Gift to URI Graduate School of
Oceanography Expands
Quonochontaug Pond Research Program
Narragansett, R.I.--January 19,
2001--New Jersey businessman Finn M.W.
Caspersen has awarded the University of
Rhode Island Graduate School of
Oceanography (GSO) a two-year $150,000
grant to continue the
Quonochontaug
Pond Research Fellowship originally
established in 1999. The gift will enable
a GSO student and faculty team to expand
on baseline studies conducted for the
previous grant.
The recipient of the 1999
Quononchontaug Pond Research Fellowship,
GSO doctoral candidate Kathryn Ford of
Narragansett, has also been awarded the
current fellowship to continue her
research, including geochemical studies of
mussels, an expansion of habitat studies
on quahogs, winter flounder, and eelgrass,
and a more thorough analysis of the pond's
circulation. Ford will also study the
historical hurricane record to help
determine the impact of hurricanes on the
coastal environment.
"I am pleased to be able to assist the
URI Graduate School of Oceanography in
their continuous environmental monitoring
of Quonochontaug salt pond," said
Caspersen, who spends his summers in the
Westerly community of Shelter Harbor.
"This is a critical Rhode Island natural
resource and one of the reasons that all
of us choose to live in this area."
Like most of the south shore coastal
ponds, Quonochontaug Pond has not been
thoroughly researched, and a comprehensive
profile of the pond is one of the goals of
the current study. Until the establishment
of this research project in 1999, the
major effort on Quonochontaug Pond was a
10-year monitoring program for fecal
coliforms and nutrients established by the
URI Coastal Resources Center and continued
by the Salt Ponds Coalition.
"Coastal ecosystems change dramatically
in response to a wide variety of natural
and man-made stressors," said Ford. "Since
the increasing habitation of the coasts,
these changes have been noticed astutely,
and explanations have been sought. The
most reliable way to thoroughly understand
a system as complex as a coastal habitat
is long term studies (monitoring) of
geochemistry, animal populations, and
water quality.
"The funds and expertise necessary to
undertake such interdisciplinary studies
are frequently unavailable," added Ford.
"However, it is made feasible in
Quonochontaug Pond through generous
donations of time, money, and local
knowledge from the proactive community
surrounding the pond."
Ford conducts the Quonochontaug Pond
studies under the guidance of her faculty
advisor, geological oceanographer
John
King. Other members of the research
team include GSO chemical oceanographer
James
Quinn, and Arthur Ganz and Richard
Satchwill of the Rhode Island Department
of Environmental Management.
"This project is a great example of how
GSO research expertise can be applied
directly to helping Rhode Islanders solve
problems in coastal management," said GSO
interim dean James Yoder. "We are
delighted that Finn Caspersen has extended
the fellowship for two more years and
pleased that it will provide a practical
and important learning experience for a
graduate student."
A graduate of Brown University and
Harvard Law School, Caspersen was Chairman
of the Board and CEO of Beneficial
Corporation of New Jersey from 1976 to
1998. He is now CEO of Knickerbocker
Management, a private management firm. He
serves as moderator of Westerly's Shelter
Harbor Fire District and is the chair of
the Ellis Island Commission in New Jersey.
He is also the chair of the Board of
Trustees of The Peddie School, chair of
the Harvard Law School Dean's Advisory
Board, and a trustee emeritus of Brown
University.
The Graduate School of Oceanography at
the University of Rhode Island is one of
the country's largest marine science
education programs, and one of the world's
foremost marine research institutions.
Founded in 1961 in Narragansett, Rhode
Island, GSO serves a community of
scientists who are researching the causes
of and solutions to such problems as acid
rain, global warming, air and water
pollution, oil spills, overfishing, and
coastal erosion.
In addition to graduate education and
scientific research, GSO provides school
and public education programming,
including the JASON Project, the National
Ocean Sciences Bowl, and the Narragansett
Bay Classroom through the Office of Marine
Programs. GSO is also home to the Coastal
Institute on Narragansett Bay, the Coastal
Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant,
the Ocean Technology Center, and the
National Sea Grant Library.
Contact:
Lisa
Cugini, (401) 874-6642
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