the Harbor Plan Implementation Committee (HPIC) The SHAB is developing new commercial shellfish regulations, updating the achoring regulations, and taken a stand opposing a beach nourisnment project on the east end of Nantucket which would have severely impacted the rpime fishing areasd offshore from the Sankaty bluff.
The HPIC is prioritizing the Harbor Plan recommendations, and will monitor the progress in implementing them. A major success was the passage of several articles at the 2008 Town Meeting adding a harbor overlay district to the Town Zoning Bylaws and prohibiting the building of new docks and piers anywhere on the islands of Nantucket and Tuckernuck.
Studies the population of Bay Scallops, Argopecten irradians, irradians, in Nantucket Harbor will continue. We now have followed two cohorts of scallops through their 18 - 24 month life to deterrmine longevity and timing of spawning. A new cohort with more samples will be entering their second year this summer. We have expanded the study to include determining the timing of the spawn at six sites within Nantucket Harbor. A poster paper giving the spawning results was given to the annual meeting of the National Shellfish Association in April. You can see it here (Caution, this is a large 1.7 MByte PDF file)
Projects (2007)
I successfully ran for a seat on the Nantucket Shellfish and Harbor Advisory Board (SHAB). I have 4 years of experience researching the population of Bay Scallops (see below) and use the harbor for sailing, fishing, clamming, and scalloping. The harbor is critical to Nantucket in many ways and we need to keep alive the many comercial aspects of the harbor (freight and passenger service, sport and commercial fishing, tourist activities, and water related shore activities). The new Harbor Plan addresses many of the issues facing Nantucket, and the SHAB will be an important body in overseeing the implementation of the Harbor Plan. As a member of SHAB, I have been appointed to the Harbor Plan Implementation Committee, where I have been elected Secretary.
Studies the population of Bay Scallops, Argopecten irradians, irradians, in Nantucket Harbor will continue. We now have followed two cohorts of scallops through their 18 - 24 month life to deterrmine longevity and timing of spawning. A third cohort with more samples will be entering their second year this summer. We have expanded the study to determining the timing of the spawn at six sites within Nantucket Harbor.
More Bay Scallop studies: I am also working on a study, funded by the EPA, of 48 sites in the harbor to determine what factors are essential for a good scallop habitat.
Projects (2003-6)
Studying the population of Bay Scallops, Argopecten irradians, irradians, in Nantucket Harbor. I work on a project headed by Dr. Robert Kennedy at the Maria Mitchell Association studying the reproduction and survival rates of the wild population on Bay scallops in Nantucket waters.A previous study measured the survivability of Bay Scallops which had washed up and stranded on the beach and were returned to the water and concluded that the scallops were unaffected by the stranding experience. Curent results were reported at the 26th Milford Aquaculture meeting, Feb 27 - Mar 1, 2006.
Mentoring an undergraduate astronomy research project - During the summer of 2006 I mentored an undergraduate student as we researched the best method for converting the the X - Y plate positions to RA and Dec. The problem is to convert the digital TIFF images of the wide angle plates made with the astrograph of the Maria Mitchell Observatory over the past century into FITS format and adding WCS headers. We showed this to be a non-trivial job which will require significant resources. When this can be accomplished, the MMO plates could be added to the National Virtual Observatory. As of now, this project is on hold.
Maintaining Dark Skies over Nantucket. At the the 2005 Nantucket Annual Town Meeting the Town of Nantucket passed a new Bylaw regulating Outdoor Lighting, Chapter 102 of the Nantucket Bylaws. Now, the Bylaw has to be enforced, which involves a program of education of architects, builders, electrical contractors, and the general public This has to be coupled with enforcement, which means bringing major violators to the attention of the Town Lighting Enforcement Officer.
Electronic Publishing - I led the scholarly electronic publishing
activities at the American Astronomical Society which produced the award winning electronic version of the Astrophysical Journal and Astronomical Journal in 1995.
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) - In the past I have been involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
Other current activities
Assisting Artist Janet Saad Cook - I work with this world renknowned artist performing astronomical calculations for her Sun Drawings and consulting on astronomical questions relating to the position of the sun and its path through the sky throughout the day and the seasons.
Volunteering with the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA)
- In addition to working on ecology and astronomy research projects, I was a member of the Board of Managers for 14 years serving as Treasurer of the MMA until 2007 when I retired from the Board..
