Boats Stirring up Sediments ~ Jess

This week we stayed at the VESTER station and learned a lot about the local water quality. One point that I found quite interesting was how the turbidity of the water was impacted by boats. We helped Dr. Fugate collect data over a span of a few days with the help of an instrument called a aquadopp. This instrument uses doppler to determine how turbid the waters are. Contrary to what I initially believed; mud bottom substrates have a lower impact from passing boats. I was quite shocked when I learned this, because what is holding the sediment down? Unlike the mud bottom substrates, the seagrass beds hold onto more sediment. This means when the boats travel, they stir the sediment that the seagrass beds have accumulated. It is possible that this sediment that is being picked up and thrown about by boat wakes are possibly “drowning out” the seagrasses. In the long term this limited light can eventually result in the death of seagrasses. It is crazy to think of all of the repercussions of human activity has on the environment even when proper precautions are being used.