University of New Hampshire Research

Go #BTS with our aquaculture researchers to see how the tasty, sustainable steelhead trout grown in UNH's innovative Aquafort get their start.

WMUR-TV’s New Hampshire Chronicle featured UNH’s Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery (FAIR) Lab recently, highlighting this unique forensics lab and its work alongside law enforcement to solve cold cases. Headed by Amy Michael, an assistant professor of anthropology, the FAIR Lab identifies people by the bones they’ve left behind. “If somebody is skeletonized, mummified, burned, otherwise visually unrecognizable, that’s when you would call … us,” she tells Chronicle. Michael and other FAIR Lab researchers — including undergraduate students — have helped identify and rebury remains at a former “poor farm” in Brentwood and cracked the cold case of Alberta Leeman, who went missing in northern New Hampshire in 1978. “To me, one of the most rewarding things we can do as anthropologists is use what we know about the human skeleton to provide enough information to get someone identified,” says Michael. WMUR-TV

Curious about why the Northern Lights have been happening more often? ?? ?? Watch John Gianforte, director of UNH's Observatory, and Lance Davis, Space Science Center graduate student and observatory manager discuss the science behind these frequent light shows. ?? University of New Hampshire Research https://lnkd.in/eRdKXUb8

Could a common plant with a funny name be a “green” alternative to chemical fertilizers? Assistant professor Anna O’Brien and her team are exploring the potential of aquatic duckweed as a sustainable "green manure" to replace chemical fertilizers in agriculture. This shift aims to reduce harmful runoff of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which contribute to ecological problems such as algal blooms and water toxicity. “Chemical fertilizers provide quick nutrient boosts, but when mismanaged can also lead to adverse environmental impacts. Green manures instead release nutrients slowly and support microbial activity, thus enhancing benefits to plants,” said O’Brien. “We chose duckweed as a possible green manure because it’s a native plant in New Hampshire, it’s naturally abundant in our waterbodies and research shows that it can recapture nutrients in runoff and agricultural wastewater.” UNH students, including microbiology graduate student Alyssa Daigle and undergraduate students like Matthew Farbaniec, played a crucial role in this research over the summer. “I have learned so much and have gained research skills that will be useful throughout my academic and professional career,” shares Matt. “In my master's work under Dr. Anna O’Brien, I integrated this interest into our green manure project, examining how cyanobacteria in duckweed could affect crops. I feel I’ve grown tremendously as a scientist over this past year,” says Alyssa. Read more in our Fall 2024 issue of THRIVE: https://lnkd.in/gUZUup8V Check out Matt’s Spotlight: https://lnkd.in/gC-UEn27 University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Research UNH Graduate School

Thanks New Hampshire Public Radio for covering this this New Hampshire Sea Grant-funded research project on #Lumpfish distribution in the Gulf of Maine: https://lnkd.in/eCV9XTYG Explore the interactive lumpfish map by visiting: https://arcg.is/XG9r5 Seacoast Science Center #Aquaculture #ClimateChange

Microplastics pose a threat to Great Bay Estuary – a vital ecosystem at the heart of coastal New Hampshire. UNH researchers Bonnie Brown and Gregg Moore, with the help of graduate and undergraduate students, are leading crucial studies on how these tiny pollutants affect our estuary. Their work is helping us understand where microplastics come from, where they settle and how long they stay in our waters. Great Bay isn't just any body of water. It's a critical habitat for marine life, a natural filter for our oceans and an essential resource for our region's growing shellfish industry. Our research teams are creating models to track these pollutants, giving local aquaculturists, fishers and environmental managers the data they need to protect this precious ecosystem. Because when it comes to preserving Great Bay for future generations, every tiny particle matters. UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture University of New Hampshire Research

Have you seen a coyote lately? These predators — the most successful in North America — are on the rise. One surprising contributor to their increase? Human hunting. “Intensive coyote removal can obviously reduce populations in the short-term, but removal can also result in younger coyote populations with higher reproduction and immigration rates,” says Remington Moll, assistant professor of natural resources and the environment and the lead author of a new study. Using data from a network of more than 4,500 camera traps set up across the country by the SNAPSHOT USA project, the study found more coyotes in places where hunting was allowed. The study also found the presence of larger carnivores, such as black bears and pumas, influenced coyote numbers in a habitat-dependent manner. In forested areas, black bears limited coyotes, but pumas had the same influence in more open environments. Learn more about coyotes and their interactions with humans and other predators: https://lnkd.in/g9yvyA9d ??: SNAPSHOT USA UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture

True to our promise of sustainability, University of New Hampshire has built a giant "water battery" on campus to make summer air conditioning more efficient and, ultimately, less expensive. Dave Brooks and UNH energy director Adam Kohler, PE take a deep dive into our new thermal energy storage tank. https://lnkd.in/efKF3z4R

UNH is leading a major new project that will help predict space weather — solar wind caused by explosions on the sun — that creates both beautiful auroras here on Earth but can also interrupt power grids, satellite communications and other critical technology infrastructure. ???? NASA, on behalf of NOAA, awarded UNH researchers $24.3 million to build two sensors for a high-priority alert system that will monitor the effects of space weather and the solar wind, a supersonic flow of hot particles known as plasma, from the sun. The sensors, used for NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center alert system, will help identify and give a ‘heads up’ warning of any concerns in as fast as 10 minutes. “This allows us to use our scientific expertise to help address vital national safety interests and build on UNH’s long history of scientific and operational missions, expanding the range of the UNH Space Science Center’s strong proficiency and skill in space instrumentation,” says lead researcher Lynn Kistler, professor of physics and astronomy and director of UNH’s Space Science Center. ????: NASA Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e6VehgEC UNH College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

How did UNH become such a space-weather hotbed? In his Concord Monitor Granite Geek column, Dave Brooks talks to space scientist Harlan Spence, director of UNH's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, for some insights. "UNH researchers were eager to be part of this fascinating new field and as a land-grant university?with emphasis on practical research, they soon got contracts for building scientific instruments. Over the years as NASA has expanded its need for information gathering, that expertise has built on itself." More: https://lnkd.in/e3JaaNgZ